METROPOLITAN BOROUGH OF BATTERSEA

The 'Metropolitan Borough of Battersea' was a metropolitan borough of the County of London of England between 1900 and 1965.
It was created by the London Government Act 1899 from the former Vestry of Battersea St Mary. In 1965 it was abolished and its area combined with parts of the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth to form the London Borough of Wandsworth. The borough was administered from Battersea Town Hall on Lavender Hill. The building is now Battersea Arts Centre.
The Metropolitan Borough included within its bounds Battersea, Battersea Park, Clapham Junction and parts of Wandsworth Common and Clapham Common.
In 1913 John Archer became mayor of the borough and the first black mayor in the county.

Contents

Area and population

Coat of arms

Politics

Wards

Parliamentary constituencies

References

Area and population

The area of the Borough was 2,163 acres (8.8 km²). The population recorded in the Census was:
'Civil Parish 1801-1899'

Year[1]	1801	1811	1821	1831	1841	1851	1861	1871	1881	1891
Population	3,365(probably including Penge)	4,409	4,764	5,311	6,617	10,560	19,600	54,016	107,262	150,558

'Metropolitan Borough 1900-1961'

Year[2]	1901	1911	1921	1931	1941	1951	1961
Population	168,907	167,743	167,739	159,552	[3]	117,140	105,870

Coat of arms

In 1901 the borough adopted an unofficial coat of arms, consisting of a shield vertically divided blue and white, the division line being indented. This design was taken from a flag dating from 1803. On top of the shield was a dove bearing an olive branch. The Latin motto was ''Non Mihi, Non Tibi, Sed Nobis'', or "Neither for myself, nor for yourself, but for us".
In 1955 the borough received an official grant from the College of Arms, based on the old device. The colours in the shield were reversed, and a ''bordure'' or heraldic border added. The bordure consisted of silver and blue waves, representative of the River Thames, and bore sixteen gold stars for the sixteen wards of the borough. The new crest on top of the helm was the dove of the 1901 design, with the addition of sprigs of lavender, for the old lavender fields of the area, and Lavender Hill, the main road of Battersea. The old motto was retained.

Politics

The first election to the council was on November 1, 1900, with the Progressive Party taking control of the new borough. They retained power until 1909, when the Municipal Reform Party (allied to the Conservatives) gained a majority. The Progressives regained the council in 1912, holding power until 1919 when the Labour Party gained control. In 1931 the borough come under Municipal Reform control again. Labour regained power in 1934, retaining it for the rest of the borough's existence.
Elections of the whole council were held every three years. Elections were cancelled during the two world wars (1914-1918 and 1939-1945). The 1952 election was postponed for a year so that it did not clash with elections to the London County Council. The number of councillors returned at each election was as follows:.^[4]

★ 1900: Progressives 37, Municipal Alliance (supported by Conservatives and Liberals) 17

★ 1903: Progressives 38, Municipal Alliance 16

★ 1906: Progressives 29, Municipal Reform 25

★ 1909: Municipal Reform 52, Progressives 2

★ 1912: Progressives 29, Municipal Reform 25

★ 1919: Labour 41, Municipal Reform 11, Discharged Servicemen 2

★ 1922: Labour 33, Municipal Reform 21

★ 1925: Labour 29, Municipal Reform 25

★ 1928: Labour 33, Municipal Reform 22

★ 1931: Municipal Reform 31, Labour 23

★ 1934: Labour 37, Municipal Reform 18

★ 1937: Labour 40, Municipal Reform 15

★ 1945: Labour 50, Municipal Reform 5

★ 1949: Labour 34, Conservative 21

★ 1953: Labour 37, Conservative 18

★ 1956: Labour 46, Conservative 18

★ 1959: Labour 34, Conservative 21

★ 1962: Labour 40, Conservative 12, Liberal 3

Wards

From 1900 to 1949 the borough was divided into nine wards, returning either three, six or nine councillors:

★ Bolingbroke (6 councillors)

★ Broomwood (6)

★ Church (6)

★ Latchmere (6)

★ Nine Elms (9)

★ Park (6)

★ St John (3)

★ Shaftesbury (6)

★ Winstanley (6)
In 1949 the wards were redrawn, with fourteen wards returning three to five councillors each:

★ Bolingbroke (3)

★ Broomwood (3)

★ Church (4)

★ Latchmere (4)

★ Lavender (3)

★ Newtown (3)

★ Nightingale (5)

★ Nine Elms (3)

★ Park (4)

★ Queenstown (4)

★ St John (4)

★ Shaftesbury (3)

★ Stormont (3)

★ Thornton (3)

★ Vicarage (3)

★ Winstanley (3)

Parliamentary constituencies

For elections to parliament the borough was originally part of the parliamentary borough of Battersea and Clapham, which consisted of two divisions, Battersea
and Clapham.
In 1918 the metropolitan borough was divided into two constituencies:

★ Battersea North (Church, Latchmere, Nine Elms and Park wards) and

★ Battersea South (Bolingbroke, Broomwood, St John, Shaftesbury and Winstanley wards)
The boundaries of the two constituencies were adjusted in 1949 to reflect the redrawn borough wards:

★ Battersea North (Church, Latchmere, Newtown, Nine Elms, Park, Queenstown, Vicarage and Winstanley wards)

★ Battersea South (Bolingbroke, Broomwood, Lavender, Nightingale, St John, Shaftesbury, Stormont and Thornton wards)
The constituencies continued unchanged until 1970.^[5]

References

★ A Vision of Britain
1. Statistical Abstract for London, 1901 (Vol. IV); Census tables for Metropolitan Borough of Battersea
2. Battersea MetB: Census Tables accessed 19 Jun 2007
3. ''The census was suspended for World War II
4. Election results as reported in ''The Times'', 3 November, 1900; 4 November 1903; November 3, 1906; November 2, 1909; November 2, 1912; November 4, 1919; November 4, 1925; November 3, 1928; November 4, 1931; November 3, 1934; November 3, 1937; November 2, 1945; May 7, 1949; May 7, 1953; May 11, 1956; May 8, 1959; May 12, 1962
5. F.A. Youngs, ''Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England'', Volume 1, 1979