ABSTRACT
Local government in nineteenth-century London had an entirely different history from the rest of the country. From mid-century, a two-tier system evolved. The first tier covered city-wide activities – most famously in the formation of the London County Council in 1889 but earlier with the Metropolitan Board of Works and a variety of single-function statutory bodies. The second tier consisted of local vestries – based on parish districts – and other minor local entities. The Corporation of London had a special position in the second tier. This situation was unique in contemporary urban Britain because, since 1835, most large towns and cities had had their own, single-tier, councils.
