Map_of_Metropolitan

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Divisions in 1860s 1880-1896 1903-1920 1921-1929 1931-1933 1946-1958 1965 1985-1986 1993-1994 2000 2018-2019 Top

The early Metropolitan Police District

This map is part of an illustration within the Reform Bill, and shows the boundaries of some of the Divisions of the Metropolitan Police in 1837.

The first Divisions were created in a period between September 1829 and May 1830.

21 September 1829

The first six Divisions were formed. The new recruits were sometimes referred to collectively as ‘companies’, using familiar military terms. Their first patrols were on the evening of Friday 25 September 1829. They made use of some watch houses formerly occupied by parish constables, and occupied a number of other buildings that were taken into use as police stations.
A Whitehall	Headquarters at Great Scotland Yard 2 Gardiner’s Lane (from mid-1830; King Street from 1847)

B Westminster (2nd company)	New Way, Tothill Street Roberts Buildings, Ebury Square (Gerald Road from 1845)
C St James’s	10 Little Vine Street Dean Street, Soho Greek Street Great Marlborough Street
D Marylebone	Marylebone Lane 5 Little Harcourt Street, Marylebone Later John Street
E Holborn	George Street, St Giles (Hunter Street from 1837). Kings Cross Battle Bridge 5th and 6th Companies
F Covent Garden	34 Bow Street

19 December 1829

M Southwark

(11th Company)

4-5 Southwark Bridge Road

Guildford Street

10 February 1830 G Finsbury	Bagnigge Wells, Clerkenwell Rosoman’s Street, Clerkenwell Featherstone Street, St Luke’s
H Whitechapel	Chapel Yard / 29 Church Street Spitalfields Denmark Street, St George’s East
K Stepney	Arbour Square (from 1841) Mile End Road, Mile End Old Town Corner Devon’s Lane, Bromley, St Leonard (Bow) Bethnal Green Newby Place, Poplar Green Bank, Wapping King David Lane, Shadwell
L Lambeth	10 Tower Street, Waterloo Road, Lambeth High Street, Old Lambeth Christchurch, Blackfriars Road

12 February 1830 (also reported as 1 April)

S Hampstead

52 Albany Street, Regents Park

Phoenix Street, Somers Town

Junction Place, Kentish Town

52 Salisbury Street, Portman Market

Heath Street (or Holly Place) Hampstead

10 April 1830

N Islington

Islington Green

Kingsland Road, facing Robinson’s Row (Hoxton)

Robert Street, Hoxton

Jerusalem Square, off Well St Hackney, and from 1832, Church Street Old Tower, later renamed Mare Street - opposite side of St Johns church yard to where later larger station built)

Stoke Newington, corner of Lordship Road

13 May 1830

P Camberwell

(13^th company)

Park House, East Lane, Walworth

Camberwell Green

Brixton Washway

Christchurch watch house, off Blackfriars Road

R Greenwich

1 Orchard Lane. Blackheath Road (from 1836)

Paradise Street, Rotherhithe

T Kensington

(16^th company)

1 Church Court, Kensington

Church Place, Paddington

Brook Green, Hammersmith

Front Street, Old Brentford (near the Cage)

Acton

Chiswick

V Wandsworth

The Plain, Wandsworth

Clapham Common, near the new church

1-2 Milman’s Row, Chelsea

The external boundaries of the Metropolitan Police District were largely drawn through rural areas, approximately seven miles distant from Charing Cross. London was far smaller in those days, and some Divisions, with headquarters near central London, extended to rural villages. The horse patrols from Bow Street operated for the first ten years of the Metropolitan Police, their duties including combatting highway robberies suffered by travellers journeying to and from the capital city.

1839

The Metropolitan Police Act 1839 introduced changes that brought Thames Division and the Bow Street horse patrols into the Metropolitan Police organisation, and enabled areas not more than 15 miles distant from Charing Cross to be included. The Order in Council giving effect to these additions to the MPD was made in January 1840 (National Archives ref: MEPO2/76), the list including places that may not have had police stations at the time. Some local authority / parish areas were not necessarily wholly within the MPD.

K Division	Barking, Dagenham, East Ham, Great & Little Ilford, Loughton, West Ham, Woodford /Woodford Bridge, Chadwell
N Division	Edmonton, Enfield, Tottenham, Chigwell, Chingford, Leyton, Cheshunt, Waltham Cross, Walthamstow, Wanstead
P Division	Lewisham, Addington, Banstead, Croydon, Carshalton, Cheam, Mitcham, Sutton, Merton, Morden, Wallington
R Division	Beckenham, Bexley, Bromley, Chislehurst, Crayford, Downe, Eltham, Erith, Farnborough, Footscray, Hayes (Kent), Keston, Orpington / St Mary Cray, Plumstead, Charlton, Woolwich
S Division	Finchley, Hendon, Willesden, Edgware, Barnet, Stone bridge (Harlesden), Edgware Road (8 mile stone), Chipping Barnet (later High Barnet), Bushey, South Mimms, Aldenham, Shenley, Elstree, Totteridge
T Division	Harrow, Hanwell, Greenford, Pinner, Hillingdon, Uxbridge, Ruislip, Staines, Feltham, Isleworth, Ashford, Cowley, West Drayton, Hayes, Shepperton
V Division	Wimbledon, Epsom, Kingston, Hook, Chessington, Ditton, Hampton, Sunbury, Mortlake, Ewell, Richmond, Worcester Park, Merton, Lower Tooting, Barnes, Twickenham

Rotherhithe was part of M (Southwark) Division in 1839. A station at Hermitage Street Paddington was part of D Division in 1841.

Divisions in 1860s 1880-1896 1903-1920 1921-1929 1931-1933 1946-1958 1965 1985-1986 1993-1994 2000 2018-2019