Amersham Rural District was a rural 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 ...

of Buckinghamshire,

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, covering an area in the south-east of the county.

Origins

The district had its origins in the Amersham Poor Law Union, which had been created in 1835, covering Amersham itself and several surrounding parishes. In 1872 sanitary districts were established, giving public health and local government responsibilities for rural areas to the existing boards of guardians of poor law unions. The Amersham Rural Sanitary District therefore covered the area of the poor law union except for the town of Beaconsfield, which had an urban authority and so became its own urban sanitary district.

Chesham Chesham (, , or ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, south-east of the county town of Aylesbury, north-west of central London, and part of the London commuter belt. It is in the Chess Valley, surrounded by farmla ...

was subsequently made its own urban sanitary district in 1884, removing it from the Amersham Rural Sanitary District. The Amersham Rural Sanitary District was administered from Amersham Union Workhouse, which had been built in 1838 on Whielden Road in Amersham. 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 Amersham Rural District Council held its first meeting on 3 January 1895 at the workhouse. George Weller of Amersham was appointed the first chairman of the council.

Civil parishes

The parishes were originally: * Amersham *

Ashley Green Ashley Green is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. The parish is on the boundary with Hertfordshire, midway between Chesham and Berkhamsted. Originally a hamlet within Chesham parish, its toponym is derived from the Old Eng ...

(created 1897 from part of Chesham) *

Chalfont St Giles Chalfont St Giles is a village and civil parish in southeast Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts, which also includes Chalfont St Peter and Little Chalfont. It lies on the edge of the Chiltern Hills, we ...

* Chalfont St Peter *

Chartridge Chartridge is a village in Buckinghamshire, England situated 2 miles North West of Chesham. Chartridge is also the name of a civil parish in Chiltern District which also includes the village of Bellingdon and the hamlets of Pednor, Hundridge an ...

(created 1899 from part of Chesham) *

Chenies Chenies is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the border with Hertfordshire, east of Amersham and north of Chorleywood. History Until the 13th century, the village name was Isenhampstead. There were two ...

Chesham Bois Chesham Bois (traditionally , but now more commonly ) is a village in the Chiltern Hills, in Buckinghamshire, England, adjacent to both Amersham and Chesham. History Initially a hamlet in the parish of Chesham, the manor was assessed at 1½ hi ...

Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards is a civil parish in the Chiltern district of the English county of Buckinghamshire. It lies in the Chiltern Hills just to the north of Chesham, on the boundary with Hertfordshire. It comprises the hamlet of Buckla ...

(created 1934 from 4 parishes plus parcels of land previously in Aylesbury Rural District) * Coleshill *

Great Missenden Great Missenden is an affluent village with approximately 2,000 residents in the Misbourne Valley in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England, situated between the towns of Amersham and Wendover, with direct rail connections to London Mar ...

* Latimer (created 1899 from part of Chesham) *

Little Missenden Little Missenden is a village and civil parish on the River Misbourne in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, about southeast of Great Missenden and west of Amersham. The village lies on the River Misbourne in the Misbourne v ...

(until 1930) * Penn *

Seer Green Seer Green is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, east-north-east of Beaconsfield and south-west of Chalfont St Giles. History The toponym "Seer" is derived from the Norman French for "dry o ...

The Lee The Lee (formally known as just Lee) is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, about 2 mi north east of Great Missenden and 3 mi south east of Wendover. The Lee is also the name of a civil parish ...

Premises

The council was initially based at the workhouse on Whielden Road, continuing to meet there until the 1930s. In 1931 the council purchased Elmodesham House at 42 High Street in Amersham for £3,300, converting it to become their offices and meeting place. The premises at Elmodesham House were officially opened on 8 October 1931. The council remained based at Elmodesham House until its abolition in 1974.

Abolition

Amersham Rural District was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972, merging with neighbouring Chesham Urban District to become

Chiltern District Chiltern District was one of four local government districts of Buckinghamshire in south central England from 1974 to 2020. It was named after the Chiltern Hills on which the region sits. The main towns in the district were Amersham and Chesh ...

. The former Amersham Rural District Council offices at Elmodesham House subsequently served as the main offices of Chiltern District Council until 1986, when the council moved to a purpose-built office on King George V Road in Amersham. Elmodesham House has subsequently been converted into flats.

References

History of local government in Buckinghamshire
{{History of local government districts in Buckinghamshire Amersham Districts of England created by the Local Government Act 1894 Districts of England abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 History of Buckinghamshire Local government in Buckinghamshire Rural districts of England