Penge was a civil parish and a local government district located to the southeast of London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England. It included the settlements of Penge

Penge

Penge is a suburb of London in the London Borough of Bromley. It is located south east of Charing Cross.-History:Penge was once a small town, which was recorded under the name Penceat in a Saxon deed dating from 957...

, Anerley

Anerley

Anerley is a district of South London, England, located in the London Borough of Bromley. It is situated south south-east of Charing Cross. Anerley is geographically an outer lying area of London, although it is considered to have characteristics of an Inner city suburb...

 and part of Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace, London

Crystal Palace is a residential area in south London, England named from the former local landmark, The Crystal Palace, which occupied the area from 1854 to 1936. The area is located approximately 8 miles south east of Charing Cross, and offers impressive views over the capital...

. It was part of the London postal district

London postal district

The London postal district is the area in England, currently of , to which mail addressed to the LONDON post town is delivered. The area was initially devised in 1856 and throughout its history has been subject to periodic reorganisation, contraction and division into increasingly smaller postal...

, Metropolitan Police District

Metropolitan Police District

The Metropolitan Police District is the police area which is policed by London's Metropolitan Police Service. It currently consists of Greater London, excluding the City of London.-History:...

 and, from 1933, the London Passenger Transport Area.

Penge was a detached hamlet of the ancient parish of Battersea in the Brixton

Brixton (hundred)

Brixton Hundred or the Hundred of Brixton was an ancient hundred in the north east of the county of Surrey, England. Its area has been entirely absorbed by the growth of London; with its name currently referring to the Brixton district...

 hundred of Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

. Battersea became part of the area administered by the Metropolitan Board of Works

Metropolitan Board of Works

The Metropolitan Board of Works was the principal instrument of London-wide government from 1855 until the establishment of the London County Council in 1889. Its principal responsibility was to provide infrastructure to cope with London's rapid growth, which it successfully accomplished. The MBW...

 in 1855 and the main part of the parish was grouped into the Wandsworth District

Wandsworth District (Metropolis)

Wandsworth was a local government district within the metropolitan area of London, England from 1855 to 1900. It was formed by the Metropolis Management Act 1855 and was governed by the Wandsworth District Board of Works, which consisted of elected vestrymen.Until 1889 the district was in the...

 whilst Penge became part of the Lewisham District

Lewisham District (Metropolis)

Lewisham was a local government district within the metropolitan area of London, England from 1855 to 1900. It was formed by the Metropolis Management Act 1855 and was governed by the Lewisham District Board of Works, which consisted of elected vestrymen....

. In 1866 it became a civil parish in its own right, forming part of the County of London

County of London

The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government Act 1888. The Act created an administrative County of...

 from 1889.

In 1900 the local government arrangements in the County of London were reformed by the London Government Act 1899

London Government Act 1899

The London Government Act 1899 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the administration of the capital. The Act divided the County of London into 28 metropolitan boroughs, replacing the 41 parish vestries and District Boards of Works administering the area...

. Provision was made for Penge to be combined with either the Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell

Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell

Camberwell was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in the County of London. The borough was created in 1900 by the London Government Act 1899, covering the area of the ancient parish of Camberwell...

 or the Metropolitan Borough of Lewisham

Metropolitan Borough of Lewisham

The Metropolitan Borough of Lewisham was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London between 1900 and 1965, when it became part of the London Borough of Lewisham along with the Metropolitan Borough of Deptford.-History:...

 in the County of London, or to form an urban district

Urban district

In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....

 in the counties of Surrey or Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

. The County Borough of Croydon

County Borough of Croydon

Croydon was a local government district in north east Surrey, England from 1849 to 1965.-History:A local board of health was formed for the parish of Croydon St John the Baptist in 1849. On March 9, 1883 the town received a charter of incorporation to become a municipal borough...

 would have made it an exclave of the administrative county

Administrative counties of England

Administrative counties were a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government from 1889 to 1974. They were created by the Local Government Act 1888 as the areas for which county councils were elected. Some large counties were divided into several administrative...

 of Surrey, and in the event it was transferred to Kent as an urban district.

In 1965 the urban district was abolished by the London Government Act 1963

London Government Act 1963

The London Government Act 1963 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which recognised officially the conurbation known as Greater London and created a new local government structure for the capital. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the area,...

 and its former area was transferred to Greater London

Greater London

Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...

, to be combined with that of other districts to form the present-day London Borough of Bromley

London Borough of Bromley

The London Borough of Bromley is a London borough of south east London, England and forms part of Outer London. The principal town in the borough is Bromley.-Geography:...

.