Topic summary
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 districts in the remaining rural areas of poor law unions.
Each district was governed by a local board of health, which was responsible for various public health matters such as providing clean drinking water, sewers, street cleaning, and clearing slum housing.
In England and Wales both rural and urban sanitary districts were replaced under by the Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) by the more general rural districts and urban districts. A similar reform was carried out in Ireland in 1899 under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898.