Eaton Socon was a

rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of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

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

from 1894 to 1934. The district had its origins in the

St Neots St NeotsPronunciation of the town name: Most commonly, but variations that ''saint'' is said as in most English non-georeferencing speech, the ''t'' is by a small minority of the British pronounced and higher traces of in the final syllable ...

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 ...

. This had been created under the

Public Health Acts Public Health Act is a stock short title used in the United Kingdom for legislation relating to public health. List *The Public Health Act 1848 (11 & 12 Vict c 63) *The Sanitary Act 1866 (29 & 30 Vict c 90) is sometimes called the Public Health Ac ...

of 1872 and 1875, giving public health and local government responsibilities for rural areas to the existing

Boards of Guardians Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the poor ...

of Poor Law Unions. 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 ...

, 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 Bedfordshire part of the St Neots Rural Sanitary District became the Eaton Socon Rural District, whilst the

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...

part became the St Neots 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 Tilbrook is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Tilbrook lies approximately west of Huntingdon, near Covington. Tilbrook is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as b ...

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. 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. The link with the Poor Law Union continued, with all the elected councillors of both Eaton Socon and St Neots Rural District Councils being ''ex officio'' members of the St Neots Board of Guardians. The Rural District Council generally met at the St Neots Union Workhouse on St Neots Road in Eaton Socon. The rural district comprised a thin strip of land along the north-eastern edge of Bedfordshire, containing 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 authority ...

es: Eaton Socon Rural District was abolished under a

County Review Order The Local Government Act 1929 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 boar ...

being merged into the Bedford Rural District on 1 April 1934. The council's final meeting was held on 29 March 1934 at the offices of the clerk to the council, John Adams Ennals, at New Street in St Neots. He had served as clerk to the council throughout its 39-year existence, whilst the last chairman, William Bailey, had been chairman for 24 years.Eaton Socon Rural Council’s Farewell, ''Bedfordshire Times and Independent'' (Bedford), 6 April 1934, page 3 Most of the area now forms part of the

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

district in Bedfordshire, apart from part of Eaton Socon parish (including the village itself) which was transferred to become part of the town of

St. Neots St NeotsPronunciation of the town name: Most commonly, but variations that ''saint'' is said as in most English non-georeferencing speech, the ''t'' is by a small minority of the British pronounced and higher traces of in the final syllable ...

in 1965.

References

{{Bedfordshire administrative county History of Bedfordshire Districts of England created by the Local Government Act 1894 Rural districts of England Local government in Bedfordshire