Newport Pagnell Urban District was a local government district 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 ...

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 1897 to 1974.

Origins

When parish and district councils were established in December 1894 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 ...

, the parish of Newport Pagnell was included in the

Newport Pagnell Rural District Newport Pagnell was a rural district in the administrative county of Buckinghamshire, England, from 1894 to 1974, covering an area in the north-east of the county. History The district had its origins in the Newport Pagnell Poor Law Union, ...

, which was administered from the workhouse at 1 London Road in Newport Pagnell. Shortly after the new districts were established, the process began for making the parish of Newport Pagnell its own

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 ...

, which came into effect on 1 October 1897. The short-lived Newport Pagnell Parish Council was therefore replaced by Newport Pagnell Urban District Council, which held its first meeting on 2 October 1897 at the town's Reading Room at 58 High Street, which had also been the meeting place of the parish council. William Rogers Chantler was appointed the first chairman of the council.

Premises

Within a couple of weeks of its creation, the new council decided to take a lease of the Reading Room at 58 High Street. The building was adapted to serve as office accommodation for the council's staff as well as being its meeting place. The building was formally re-opened as the council's offices on 3 May 1898. In 1912 the council vacated 58 High Street, moving next door to a large house at 60 High Street, which was purchased for £1,000. The council remained at 60 High Street until 1969, when it moved to a house called Lovat Bank at 37 Silver Street, which had previously been used as a Territorial Army centre. The council remained at Lovat Bank until its abolition in 1974.

Abolition

Newport Pagnell Urban District was abolished under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, becoming part of the

Borough of Milton Keynes A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

on 1 April 1974. Initially, no

successor parish Successor parishes are civil parishes with a parish council, created in England in 1974. They replaced, with the same boundaries, a selected group of urban districts and municipal boroughs: a total of 300 successor parishes were formed from the ...

was created for the former urban district, and so it became an

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparish ...

, governed directly by Milton Keynes Borough Council. A Newport Pagnell parish was re-established in 1985.

References

{{History of local government districts in Buckinghamshire History of Buckinghamshire Local government in Buckinghamshire History of Milton Keynes Districts of England abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 Districts of England created by the Local Government Act 1894 Urban districts of England