London Metropolitan Boroughs

There is a map of the Metropolitan Boroughs at the bottom of this page.

Originally in Surrey, Penge was brought under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 but then removed to Kent by the London County Council in 1900. It was returned by the London Government Act of 1963 and is currently in the London Borough of Bromley.

For further help with finding Postal District Numbers and Area Names see this page.

Sir Rowland Hill KCB, FRS and the General Post Office

Rowland Hill wrote and privately published, in 1837, a booklet called "Post Office Reform, its Importance and Practicability". His revolutionary concept was that it should only cost one penny to send a letter, paid for by the person who sent it rather than the recipient. He believed that if it was cheap and easy to send letters more people would learn to read and write.

In 1839 he was asked to oversee the work of introducing the world's first postage stamp, the Penny Black, which went on sale in 1840. In 1846 he became the Secretary to the Postmaster General then in 1854 Secretary to the whole General Post Office, later creating the Post Office Savings Bank to encourage people to save. His career was not without controversy but he was deservedly Knighted in 1860 and there are streets named after him in Hampstead and Tottenham.

The letter he wrote to John Thwaites, Chairman of the Metropolitan Board of Works, is reproduced below to illustrate why he is mentioned here. I particularly relish the phrase "regulating the nomenclature of streets" which ought to be the subject of a song by Gilbert and Sullivan.

General Post Office,
5th April, 1856.

Sir,

I am directed by the Postmaster-General to address you on the subject of the power vested in the Metropolitan Board of Works for regulating the nomenclature of streets and the numbering of houses in London.

During the progress through Parliament of the Act for the local management of the Metropolis, His Grace's predecessor, Lord Canning, was in communication with the Lords of the Treasury and with Sir Benjamin Hall relative to the clause respecting street nomenclature.

Regarding the matter as one in which the Post Office is greatly interested, His Lordship was desirous of seeing the controlling power vested in a central authority - and was instrumental in getting a clause proposed to that effect - in the hope that the power so given might be exercised on more comprehensive and general principles than would probably be observed were it placed in the hands of the district Vestries.

The Duke of Argyll is anxious to follow up Lord Canning's views, but has hitherto refrained from addressing the Board, from a sense of the many important matters necessarily engaging attention at the outset of its labours.

Perceiving, however, that a member of the Board has now given notice of a motion on the subject, His Grace desires to point out that a reform of the street nomenclature of London, by doing away with the multiplication of the same names for streets, now carried to a perplexing extent, especially if accompanied by a more accurate numbering of houses, would be of great importance to the Post Office service, and consequently to the public interests and convenience, in promoting the expeditious and correct sorting and distribution of the correspondence.

In his report upon the Post Office for the year 1855, just issued, His Grace has adverted to these points when describing the measures contemplated, or in progress for the acceleration of the London deliveries; and, he feels that the co-operation of the Board, in correcting the present abuses of street nomenclature, would be valuable in facilitating the accomplishment of that object. A copy of the report is enclosed.

Should the Board be disposed to take a similar view, His Grace would be happy to furnish any information as to the difficulties now felt by the Post Office and the changes likely to aid its operations, which might be useful in a consideration of the subject.

I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your obedient humble servant,

ROWLAND HILL.