Abingdon was a rural district in the

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until either 1973 (in Northern Ireland) or 2002 (in the Republic of Ireland). They are now abolished, although mos ...

of Berkshire from 1894 to 1974. It was formed under the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

based on that part of the Abingdon

rural sanitary district Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 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 dis ...

which was in Berkshire (the Oxfordshire part forming Culham Rural District). It nearly surrounded, but did not include, the

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

of Abingdon, and in the north was close to

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. The district was governed locally by the Abingdon Rural District Council which, in the 1960s, consisted of 35 members. The offices of the council were in Bath Street, Abingdon. It was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, and merged with other districts to form the new

Vale of White Horse The Vale of White Horse is a local government district of Oxfordshire in England. It was historically a north-west projection of Berkshire. The area is commonly referred to as the 'Vale of ''the'' White Horse'. It is crossed by the Ridgeway N ...

, which was in the new non-metropolitan county of Oxfordshire.

Civil parishes

The district contained the following

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

es during its existence:Frederic A Youngs Jr., ''Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England'', Volume I: Southern England, London, 1979

References

*http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit_page.jsp?u_id=10135140 {{coord , 51.68, -1.34, type:adm3rd_region:GB, display=title Rural District Districts of England abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 Former districts of Berkshire Districts of England created by the Local Government Act 1894 Rural districts of England History of Oxfordshire