St Neots Rural District

52°16′N 0°16′W / 52.26°N 0.26°W / 52.26; -0.26 St Neots was a rural district in Huntingdonshire, England from 1894 to 1974, around the northern and eastern sides of the urban area of St Neots.

Position within Huntingdonshire

The district had its origins in the St Neots Rural Sanitary District. This had been created under the Public Health Acts of 1872 and 1875, giving public health and local government responsibilities for rural areas to the existing Boards of Guardians of Poor Law Unions.[1]

Under the Local Government Act 1894, Rural Sanitary Districts became Rural Districts from 28 December 1894, and rural sanitary districts which straddled county boundaries were to be split so that separate rural districts were created for the parts in each county. Generally, the Huntingdonshire part of the St Neots Rural Sanitary District became the St Neots Rural District, whilst the Bedfordshire part became the Eaton Socon Rural District. As an exception to this rule, the Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire County Councils agreed that the parish of Swineshead, despite being in Huntingdonshire, would be included in the Eaton Socon Rural District as it was surrounded by Bedfordshire parishes. Similarly, the parish of Tilbrook in Bedfordshire was included in the St Neots Rural District as it formed a long salient sticking out from Bedfordshire into territory almost surrounded by Huntingdonshire.[2] The county boundary was changed two years later to match the boundary which had been agreed for the Rural Districts, with Swineshead becoming part of Bedfordshire and Tilbrook part of Huntingdonshire on 30 September 1896.[3][4][5][6][7]

St Neots Rural District was expanded in 1935 by taking in Covington parish from the disbanded Thrapston Rural District.

In 1965 Huntingdonshire and the Soke of Peterborough merged to form Huntingdon and Peterborough.

In 1974 the district was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 and became part of the non-metropolitan district of Huntingdon, subsequently renamed Huntingdonshire. A small area was transferred to Bedfordshire.

Parishes[8] edit

Parish From To Notes
Abbotsley
Buckden
Catworth
Covington 1935 Previously in Thrapston RD
Diddington
Eynesbury Hardwicke From 1894-1895 part of a single Eynesbury parish.
Includes a part detached from the rest of the district
Grafham
Great Gransden
Great Paxton
Great Staughton
Hail Weston
Kimbolton
Little Paxton
Midloe 1935 See Southoe and Midloe
Offord Cluny
Offord D'Arcy
Perry
Southoe and Midloe 1935 Merger of Southoe & Midloe
Southoe 1935
St Neots Rural From 1894-1895 part of a single St Neots parish
Stow Longa
Tetworth
Tilbrook In Bedfordshire until 30 September 1896.
Toseland
Waresley
Yelling

References edit

  1. ^ Higginbotham, Peter (2021). "St Neots Poor Law Union". The Workhouse. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  2. ^ St. Neots Union and Rural Sanitary District, Bedfordshire Times and Independent (Bedford), 1 December 1894, page 5
  3. ^ Parishes of Swineshead and Tilbrook, Bedfordshire Times and Independent (Bedford), 22 February 1896, page 4
  4. ^ A Transfer of Parishes, Bedfordshire Times and Independent (Bedford), 14 March 1896, page 6
  5. ^ Beds Quarter Sessions: Alterations in the County Boundary, Bedfordshire Times and Independent (Bedford), 4 July 1896, page 6
  6. ^ Annual Report of the Local Government Board 1896-1897. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1897. p. 269. Retrieved 19 August 2021. The Local Government Board's Provisional Orders Confirmation (No. 13) Act, 1896
  7. ^ "Swineshead". Bedfordshire Archives and Records Service. Bedford Borough Council. 22 June 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  8. ^ "St Neots RD through time: Census tables with data for the Local Government District". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 11 June 2017.