Poplar was a local government district in London. It was formed as a district of the Metropolis in 1855 and became a metropolitan borough in the County of London in 1900.
Poplar Town Hall stood in Bow Road and was designed by Culpin & Son in 1937. It is now a listed building.
In 1921, the Borough Council led by George Lansbury, and the Poor Law Union were engaged in a dispute with the London County Council over poor law rates. The Borough wished to pay out of work people more than usually permitted and get wealthier West End boroughs to contribute. Several councillors were imprisoned briefly in relation to this.
In 1951 Poplar was chosen to be the site of the ’Exhibition of Live Architecture’. The East End had been heavily bombed and its reconstruction was showcased by the new Lansbury Estate.
