Limehurst was, from 1894 to 1954, 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rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of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 ...

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 ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England.

History

Ashton-under-Lyne

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 ...

was created in 1872 and included parishes in both

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

and Lancashire.F A Youngs Jr., ''Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England'', Volume II: Northern England, London, 1991 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 ...

redesignated rural sanitary districts as rural districts, and where they crossed county boundaries they were generally divided. Accordingly, the area of Ashton RSD was divided with the Lancashire parishes forming Limehurst Rural District and the Cheshire parishes becoming

Tintwistle Rural District Tintwistle Rural District was a local government district in north east Cheshire, England from 1894 to 1974.urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

s in 1914, 1935 and 1951. In 1954 the district was abolished, with its area passing to five neighbouring towns.

Parishes

The rural district originally consisted of seven

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

: *

Alt Alt or ALT may refer to: Abbreviations for words * Alt account, an alternative online identity also known as a sock puppet account * Alternate character, in online gaming * Alternate route, type of highway designation * Alternating group, mathema ...

* Bardsley *

Crossbank Crossbank is an area of Lees, a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, the name Crossbank is thought to derive from the days of the Knights Templar when a cross was etched ...

* Hartshead * Little Moss * Waterloo * Woodhouses Six of the parishes formed an area bounded to the north by

Failsworth Failsworth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and south-west of Oldham. The orbital M60 motorway skirts it to the east. The population at the 2011 census was 2 ...

and

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

and to the south by

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...

Mossley Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, southeast of Oldham and east of Manchester. The historic counties of Lancashire, Cheshire ...

and

Droylsden Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester city centre and west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in the ...

. The parish of Crossbank formed an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

, lying to the north of

Lees Urban District Lees (or Lees Urban District) was from 1894 to 1974, a local government district in the administrative county of Lancashire, England. It was created an urban district in 1894 by the Local Government Act 1894 and included the civil parish of Le ...

Contraction and abolition

The rural district was altered as follows: *The County of Lancaster (Lees and Crossbank) Confirmation Order 1914 abolished the parish of Crossbank and transferred its area to

. *The parish of Hartshead was transferred to the Borough of Ashton-under-Lyne in 1935. *In 1951 the Oldham Extension Act 1950 transferred to the

County Borough of Oldham Oldham was, from 1849 to 1974, a local government district in the northwest of England coterminous with the town of Oldham. History Improvement Commissioners Oldham was anciently a township in the large ecclesiastical parish of Prestwich-cum-O ...

*On abolition in 1954 the rural district was divided between the Borough of Ashton-under-Lyne (1,154 acres), County Borough of Oldham (1,052 acres), Failsworth Urban District (606 acres), Droylsden Urban District (235 acres) and the Borough of Mossley (37 acres).

References

{{coord, 53.46, -2.17, display=title, region:GB, format=dms Districts of England created by the Local Government Act 1894 History of Lancashire Rural districts of England