Atherstone Rural District was located 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 ...

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-Avo ...

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 ...

, from 1894 to 1974. It was named after its main town and administrative headquarters of

Atherstone Atherstone is a market town and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Located in the far north of the county, Atherstone is on the A5 national route, and is adjacent to the border with Leicestershire w ...

. Over the years the district gained territory on the abolition of neighbouring rural districts. In 1932, it gained part of

Nuneaton Rural District Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth in northern Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire and West Midlands County.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneato ...

and in 1965 it gained most of

Tamworth Rural District Tamworth was a rural district in the English Midlands from 1894 to 1965. It was created under the Local Government Act 1894 from Tamworth rural sanitary district, and was one of a handful of rural districts to cross county boundaries, with par ...

. As with all rural districts, Atherstone RD was abolished in 1974 (by 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 ...

) and was merged with part of the

Meriden Rural District The Meriden Rural District was a rural district of Warwickshire, England, which existed between 1894 and 1974. It was named after the village of Meriden. Various boundary changes occurred to the district over the years. It gained area from t ...

to form the new

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''shire counties'') in a two-tier arrangement. Non- ...

North Warwickshire North Warwickshire is a local government district with borough status in the ceremonial county of Warwickshire, West Midlands, England. Outlying settlements in the borough include the two towns of Atherstone (where the council is based) and ...

Civil parishes

Over the eighty years of its existence, the rural district contained the following

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 authorit ...

es: * Ansley *

* Austrey (from 1965)† *

Baddesley Ensor Baddesley Ensor is a village and civil parish in the district of North Warwickshire in Warwickshire, England, about three miles west of Atherstone. It runs into the village of Grendon, which forms a parish itself. History There were mining ...

* Baxterley *

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, Nort ...

* Caldecote (from 1932)‡ * Dordon (created 1948 from part of Polesworth CP) * Grendon *

Hartshill Hartshill is a large village and civil parish in North Warwickshire, England, 2.5 miles (4 km) north-west of the town of Nuneaton. The parish borders the district of Nuneaton and Bedworth at the south, the North Warwickshire district parishes ...

* Kingsbury (from 1965)† * Mancetter *

Merevale Merevale is a small village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England. Located about one and a half miles west of Atherstone, it is the site of a medieval Cistercian Abbey (founded in 1148) a ...

Newton Regis Newton Regis is a village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25,000) : It has a population of 599 at the 2011 Census. History The history of Newton Regi ...

(from 1965)† * Oldbury *

Polesworth Polesworth is a large village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Polesworth is situated close to the northern tip of Warwickshire, adjacent to the border with Staffordshire. It is east of Tamworth, an ...

Seckington Seckington is a village and civil parish in North Warwickshire, about northeast of Tamworth. The B4593 road between Tamworth and Appleby Magna runs through the parish, passing about north of the village. Seckington shares a parish council wi ...

(from 1965)† *

Shuttington Shuttington is a village and civil parish in North Warwickshire, England, situated north-east of Tamworth, Staffordshire.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : In the 2001 census, the parish, which also includes Alvecote, ...

(from 1965)† † previously in Tamworth Rural District ‡ previously in Nuneaton Rural District

External links

Visionofbritain
– Used as reference. {{coord, 52.57, -1.55, type:adm3rd_dim:25000_region:GB-WAR, display=title History of Warwickshire Districts of England abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 Districts of England created by the Local Government Act 1894 Atherstone Rural districts of England