Whitechapel was a local government

Local government

Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...

 district within the metropolitan area 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 from 1855 to 1900. It was formed by the Metropolis Management Act 1855

Metropolis Management Act 1855

The Metropolis Management Act 1855 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the Metropolitan Board of Works, a London-wide body to co-ordinate the construction of the city's infrastructure. The Act also created a second tier of local government consisting of parish vestries...

 and was governed by the Whitechapel District Board of Works, which consisted of elected vestrymen.

Until 1889 the district was in the county of Middlesex

Middlesex

Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

, but included in the area of 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 1889 the area of the MBW was constituted 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...

, and the district board became a local authority under the London County Council

London County Council

London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...

.

Area

The district comprised the following civil parishes:

• Mile End New Town
  Mile End New Town
  Mile End New Town is a former hamlet within the East End of London. Its area is now part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.Following a period of rapid growth it became a hamlet within the large ancient parish of Stepney from 1690, and was split off as a separate ecclesiastical parish in 1841...
  
  
• Liberty of Norton Folgate
  Liberty of Norton Folgate
  Norton Folgate or Liberty of Norton Folgate may refer to:* Norton Folgate, a street in central London* Liberty of Norton Folgate, an ancient administrative area in central London...
  
  
• Old Artillery Ground
  Old Artillery Ground
  The Old Artillery Ground is an area of land in Spitalfields, London formerly designated one of the Liberties of the Tower of London and Crown Land....
  
  
• St Botolph without Aldgate (also known as East Smithfield)
• Spitalfields
• Whitechapel

Abolition

The district was abolished in 1900 and became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney

Metropolitan Borough of Stepney

The Metropolitan Borough of Stepney was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London created in 1900. In 1965 it became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.-Boundaries:...

.