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Woolwich, also known as Woolwich St Mary, was an ancient parish containing the town of Woolwich on the south bank of the River Thames and North Woolwich on the north bank. The parish was governed by its vestry from the 16th century to 1852, based in the Church of St Mary until 1842, after which in the purpose-built Woolwich Town Hall. The parish adopted the Public Health Act 1848 (11 & 12 Vict. c. 63) and was governed by the Woolwich Local Board of Health from 1852. When the parish became part of the district of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 the local board was treated as if it were an incorporated vestry. It was in the county of Kent until it was transferred to London in 1889. In 1900 it was amalgamated with other parishes to form the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich and had only nominal existence until it was abolished as a civil parish in 1930. Since 1965 it has been split between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Newham.
The parish became part of the Greenwich Poor Law Union in 1836 and then the Woolwich Poor Law Union from 1868.
Woolwich was added to the Registrar General definition of the London Metropolis in 1837, appearing in the weekly tables of mortality from 1840. The parish was added to the Metropolitan Police District in 1840.
The vestry built a town hall, now known as the Old Town Hall in 1842.
The parish adopted the Public Health Act 1848 (11 & 12 Vict. c. 63) and a local board was formed in 1852, consisting of eighteen elected members and three nominated members.The Practical Statutes of the Session, Great Britain, William Paterson, (1852), Law Times Office
In 1855 the parish was included in the district of the Metropolitan Board of Works. It was an anomaly amongst metropolitan parishes, having a local board of health, and this was treated as if it were an incorporated vestry.The Metropolis local management acts, Great Britain, Shaw, (1863)
Following the Local Government Act 1888, the parish was transferred from the Kent to the County of London in 1889.
Elsewhere in England, following the Local Government Act 1894, local boards of health became urban district councils. The Woolwich Local Board of Health continued to exist until 1900 when, as part of the provisions of the London Government Act 1899, the parish was combined with Eltham and Plumstead to form the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich.
The parish continued to exist for election of a board of guardians, but was abolished for this purpose in 1930. The parishes in the Borough of Woolwich were then combined into a single parish.
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