Marston Sicca was, from 1894 to 1931, 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rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of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 ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

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 ...

. The district formed part of a salient of Gloucestershire nearly surrounded by

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

and

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

. In 1931 the boundaries of the three counties were adjusted. The rural district was abolished and its area transferred to Warwickshire.

Formation

The rural district was created by 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 ...

from the part of Stratford on Avon Rural Sanitary District in Gloucestershire. The remainder of Stratford RSD became Stratford-on-Avon Rural District in Warwickshire. The rural district was governed by a directly elected rural district council (RDC), which replaced the rural sanitary authority that had comprised the

poor law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

guardians Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Uni ...

for the area. Marston Sicca RDC continued to hold its meetings in the offices of Stratford Poor Law Union, outside the district.

Parishes

The district comprised six

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: *

Clifford Chambers Clifford Chambers is a village and former civil parish two miles south of Stratford-upon-Avon town centre, in Warwickshire, England. It is on the B4632 road and one mile south of the A3400. It consists of 150 houses and the population of the par ...

Dorsington Dorsington is a village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, England. Dorsington was in Gloucestershire until 1931, when it was transferred to Warwickshire. It is located 2¾ miles west of Milcote rail ...

* Marston Sicca *

Preston on Stour Preston on Stour is a village and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. History It is situated some four kilometres south of the town of Stratford-upon-Avon. The population of the civil parish as at the 2011 census was 244. As its name sugges ...

Welford-on-Avon Welford-on-Avon is a village situated some west-south-west of Stratford-upon-Avon in the county of Warwickshire, England. The population was measured at 1,420 in the 2011 census. Until 1931, Welford-on-Avon was in Gloucestershire (as part of ...

Weston-on-Avon Weston-on-Avon is a village in Warwickshire, England. The population of the Civil Parish taken at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 170. It is about south-west of the town of Stratford-upon-Avon. History Originally in Gloucester ...

Abolition

In February 1930

Warwickshire County Council Warwickshire County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Warwickshire in England. Its headquarters are located at Shire Hall, Market Square, in centre of the county town of Warwick. Politically the county is ...

made an application under the

Local Government Act 1888 Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

for an alteration of the county's boundary. The council sought to annex the entire Marston Sicca RD along with the parishes of

Admington Admington is a village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of the English county of Warwickshire. The name Admington means "estate associated with a man called Æthelhelm" and the village is referred to in the Domesday Book as '' ...

and Quinton in the neighbouring Campden Rural District. Following the coming into force of the

Local Government Act 1929 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 board ...

later in the year, county councils gained the power to adjust boundaries by negotiation, subject to ministerial approval. Following a public inquiry in

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

, the

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

approved a scheme to transfer parishes between Gloucestershire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire in December 1930. The alterations required the promotion of a private parliamentary bill, which was approved by the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

in February 1931, and came into force on 1 April 1931. The six parishes were transferred to Warwickshire and to Stratford Rural District.

References

{{Reflist Districts of England created by the Local Government Act 1894 History of Gloucestershire Rural districts of England