Rural district

Information about Rural district

Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties.

England and Wales

In England and Wales they were created in 1894 (by the Local Government Act 1894) along with urban districts. They replaced the earlier system of sanitary districts (themselves based on Poor Law Unions, but not replacing them).

Rural districts had elected Rural District Councils (RDCs), which inherited the functions of the earlier sanitary districts, but also had wider authority over matters such as local planning, council housing, and playgrounds and cemeteries. Matters such as education and roads were the responsibility of county councils.

Until 1930 the rural district councillors were also poor law guardians for the unions of which they formed part. Each parish was represented by one or more councillors.

Originally there were 787 rural districts in England and Wales, as they were based directly upon the sanitary districts and poor law unions which had preceded them. Gradual urbanisation over the following decades lead to some rural districts being redefined as urban districts or merging with existing urban districts or boroughs. Other rural districts proved to be too small or poor to be viable, and following the passing of the Local Government Act 1929, 236 rural districts were abolished and merged or amalgamated into larger units [1]. Further mergers took place over following decades and by 1965 the number of districts had been reduced to 473.

The typical shape of a rural district was a doughnut shaped ring around a town (which would be either an urban district or a municipal borough). A good example of this was Melton and Belvoir Rural District (map) which surrounded the town of Melton Mowbray. Rural districts might often be, or become fragmentary, consisting of a number of detached parts, such as Wigan Rural District (map). Some rural districts had a more rounded shape and had a small town or village as the administrative centre.

A few rural districts consisted of only one parish (for example, Tintwistle Rural District, Alston with Garrigill Rural District, South Mimms Rural District, King's Lynn Rural District, Disley Rural District and Crowland Rural District). In such districts there was no separate parish council, and the rural district council exercised its functions.

All rural districts in England and Wales were abolished in 1974 (by the Local Government Act 1972) and were typically merged with nearby urban districts or boroughs to form a uniform pattern of districts, which contained urban and rural areas.

See List of Rural Districts in England and Wales 1894 - 1930 for the districts created in 1894; List of rural and urban districts in England, and List of rural and urban districts in Wales for a list of rural districts at abolition in 1974.

Ireland

In Ireland, rural districts were created in 1898 by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. They were subdivided into District Electoral Divisions.

Following the division of Ireland, rural districts in the Irish Free State were abolished in 1925, by the Local Government Act 1925, amid widespread accusations of corruption. Their functions were transferred to the county councils[2] (in County Dublin they remained intact until 1930).[3] The former boundaries of the rural districts in the Republic of Ireland continued to be used for statistical purposes and definining constituences into the 1970s.[4]

In Northern Ireland, rural districts continued to exist until 1973 when they were abolished (along with all other local government of the old pattern) and replaced with a system of unitary districts.

See: List of rural and urban districts in Northern Ireland.

References

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Types of country subdivision
Contemporary
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Historical
Agency Barony Burgh Cantref City-State Commote Free Imperial City Hundred Imperial Circle Imperial province March Pargana Presidency Residency Riding Rural district Sanitary district (rural urban) Urban district Viscounty Viscountcy Boldface indicates a type used by ten or more countries; loanwords in italics.
Local governments are administrative offices that are smaller than a state or province. The term is used to contrast with offices that stand naked nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or (where appropriate) federal government.
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For the periodical, see .
The 19th Century (also written XIX century) lasted from 1801 through 1900 in the Gregorian calendar. It is often referred to as the "1800s.
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Motto
Dieu et mon droit   (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
No official anthem specific to England — the anthem of the United Kingdom is "God Save the Queen".
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Motto
Cymru am byth   (Welsh)
"Wales forever"
Anthem
"Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau"
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Ireland
Éire
Airlann <nowiki />

Northwest of continental Europe with Great Britain to the east.

