Municipal Borough of Richmond (Surrey)

Richmond
Area
 • 1911 2,491 acres
 • 1931 2,491 acres
 • 1961 4,109 acres
Population
 • 1911 33,221
 • 1931 37,797
 • 1961 41,024
History
 • Origin Parish of Richmond St Mary Magdalene
 • Created 1890
 • Abolished 1965
 • Succeeded by London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
Status Municipal borough
Government

Richmond Borough Council

 • HQ Town Hall, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond
 • Motto A Deo et Rege (From God and the King)

The Municipal Borough of Richmond or Richmond Municipal Borough was a municipal borough in Surrey, England from 1890 to 1965.[1]

History

The former town hall of Richmond which now houses the Reference Library and the Museum of Richmond

The borough was created in 1890 under a Royal Charter, covering the civil (also covering the ecclesiastical) parish of Richmond St Mary Magdalene.[2] This soon expanded with consent from Surrey County Council in 1892 to cover the parishes of Kew, Petersham and most of Mortlake.[1] John Whittaker Ellis was its first mayor, and he purchased the building in Richmond which became the town hall, and the street in which it is located is named Whittaker Avenue after him.[3]

Under the Local Government Act 1894, the Mortlake civil parish was split, with the majority covering 1,554 acres (629 ha) outside the borough becoming the west of the Barnes Urban District and the rest (329 acres (133 ha)) remaining and forming a new North Sheen civil parish.

In 1933 the borough was the main recipient of the land and main settlement in the defunct Ham Urban District, which had been an urban district since 1894.[1]

The borough was abolished in 1965 when it was replaced by the larger London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, and Surrey County Council was replaced here by Greater London local government institutions, at which time the ceremonial county also changed.[1]

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the borough was granted on 19 June 1891. The arms is per fess gules and azure on a fess ermine between in chief a lion passant guardant between two portcullises or and in base a swan argent upon water proper; a representation of the ancient Palace of Richmond proper between two roses gules barbed and seeded proper.

The crest was a stag regardant proper, holding in its mouth two roses on one stem, one argent, the other gules, and supporting with the dexter fore hoof a shield or a wreath vert.[4]

The portcullises, roses and lion were all associated with King Henry VII, who brought the rival houses of Lancaster and York together and helped build the palace. The swan represented the River Thames. The stag represented Richmond Park and Old Deer Park, and the wreath the idea of municipality.[4]

Today the arms may still be seen in four places in Richmond; on the sign of the pub called The Richmond Arms in Princes Street; in the façade of the former post office in George Street; in the façade of the Old Town Hall in Whittaker Avenue, next to the clock above the entrance; and on the War Memorial, which is near the Old Town Hall.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Vision of Britain – Richmond MB (historic map)
  2. ↑ Vision of Britain – Richmond St Mary Magdalene parish (historic map)
  3. ↑ "Old Town Hall timeline". Local History Timelines. London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Richmond (London Borough)". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
Wikisource has the text of a 1905 New International Encyclopedia article about Municipal Borough of Richmond (Surrey).

Coordinates: 51°27′29″N 0°18′18″W / 51.458°N 0.305°W / 51.458; -0.305

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