Editing London Borough of Tower Hamlets (section)

===Administrative history===
The area of the modern borough had historically been part of the [[Hundred (county division)|hundred]] of [[Ossulstone]] in county of [[Middlesex]]. Ossulstone was subsequently divided into four divisions, one of which was the [[Tower Division]], also known as the Tower Hamlets, which covered a larger area than the modern borough, also including parts of [[London Borough of Hackney|Hackney]]. From at least the 17th century the Tower Division was a [[Liberty (division)|liberty]] with judicial and administrative independence from the rest of the county. The liberty appears to have arisen from much older obligations on inhabitants of the area to provide military service to the [[Constable of the Tower of London]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Middlesex and Hertfordshire Notes and Queries: Volume 4 |date=1898 |pages=35–36 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zAwOAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA35 |access-date=28 April 2024 |last1=Hardy |first1=William John }}</ref>

From 1856 the area was governed by the [[Metropolitan Board of Works]], which was established to provide services across the [[metropolis]] of London.<ref>[[Metropolis Management Act 1855]] (18 & 19 Vict. c. 120)</ref> In 1889 the Metropolitan Board of Works' area was made the [[County of London]]. From 1856 until 1900 the lower tier of local government within the metropolis comprised various [[List of London vestries and district boards|parish vestries and district boards]]. In 1900 the lower tier was reorganised into [[Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London|metropolitan boroughs]], including the [[Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green]], the [[Metropolitan Borough of Poplar]] and the [[Metropolitan Borough of Stepney]].<ref name=Youngs>{{cite book | first=Frederic |last=Youngs | title=Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England | volume=I: Southern England | year=1979 | publisher=[[Royal Historical Society]] | location=London | isbn=0-901050-67-9}}</ref><ref>[[London Government Act 1899]] (62 & 63 Vict. c. 14)</ref>

The modern borough was created in 1965 under the [[London Government Act 1963]]. It was a merger of the old boroughs of Bethnal Green, Poplar and Stepney, and was named Tower Hamlets after the historic liberty.<ref name=Youngs/>