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rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of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

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

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, covering an area in the south-west of the county.

History

Hambleden Rural District had its origins in the

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

Poor Law Union, which had been created in 1835. The poor law union was mostly in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

but included one parish in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

and three parishes in Buckinghamshire. Poor law unions formed the basis for

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 ...

s when they were created in 1872, with the area becoming the Henley Rural Sanitary District, administered by the

board 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 ...

for the poor law union, which was based at the Union Workhouse on West Hill in Henley. 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 on 28 December 1894, and where sanitary districts straddled county boundaries they were split to create separate rural districts for the parts in each county. The Hambleden Rural District was therefore created covering the three Buckinghamshire parishes from the Henley Rural Sanitary District. The Oxfordshire part of the old rural sanitary district became

Henley Rural District Henley was a rural district in Oxfordshire, England from 1894 to 1974.Remenham Remenham is a village and civil parish on the Berkshire bank of the River Thames opposite Henley-on-Thames in southern England. It is particularly well known for the steep approach, known as Remenham Hill or White Hill (due to the chalky nature ...

) was added to

Wokingham Rural District Wokingham Rural District was a rural district in the county of Berkshire, England. It was created in 1894. It was named after and administered from Wokingham Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, west of London, southea ...

. Hambleden Rural District Council held its first meeting on 1 January 1895 at the workhouse in Henley, when William Dalziel Mackenzie of Fawley Court was appointed the first chairman.

Parishes

The district comprised the three

civil parishes 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. ...

of: * Fawley *

Hambleden Hambleden is a small village and civil parish in south-west Buckinghamshire, England. The village is around west of Marlow, and around north-east of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. The civil parish also includes the villages of Fingest and ...

Medmenham Medmenham () is a village and civil parish in south-west Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the River Thames, about southwest of Marlow and east of Henley-on-Thames. The parish also includes Danesfield, a housing estate predominantly for RAF ...

Premises

For its first few meetings, the council met at the workhouse or at its clerk's office in Henley. From April 1895 onwards it generally met at the Institute in Hambleden. Administrative functions were carried out at Bank Chambers, 12 Hart Street, Henley, which was the office of the solicitor who acted as clerk to the council.

Abolition

The district was abolished by 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 ...

in 1934, the parishes being added to the

Wycombe Rural District Wycombe Rural District was, from 1894 to 1974, a rural district in the administrative county of Buckinghamshire, England. Origins The district had its origins in the Wycombe Poor Law Union, which had been created in 1835, covering High Wycombe ...

References

{{History of local government districts in Buckinghamshire History of Buckinghamshire Local government in Buckinghamshire Districts of England created by the Local Government Act 1894 Rural districts of England