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rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of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

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 ...

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 1974. It surrounded but did not include the town of

Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. The place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest known record of it is as ...

History

The district had its origins in the Witney Poor Law Union, which had been created in 1835, covering the town of Witney and surrounding parishes. A workhouse was built in 18351836 on Tower Hill (then called Razor Hill) in Witney to serve the area. In 1872,

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 were established, with responsibility for public health and local government given to the

boards 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 ...

of poor law unions for areas without urban authorities. The Witney Rural Sanitary District therefore covered the area of the Witney Poor Law Union except for the parish of Witney itself, which was a

local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...

and so formed its own urban sanitary district. 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 from 28 December 1894. The act also directed that districts should not straddle county boundaries. Whilst the Witney Rural Sanitary District was entirely in Oxfordshire, the neighbouring

Faringdon Faringdon is a historic market town in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England, south-west of Oxford, north-west of Wantage and east-north-east of Swindon. It extends to the River Thames in the north; the highest ground is on the Rid ...

Rural Sanitary District straddled

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 ...

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 ...

, and Oxfordshire. It was therefore agreed before the act came into force that five Oxfordshire parishes from the Faringdon Rural Sanitary District would be added to the Witney Rural District. Witney Rural District Council held its first meeting at the workhouse in Witney on 3 January 1895. Robert Lowridge Baker, vicar of

Ramsden Ramsden may refer to: ;Places: *Ramsden, Orpington, England *Ramsden, Oxfordshire, England, a village and civil parish * Ramsden, Worcestershire, England, a hamlet *Ramsden Park, Toronto, Canada *Ramsden (crater), on the Moon * 8001 Ramsden, an as ...

, was appointed the council's first chairman.

Premises

Until at least the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the council was based at the Witney Union Workhouse on Tower Hill. It later used various premises in Witney as its offices, including Blanket Hall at 100 High Street between the 1920s and 1950s, and Hillside at 6 Market Square in the 1950s and 1960s. Around 1966 the council moved to a large Victorian house called Springfield at 39 Woodgreen in Witney, remaining based there until the council's abolition in 1974.

Abolition

Witney Rural 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 ...

, with the area becoming part of

West Oxfordshire West Oxfordshire is a local government district in northwest Oxfordshire, England, including towns such as Woodstock, Burford, Chipping Norton, Charlbury, Carterton and Witney, where the council is based. Area The area is mainly rural downland ...

on 1 April 1974. West Oxfordshire District Council continues to be based at Springfield, although the building is now simply called Council Offices, Woodgreen.

References

{{reflist History of Oxfordshire Districts of England created by the Local Government Act 1894 Districts of England abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 Rural districts of England