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rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of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

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

from 1894 to 1974. It initially surrounded but did not including the town of

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

, which was a separate

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

. It gradually ceded territory to other districts, and by the time of its abolition in 1974 the district comprised three separate pieces of land, lying to the north-west, north-east, and south of Watford.

Evolution

Watford Poor Law Union had been created in 1835 following the

Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 The ''Poor Law Amendment Act 1834'' (PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey. It completely replaced earlier legislation based on the ''Poor Relief ...

. Under the

Public Health Act 1872 In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

sanitary districts 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 ...

were created, and 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 were made responsible for public health and local government for any part of their district not included in an urban authority. The Watford Rural Sanitary District therefore covered the area of the Watford Poor Law Union except for the town of Watford, which had a

local board Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environmenta ...

. 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. Several parts of Watford Rural District were later removed from it by the creation of new urban districts: Rickmansworth in 1898, Bushey in 1906, and Chorleywood in 1913. The district also ceded territory to Watford itself on several occasions.

Parishes

Watford 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 authority ...

es:

Premises

Until 1904 the council held its meetings at the Watford Union Workhouse at 60 Vicarage Road (which later became Watford General Hospital). From 1904 the council met instead at Watford Place at 27 King Street, which was the office of the solicitor who acted as clerk to the council. Other office functions were carried out at various addresses within Watford, including 9 Market Street (from at least 1901 to 1930), 7 Church Street (1930 to 1937) and 25 King Street, immediately adjoining Watford Place (1932 to 1947). In 1947 the council consolidated its offices and meeting place at Wynyard House, 99 Langley Road, Watford, a large house which had previously been

Wynyard School Wynyard School was a boarding school in Watford, Hertfordshire, England. It was attended by C.S. Lewis (from September 1908 until June 1910) and his brother Warren. Lewis, C. S., ''They Stand Together: The Letters of C. S. Lewis to Arthur Gree ...

, a boarding school. The council remained at Wynyard House until its abolition.

Abolition

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 ...

the Watford Rural District was abolished in 1974; its territory was split, with the parish of

Aldenham Aldenham is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, north-east of Watford and southwest of Radlett. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book and is one of Hertsmere's 14 conservation areas. The village has eight pre-19th-century listed build ...

going to

Hertsmere Hertsmere is a local government district and borough in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Borehamwood. Other settlements in the borough include Bushey, Elstree, Radlett and Potters Bar. The borough borders the three north London ...

, the part of

Abbots Langley Abbots Langley is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Hertfordshire. It is an old settlement and is mentioned (under the name of Langelai) in the Domesday Book. Economically the village is closely linked to Watford and was f ...

within the designated area of

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a ne ...

New Town going to

Dacorum The Borough of Dacorum is a local government district in Hertfordshire, England that includes the towns of Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted, Tring and Kings Langley. The district, which was formed in 1974, had a population of 137,799 in 2001. Its ...

, and the remainder to Three Rivers.

References

{{Reflist History of Hertfordshire Districts of England created by the Local Government Act 1894 Districts of England abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 Rural districts of England History of Watford Local government in Hertfordshire

Evolution

Parishes

Premises

Abolition

See also

References