In 1867, a
Local Board was formed for part of the
civil parish of
Hornsey. The rest of the parish was already under South Hornsey Local Board, formed in 1865. In 1894, under the
Local Government Act of that year,
Hornsey became an
urban district. In November 1903, it was incorporated as a
municipal borough. The corporation made two unsuccessful attempts to gain
county borough status in 1904 and 1915. The borough was part of the
London postal district and
Metropolitan Police District. The borough's
coat of arms, granted in 1904, featured two oak trees recalling the ancient forest that once covered the area and surviving remnants including
Queen's Wood,
Highgate Wood and
Coldfall Wood. The manor of Hornsey had at one time been held by the
Diocese of London and crossed swords, taken from the Diocese's arms, completed the design. The borough's motto was . One of the municipal borough's first significant projects was the opening of
Hornsey Cottage Hospital in 1910.
Hornsey Town Hall, built in 1933–35 and designed by
Reginald Uren, was widely admired for its clean, Modernist style and beautiful detailing, symbolising enlightened local government. However, since 2004 Haringey Council gradually removed municipal services from the building, and its increasing dereliction caused a local furore. In 1965, the municipal borough was abolished and its area was transferred to Greater London under the
London Government Act 1963. Hornsey's area was combined with the
Municipal Borough of Tottenham and the
Municipal Borough of Wood Green to form the present-day
London Borough of Haringey. ==References==