List of London vestries and district boards facts for kids

London, a huge and busy city, needed a way to manage its different areas. From 1855 to 1900, local groups called "local authorities" helped run things. These groups changed a bit over time. By the end of this period, there were 42 main groups. These included 29 "administrative vestries," 12 "district boards," and one "local board of health."

London's Local Managers

These local authorities were set up by a special law called the Metropolis Management Act 1855. They worked from 1855 until 1900, unless they changed earlier.

The "administrative vestries" were known as Schedule A vestries. They were directly chosen by the people living in their area. The "district boards" had the same powers, but their members were chosen by other, smaller local groups. For the very center of London, the Commissioners of Sewers handled local management.

Groups Formed in 1855

Many of these local groups started in 1855. Here are some of them:

Groups Formed Later

Some new administrative vestries or district boards were created after 1855. This often happened when smaller groups joined together or changed their roles.

Smaller Local Groups

Besides the main administrative groups, there were also "non-administrative vestries." These groups had very few tasks. Their main job was to choose people to serve on the district boards.

These were called Schedule B vestries or the smaller vestries. In 1855, there were 55 of these groups. By 1894, their number had gone down to 47, as some of them became full administrative vestries.