Geography <nowiki/>
Location Western Europe <nowiki />
Archipelago
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Rural areas (also referred to as "the country", countryside) are sparsely settled places away from the influence of large cities. Such areas are distinct from more intensively settled urban and suburban areas, and also from unsettled lands such as outback, American Old West
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An administrative county was an administrative area in the United Kingdom and Ireland used for the purposes of local government.

History

England and Wales

Further information: Administrative counties of England

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England and Wales are both constituent countries of the United Kingdom, that together share a single legal system: English law. Legislatively, England and Wales are treated as a single unit (see State (law)) for the conflict of laws.
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1860s  1870s  1880s  - 1890s -  1900s  1910s  1920s
1891 1892 1893 - 1894 - 1895 1896 1897

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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Acts of Parliament of predecessor
states to the United Kingdom
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In the British Isles an urban district was a type of local government district which covered an urbanised area.
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Sanitary Districts were established in England and Wales in 1875 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures:
  • Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies
  • Rural sanitary districts

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A Poor Law Union was a unit used for local government in the United Kingdom from the 19th century. During this time, the administration of the Poor Law was the responsibility of parishes, which varied wildly in their financial resources and requirements.
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council house is a form of public housing found in Ireland and the United Kingdom, sometimes called social housing in modern times. Council houses were built and operated by local councils for the benefit of the local population.
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Education encompasses teaching and learning specific skills, and also something less tangible but more profound: the imparting of knowledge, positive judgment and well-developed wisdom.
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road is an identifiable route, way or path between two or more places.[1] Roads are typically smoothed, paved, or otherwise prepared to allow easy travel;[2]
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A County council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.

Britain and Ireland

England and Wales

In England and Wales, a county council
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Poor Law was the system for the provision of social security in operation in England and Wales from the 16th century until the establishment of the Welfare State in the 20th century. It was made up of several Acts of Parliament and subsequent Amendments.
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A Poor Law Union was a unit used for local government in the United Kingdom from the 19th century. During this time, the administration of the Poor Law was the responsibility of parishes, which varied wildly in their financial resources and requirements.
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civil parish (usually just parish) in England is a subnational entity forming the lowest unit of local government, lower than districts or counties. Civil parishes in their modern form were created in 1894, and although their origins are in the system of ecclesiastical
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Acts of Parliament of predecessor
states to the United Kingdom
Acts of English Parliament to 1601
Acts of English Parliament to 1641
Acts and Ordinances (Interregnum) to 1660
Acts of English Parliament to 1699
Acts of English Parliament to 1706
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1930s  1940s  1950s  - 1960s -  1970s  1980s  1990s
1962 1963 1964 - 1965 - 1966 1967 1968

Year 1965 (MCMLXV
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In the British Isles an urban district was a type of local government district which covered an urbanised area.
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Municipal boroughs were a type of local authority which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974.

The municipal boroughs were created by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 and allowed the creation of an elected town council, consisting of a mayor, aldermen and
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Melton and Belvoir Rural District was a rural district of Leicestershire, England, from 1935 to 1974.

It was formed in 1935 from the merger of the Melton Mowbray Rural District and the Belvoir Rural District, with part going to Melton Mowbray urban district also.
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Melton Mowbray

Melton Mowbray ()
|240px|Melton Mowbray (

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enclave is a country or part of a country mostly surrounded by the territory of another country or wholly lying within the boundaries of another country,[1] and an exclave is one which is geographically separated from the main part by surrounding alien territory.
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Wigan was a rural district in Lancashire, England from 1894 to 1974. It consisted of six parishes near Wigan - Dalton, Haigh, Parbold, Shevington, Worthington and Wrightington.
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Tintwistle Rural District was a local government district in north east Cheshire, England from 1894 to 1974. [1]

It was created a rural district by the Local Government Act 1894 from the part of the Ashton under Lyne rural sanitary district which was in Cheshire
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Alston Moor

Civil parish
Status: Civil Parish
Population: 2156
Administration
Primary council: Eden, Cumbria
Region: North West England

Politics
UK Parliament: Penrith and The Border
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