Editing Stepney (section)

====Break-up of the ancient parish====
The rapid growth in population meant that over time the parish was broken up. Hackney is thought to have become independent in the 12th century, [[Whitechapel]] in the 14th and [[Bromley-by-Bow|Bromley]] in the 16th. Some sub-divisions for instance those that form [[Bethnal Green]], [[Bow, London|Bow]] and [[Poplar, London|Poplar]] are known to have been based on pre-existing hamlets forming new daughter parishes. Such parish divisions were unusual and required an act of Parliament.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}

From 1819 the rump of Stepney consisted of three hamlets; Mile End New Town (which was detached from the rest), Ratcliffe and Mile End Old Town (which included St Dunstan's church). This residual parish was {{convert|830|acres}} in extent.<ref name=early>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22731|author=T.F.T. Baker|year=1998|title=Stepney: Early Stepney, A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green}}</ref> 
[[File:Stepney Civil Parish Map 1870.png|thumb|left|upright 1.2|A map showing the 1870 boundaries of parishes which had been split from Stepney (excluding Hackney)]]

Until 1837, the boundaries of English civil and Church of England ecclesiastical boundaries were identical, but after that the Church of England sub-divided its parishes to suit local needs and circumstances, especially in densely populated areas such as Stepney, and the civil and ecclesiastical boundaries differed from that point on. By 1890 the ancient parish was divided between 67 ecclesiastical parishes (a number later greatly reduced) which had little relation to the civil parish boundaries.

In 1866 the rump civil parish of Stepney came to an end when its three component hamlets (Mile End New Town, Ratcliff and Mile End Old Town) became independent civil parishes.