Rhayader was, from 1894 to 1974, 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rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of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 ...

Radnorshire , HQ = Presteigne , Government = Radnorshire County Council (1889–1974) Radnorshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin = , Status = historic county, administrative county , Start ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The district was formed 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 ...

, based on the existing Rhayader

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 ...

. The rural sanitary district had included the

Brecknockshire , image_flag= , HQ= Brecon , Government= Brecknockshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= Brycheiniog , Status= , Start= 1535 , End= ...

parish of

Llanwrthwl Llanwrthwl is a village and community in Powys, mid Wales, and the historic county of Brecknockshire. Llanwrthwl lies off the A470 road, north by road from Builth Wells and Newbridge-on-Wye and south of Rhayader. It lies on the River Wye and ...

, and this was administered by Rhayader Rural District Council until 1934, when it was transferred to

Builth Rural District Builth Wells (; cy, Llanfair-ym-Muallt) is a market town and community in the county of Powys and historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire), mid Wales, lying at the confluence of rivers Wye and Irfon, in the Welsh (or upper) part of t ...

. The rural district comprised nine

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: *

Abbey Cwmhir Abbeycwmhir or Abbey Cwmhir ( cy, Abaty Cwm Hir, "Abbey in the Long Valley") is a village and community in the valley of the Nant Clywedog in Radnorshire, Powys, Wales. The community includes the hamlet of Bwlch-y-sarnau. The Abbey The vill ...

*Cefnllys Rural *Llanbadarnfawr *Llanfihangel Helygen *Llansanffraid Cwmdeuddwr *

Llanyre Llanyre ( cy, Llanllŷr) is a village and electoral ward in Radnorshire, Powys, Wales. The community had a population of 1,061 in 2001, increasing to 1,141 at the 2011 Census. It includes the village of Newbridge-on-Wye. Location Llanyre is ...

Nantmel Nantmel is a village and a community in Radnorshire, Powys, Wales, and is 76.5 miles (123.1 km) from Cardiff and 150.5 miles (242.2 km) from London. In 2011 the population of Nantmel was 621 with 11.8% of them able to speak Welsh. The po ...

Rhayader Rhayader (; cy, Rhaeadr Gwy; ) is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, within the historic county of Radnorshire. The town is from the source of the River Wye on Plynlimon, the highest point of the Cambrian Mountains, and is locate ...

St Harmon St Harmon ( cy, Llanarmon) is a village in Radnorshire, Powys, Wales. The population of the Community at the 2011 census was 593. It is located on the Afon Marteg on the B4518 road running between Llanidloes and Rhayader. The parish church is ...

The district was abolished in 1974 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 ...

, which completely reorganised local administration in England and Wales. Its area became part of the District of Radnor in the new county of

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

References

{{coord, 52.300, -3.512, display=title, region:GB_scale:50000 Rural districts of Wales History of Radnorshire Radnorshire