| AdminHistory | The various Libraries Acts that were passed in the nineteenth century enabled vestries to apply to the Local Government Board to take over the appointment, duties and liabilities of the Public Library Commissioners. The first Libraries Act was passed in 1850, but for a long time the powers it conferred remained more theoretical than real, and many local authorities did not make use of them until the 1890s. A ballot of the St Mary Stratford Bow ratepayers on whether to adopt the 1892 Public Libraries Act took place in April 1896, the result being an overwhelming majority in favour of the idea. A public appeal for money to meet construction costs was made in 1899, and with further financial assistance from J. Passmore Edwards the Library was opened in Roman Road on 6 November 1901; by this time the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar had come into existence and this acted as the parent authority to the Library. |