| Rural district | |
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 Map of Rural Districts of England in 1971 (named in italic capitals), alongside Administrative Counties, County Boroughs, Municipal Boroughs, Urban Districts | |
| Category | Local government district |
| Location | England and Wales andIreland |
| Found in | Administrative county |
| Created by | Local Government Act 1894 Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 |
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| Abolished by | |
| Abolished |
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| Government |
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Arural district was a type oflocal government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century inEngland,Wales, andIreland for the administration of predominantlyrural areas at a level lower than that of theadministrative counties.
InEngland and Wales rural districts were created in 1894 by theLocal Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) along withurban districts. They replaced the earlier system ofsanitary districts (themselves based onpoor law unions, but not replacing them).
Each rural district had an electedrural district council (RDC), 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 aseducation and majorroads were the responsibility ofcounty councils.
Until 1930 the rural district councillors were alsopoor law guardians for theunions of which they formed part. Eachparish 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 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 theLocal 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 anurban district or amunicipal borough). A good example of this isMelton and Belvoir Rural District, which surrounded the town ofMelton Mowbray. Some rural districts were fragmented, consisting of a number ofdetached parts, such asWigan Rural District. 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 andCrowland 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 theLocal Government Act 1972) and were typically merged with nearby urban districts or boroughs to form "districts", which included both urban and rural areas.
SeeRural districts formed in England and Wales 1894–1974 for the districts created in 1894;List of rural and urban districts in England, andList of rural and urban districts in Wales for a list of rural districts at abolition in 1974.
Rural districts were created inIreland in 1899 under theLocal Government (Ireland) Act 1898. They were subdivided intodistrict electoral divisions.
In 1921,Ireland was partitioned withNorthern Ireland remaining within the United Kingdom, and the rest of the country leaving as theIrish Free State in 1922. In the Irish Free State, rural districts outside ofCounty Dublin were abolished in 1925 under theLocal Government Act 1925 amid widespread accusations ofcorruption. Their functions were transferred to the county councils[2] The remaining rural districts in County Dublin were similarly abolished in 1930 by theLocal Government (Dublin) Act 1930.[3] The former boundaries of the rural districts in theRepublic of Ireland continue to be used for statistical purposes and defining constituencies.[4][5]
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 unitarydistricts.
Rural districts also existed in the Canadian province ofNewfoundland to govern certain rural communities. Under Newfoundland'sLocal Government Act, rural districts and towns together formed the province's municipalities.[6] Under theMunicipalities Act, effective April 1, 1980, rural districts where abolished and automatically turned into towns.[7]
