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rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of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

with an area of in the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

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 ...

. In 1971 it had a population of 64,561 and an electorate of 43,911. At dissolution it was the most populous rural district council in Kent, but had once been larger, having lost territory when

Crayford Urban District Crayford was a local government district in north west Kent from 1920 to 1965 around the town of Crayford. As well as Crayford, it included Barnehurst, Barnes Cray and Slade Green. It was created an urban district in 1920 from part of Dartfor ...

was created in 1920, and Swanscombe Urban District in 1926. On 1 April 1974 it was split between the borough of

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

and the new district of

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter main line railway into London. Sevenoaks is from Charing Cross, the traditio ...

. The civil parishes of Ash-cum-Ridley, Eynsford, Eynsford-Crockenhill, Farningham, Fawkham, Hartley, Horton Kirby, Swanley, and West Kingsdown, all of which became part of Sevenoaks District, are sometimes still collectively referred to as the 'Northern Parishes'. Longfield civil parish originally went to Sevenoaks, but was transferred to Dartford Borough in 1987.The Kent (District Boundaries) Order 1987
/ref> At the time of its dissolution it consisted of the following 15

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. In 1971 it had 27 councillors who held office for 3 years. Elections for one-third of the seats were held every year. *

Ash-cum-Ridley Ash-cum-Ridley is a civil parish in the Sevenoaks (district), Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 7,070, reducing to 6,641 at the 2011 Census. The parish includes four main settlement ...

(1 councillor) *

Darenth Darenth is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located 3.4 miles south east of Dartford and 4.6 miles north east of Swanley. History The parish was part of Axstane Hundred and later Dartford Rural Dis ...

(2 councillors) * Eynsford (1 councillor) *Eynsford-

Crockenhill Crockenhill is a village in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located 1 mile south of Swanley and 4.5 miles north east of Orpington, adjacent to the Kent border with Greater London. Etymology Crockenhill is from Old English ''hyll'' ...

(1 councillor) *

Farningham Farningham is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located south-east of Swanley. It has a population of 1,314. History Farningham is believed to be home to Neolithic history – flint and other tools ha ...

(1 councillor) *

Fawkham Fawkham is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. Fawkham is defined as a hamlet by Sevenoaks District Council, with a population of 429. Fawkham is a low density, linear settlement along the bottom of a dry chalk ...

(1 councillor) * Hartley (1 councillor) *

Horton Kirby Horton Kirby is a village in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located 3.9 miles east of Swanley & 4.9 miles south of Dartford. Together with the nearby village of South Darenth, it forms the Horton Kirby and South Darenth civil p ...

(1 councillor) *

Longfield Longfield is a village in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located 6 miles south east of Dartford and the same distance south-west of Gravesend. History The place in Kent is recorded as ''Langanfelda'' in the Saxon Charters of ...

(1 councillor) *

Southfleet Southfleet is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Dartford in Kent, England. The village is located three miles southwest of Gravesend, while the parish includes within its boundaries the hamlets of Betsham and Westwood. Southfle ...

(1 councillor) *

Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

(4 councillors) * Sutton-at-Hone (2 councillors) *

Swanley Swanley is a town and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England, southeast of central London, adjacent to the Greater London boundary and within the M25 motorway periphery. The population at the 2011 census was 16,226. History I ...

(6 councillors) *

West Kingsdown West Kingsdown is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England, on the A20 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Swanley, 5.5 miles (9 km) northeast of Sevenoaks and from London. The Area The parish was part of Axsta ...

(1 councillor) * Wilmington (3 councillors)

References

{{coord , 51, 23, N, 0, 16, E, display=title Districts of England created by the Local Government Act 1894 Districts of England abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 History of Kent Borough of Dartford History of local government in London (1889–1965) Rural districts of England