Editing West Ham (section)

===Initial administrative response to urbanisation===
In 1840 the parish was included in the Metropolitan Police District soon after the built-up area of London had encompassed much of West Ham.

It had become apparent that local government in the parish of West Ham was not adequate to meet the needs of the area which was divided between the parish vestry, [[highway district|highway board]] and the Havering and Dagenham Commissioners of Sewers. Problems centred on provision of adequate paving, water supply, fire fighting and control of development. In 1853 a group of ratepayers initiated moves to improve local administration. This led to a public enquiry by [[Charles Dickens]]' brother Alfred, a medical officer, who published a report in 1855 severely critical of conditions in the slum areas.<ref name=charter/>

Accordingly, the [[Public Health Act 1848]] ([[11 & 12 Vict.]] c. 63) was applied to the parish, and a [[local board of health]] was formed in 1856. The board had 15 members: 12 elected and 3 nominated by the Commissioners of Sewers.<ref name="vch">{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42758 |title=West Ham – Local government and public services |access-date=2008-06-22 |editor=W R Powell  |year=1973 |work=A History of the County of Essex, Vol.6 }}</ref>

West Ham was included in the [[London postal district]], established in 1857, but not in the statutory metropolitan area established in 1855 or the County of London established in 1889. Instead, administrative reform was undertaken in the area in much the same way as a large provincial town. A local board was formed in 1856 under the [[Public Health Act 1848]] ([[11 & 12 Vict.]] c. 63).

In November 1878 the inhabitants of the parish decided to petition the [[privy council]] for a [[royal charter|charter]], incorporating the town as a [[municipal borough]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=24651 |date=29 November 1878 |page=6695 }}</ref>
This was in reaction to proposals to enlarge the area governed by the [[Metropolitan Board of Works]] to include adjoining districts with a population of 50,000 or more: the primary aim of incorporation was to prevent the inclusion of West Ham in an enlarged London municipality.<ref name=charter/> This initial application was unsuccessful. However, encouraged by the 1883 incorporation of [[County Borough of Croydon|Croydon]], a second petition was submitted in May 1885.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=25472 |date=22 May 1885 |page=2366 }}</ref> Following an inquiry in October 1885, a scheme for the creation of the borough and dissolution of the board of health was made in June and the charter was granted in July 1886.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=25596 |date=11 June 1886 |pages=2797–2798  }}</ref><ref name=incorp>{{cite news |title=The Incorporation Of West Ham |newspaper=[[The Times]] |date=23 June 1886 |page=6 }}</ref>  A corporation consisting of a [[mayor]], 12 [[alderman|aldermen]] and 36 councillors replaced the board, with the first elections held on 1 November.<ref name=charter/> The first mayor was John Meeson, head of a local lime burning and cement making firm, and a former chairman of West Ham Local Board.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newhamstory.com/node/1090 |title=John Meeson, first Mayor of West Ham, 1886-7 |work=The Newham Story |publisher=Newham Council |access-date=3 November 2009 }}</ref>