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rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of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

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 1974. It was named after Ely, but did not include the city itself, instead covering the rural area to the west and north of it. It formed part of 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 the

Isle of Ely The Isle of Ely () is a historic region around the city of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. Between 1889 and 1965, it formed an administrative county. Etymology Its name has been said to mean "island of eels", a reference to the creatures that ...

from 1894 to 1965, when this was merged into Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely.

History

The district had its origins in the Ely Poor Law Union, which had been created in 1836, covering Ely and several surrounding parishes. In 1872 sanitary districts were established, 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. The Ely Rural Sanitary District therefore covered the area of the poor law union except for Ely itself, which already had a

local board of health Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environmenta ...

and so formed its own urban sanitary district. The Ely Rural Sanitary District was administered from Ely Union Workhouse, which had been built in 1837 on Cambridge Road in Ely. 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. The act also specified that rural sanitary districts which straddled county boundaries should be split into separate rural districts for the part in each county. Whilst most of the Ely Rural Sanitary District was in the Isle of Ely, it also contained Redmere, a small parish in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

which had a population of about 40. An inquiry was held and it was decided to amend the county boundary to transfer Redmere from Norfolk into the Isle of Ely. In the event the change of county boundary did not take effect until 30 September 1895, a few months after Ely Rural District had come into being, and Redmere was therefore briefly a rural district on its own. However, the act allowed for such small rural districts to be temporarily administered by the district from which they had been separated, as long as separate accounts were kept. In practice therefore, Redmere Rural District was an accounting distinction; it was always administered by Ely Rural District. Ely Rural District Council held its first meeting on 3 January 1895 at the workhouse, when James Luddington of Littleport, a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

, was appointed the first chairman of the council. In 1974 Ely Rural District was abolished, and its area made part of the new

East Cambridgeshire East Cambridgeshire (locally known as East Cambs) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. Its council is based in Ely. The population of the District Council at the 2011 Census was 83,818. The district was formed on 1 April 19 ...

district of

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

Parishes

The district comprised the parishes of: * Coveney *

Downham Downham is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It borders the London Borough of Bromley, and is located north of Bromley and south of Catford. Downham was named in honour of Lord Downham, who was ...

Grunty Fen Grunty Fen was a former parish in Cambridgeshire, England, four miles south west of Ely. It was amalgamated with Wilburton parish in 1933. History Grunty Fen consists of the low-lying land at the centre of the Isle of Ely that separates the v ...

* Haddenham * Littleport *

Mepal Mepal is a village in Cambridgeshire, England. Mepal is part of the East Cambridgeshire district, and is located just north of the A142 road between Ely and Chatteris. History First recorded at the start of the 13th century Mepal's history ha ...

*Redmere (abolished 1933 and absorbed into Littleport) *

Stretham Stretham Locally, the is a glottal stop: or even is a village and civil parish south-south-west of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England, about by road from London. Its main attraction is Stretham Old Engine, a steam-powered pump used to drain ...

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , in 2015 had a population of 24,340 ...

Wentworth Wentworth may refer to: People * Wentworth (surname) * Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth (1873–1957), Lady Wentworth, notable Arabian horse breeder * S. Wentworth Horton (1885–1960), New York state senator * Wentworth Miller (born 1 ...

Wilburton Wilburton is a small village of just over 1,000 inhabitants, situated in Cambridgeshire, England. It is 6 miles south west of Ely. While nominally an agricultural village, many of the inhabitants work in Cambridge, Ely or London. History Wil ...

Witcham Witcham is a small village near Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. The village is surrounded by fenland farms and has a village hall and a 13th-century church dedicated to St Martin. It has a pub called the White Horse, which was the winner of t ...

Witchford Witchford is a village and civil parish about west of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,385. History Anglo-Saxon cemetery When the site of RAF Witchford was being cleared a bulldozer drive ...

Statistics

Premises

The council continued to meet at the workhouse, later called Tower House, until the late 1940s. Tower House became Tower Hospital following the creation of the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

in 1948, after which the council moved its meeting place to the council chamber at its neighbour Ely Urban District Council's offices at 6 Lynn Road in Ely. From the early 1920s until the council's abolition in 1974, Ely Rural District Council's staff were based at offices at 11 Lynn Road in Ely.

References

{{Reflist Districts of England created by the Local Government Act 1894 Districts of England abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 History of Cambridgeshire Ely, Cambridgeshire Rural districts of England