Dunmow Rural District

51°51′58″N 0°22′16″E / 51.866°N 0.371°E / 51.866; 0.371

Dunmow
Rural district

Former Dunmow Union Workhouse, Chelmsford Road, Great Dunmow
Area
 • 1971[1]29,463 hectares (72,805 acres)
Population
 • 1901[2]15,705
 • 1971[1]23,674
History
 • Created28 December 1894
 • Abolished31 March 1974
 • Succeeded byUttlesford
StatusRural district
 • HQGreat Dunmow

Dunmow Rural District was a rural district in Essex, England, from 1894 to 1974, covering Great Dunmow and surrounding parishes. It was abolished in 1974 to become part of the new Uttlesford district.

History

The district had its origins in the Dunmow Poor Law Union, which had been created in 1835 for a group of parishes to collectively deliver their responsibilities under the poor laws. A workhouse to serve the union was completed in 1840 on Chelmsford Road in Great Dunmow, designed by George Gilbert Scott.[3][4]

In 1872, sanitary districts were established. In rural areas, public health and local government responsibilities were given to the existing boards of guardians of poor law unions. Rural sanitary districts were reconstituted as rural districts with their own elected councils with effect from 28 December 1894, under the Local Government Act 1894. The link with the poor law union continued in that all the rural district councillors were thereafter ex officio members of the board of guardians. Dunmow Rural District Council held its first official meeting on 29 December 1894. John Barnabas Frankham, a farmer from Little Canfield who was already the chairman of the board of guardians, was elected as the first chairman of the rural district council.[5] He held the post until his death in 1922.[6]

In its early years, the rural district council met at the workhouse at Great Dunmow.[7] By 1956 the council had established its main offices at a converted early 19th century house at 46 High Street in the centre of Dunmow, remaining there until the council's abolition.[8][9][10]

There was a review of boundaries in 1934, which saw Dunmow Rural District cede the parishes of Bardfield Saling and Great Bardfield to Braintree Rural District, but gain the parishes of Great Hallingbury and Little Hallingbury from the disbanded Stansted Rural District.[11]

The rural district was abolished in 1974. The area became part of the new non-metropolitan district of Uttlesford.[12][13]

Parishes

The civil parishes in Dunmow Rural District were:[11]

References

  1. ^ a b "1971 Census of England and Wales: County Report Part 1". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  2. ^ "Dunmow Rural District: Total Population". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  3. ^ Higginbotham, Peter. "Dunmow, Essex". The Workhouse. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  4. ^ Historic England. "The Close (Grade II) (1323791)". National Heritage List for England.
  5. ^ "Dunmow Rural District Council, Dec. 29". Essex Herald. Chelmsford. 1 January 1895. p. 5. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  6. ^ "County Alderman's Death: Mr. J. B. Franklin, J.P." Essex Chronicle. Chelmsford. 14 July 1922. p. 2. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  7. ^ Kelly's Directory of Essex. 1914. p. 203. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  8. ^ "Dunmow Rural District Council: Audit of Accounts". Herts and Essex Observer. Bishop's Stortford. 27 April 1956. p. 2. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  9. ^ Historic England. "46 High Street (Grade II) (1142484)". National Heritage List for England.
  10. ^ "Plan TL 6221-6321". National Library of Scotland. Ordnance Survey. 1972. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  11. ^ a b "Dunmow Rural District". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  12. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
  13. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 31 May 2023
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.