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23-601: Buntingford Rural District was a rural district in Hertfordshire , England from 1894 to 1935, covering the town of Buntingford and a number of surrounding parishes in the north-east of the county. Buntingford Poor Law Union had been created in 1835 following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 , centred on the small town of Buntingford. A workhouse was built in Buntingford to serve the union, opening in 1837. Under

46-566: 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

69-399: A number of rural districts created in 1894 that had small and irregular areas. There were also a few areas where parishes in one county were administered by a rural district council in another. Section 46 of the act provided for a review of districts in each administrative county in England and Wales, with a view to forming more effective areas for administrative purposes. The process involved

92-773: The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 . They were subdivided into district electoral divisions . In 1921, Ireland was partitioned with Northern Ireland remaining within the United Kingdom, and the rest of the country leaving as the Irish Free State in 1922. In the Irish Free State, rural districts outside of County Dublin were abolished in 1925 under the Local Government Act 1925 amid widespread accusations of corruption . Their functions were transferred to

115-565: The Local Government Act 1972 ) and were typically merged with nearby urban districts or boroughs to form " districts ", which included both urban and rural areas. See Rural districts formed in England and Wales 1894–1974 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. Rural districts were created in Ireland in 1899 under

138-507: The Ministry of Transport . Urban district councils continued to be in charge of unclassified roads in their areas. The 1929 act sought to solve a problem that had arisen in the existing scheme of local government, with administrative counties divided into many small urban and rural districts. Some urban districts had a population of just a few hundred and did not have the resources to deliver modern local government services. Similarly, there were

161-640: The National Assistance Board and the National Health Service . The Metropolitan Asylums Board was also abolished, and the London County Council became responsible for its institutions. County councils gained increased powers as the ultimate highway authority for all roads in the county. They acquired direct responsibility for all roads in the charge of rural district councils , as well as retaining control of roads classified by

184-629: The Public Health Act 1872 sanitary districts were created, and the boards of guardians of poor law unions were made responsible for public health and local government for any part of their district not included in an urban authority. As the Buntingford Poor Law Union had no urban authorities, the Buntingford Rural Sanitary District covered the same area as the Buntingford Poor Law Union, and both were governed by

207-477: The Buntingford Board of Guardians. Under the Local Government Act 1894 , rural sanitary districts became rural districts from 28 December 1894. The link with the poor law union continued, with all the elected councillors of the rural district council being ex officio members of the Buntingford Board of Guardians. The new district council held its first meeting on 3 January 1895, when the former chairman of

230-527: The Minister of Health, was able to report that the process was nearly completed. The last order, affecting districts in the West Riding of Yorkshire , came into effect on 1 April 1938. In the counties of Radnorshire and Rutland no changes were made to the existing structure. The effects of the review orders made in the period 1932–1938 on the county districts was as follows: The act did not allow for

253-485: The abolition of municipal boroughs , so a number of small boroughs continued in existence. This power was later incorporated in the Local Government Act 1958 . At the same time as reorganising rural districts, many parishes within them were also amalgamated. It was originally envisioned that reviews would be carried out every ten years, but the intervention of the Second World War and legislation in 1945 creating

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276-429: The act all boards of guardians for poor law unions were abolished, with responsibility for public assistance transferred to public assistance committees of county councils and county boroughs . The local authorities took over infirmaries and fever hospitals, while the workhouses became public assistance institutions. Later legislation was to remove these functions from the control of councils to other public bodies:

299-471: The administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties . In England and Wales rural districts were created in 1894 by the Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) along with urban districts . They replaced the earlier system of sanitary districts (themselves based on poor law unions , but not replacing them). Each rural district had an elected rural district council (RDC), which inherited

322-554: The board of guardians, John Williamson Leader, was appointed the first chairman of the council. He held the post until his death in 1897. Buntingford Rural District contained the following civil parishes : The council met and had its offices at the Buntingford Union Workhouse, later known as Bridgefoot House. Under the Local Government Act 1929 the boards of guardians and poor law unions were abolished, and provisions were put in place allowing county councils to review

345-538: The county councils The remaining rural districts in County Dublin were similarly abolished in 1930 by the Local Government (Dublin) Act 1930 . The former boundaries of the rural districts in the Republic of Ireland continue to be used for statistical purposes and defining constituencies. In Northern Ireland, rural districts continued to exist until 1973 when they were abolished (along with all other local government of

368-477: The districts within their areas to form more effective areas for administrative purposes. Hertfordshire County Council had a number of relatively sparsely populated districts in the north and east of the county. It was decided to split Buntingford Rural District, with three parishes on the north-western edge of the district ( Rushden , Sandon and Wallington ) being transferred to Hitchin Rural District , whilst

391-533: 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 major 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

414-448: 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 is Melton and Belvoir Rural District , which surrounded the town of Melton Mowbray . Some rural districts were fragmented, consisting of a number of detached parts , such as Wigan Rural District . Some rural districts had

437-638: The old pattern) and replaced with a system of unitary districts . Rural districts also existed in the Canadian province of Newfoundland to govern certain rural communities. Under Newfoundland's Local Government Act , rural districts and towns together formed the province's municipalities. Under the Municipalities Act , effective April 1, 1980, rural districts where abolished and automatically turned into towns. Local Government Act 1929 The Local Government Act 1929 ( 19 & 20 Geo. 5 . c. 17)

460-588: The putting forward of a scheme by the county council to which objections or representations could be made before an order was made by the Minister of Health . All county councils were required to finalise schemes by 1 April 1932, although the period could be extended at the minister's discretion. The final submission was by Cheshire County Council on 1 July 1935. The first orders under the act were made in 1932, and in November 1936 Robert Hudson , Parliamentary Secretary to

483-521: The remainder of the Buntingford Rural District merged with the neighbouring Hadham Rural District to create a new district called Braughing Rural District . These changes took effect on 1 April 1935. Rural district A rural district was a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England , Wales , and Ireland for

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506-485: The sanitary districts and poor law unions which had preceded them. Gradual urbanisation over the following decades led 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 under the Local Government Act 1929 , 236 rural districts were abolished and merged or amalgamated into larger units. Further mergers took place over following decades and by 1965

529-571: Was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made changes to the Poor Law and local government in England and Wales . The act abolished the system of poor law unions in England and Wales and their boards of guardians, transferring their powers to local authorities. It also gave county councils increased powers over highways, and made provisions for the restructuring of urban and rural districts as more efficient local government areas. Under

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