Horspath & Local Authority Areas

Since 1974 Horspath has been within the South Oxfordshire District Council area. Before that date Horspath was in Bullingdon Rural District. Here is a description of the various changes to local authorities boundaries.

Bullingdon Rural District
Bullingdon was a rural district in Oxfordshire, England from 1932 to 1974.
It was created under a County Review Order, as a merger of Culham Rural District, Thame Rural District, part of Crowmarsh Rural District, part of Headington Rural District, and part of Henley Rural District.
In 1974 it was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972. It now forms part of the South Oxfordshire district

Henley Rural District
Henley was a rural district in Oxfordshire, England from 1894 to 1974.
It was named after the borough of Henley-on-Thames, which it surrounded on the west but did not include.
It was created by the Local Government Act 1894 from the bulk of the Henley rural sanitary district, with three Buckinghamshire parishes forming a Hambleden Rural District.
The year 1932 saw the district change borders significantly, by annexing Goring Rural District and some of the disbanded Crowmarsh Rural District, whilst losing other parts to the new Bullingdon Rural District.
It was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 in 1974, and now forms part of the South Oxfordshire district.

Crowmarsh Rural District
Crowmarsh was a rural district in Oxfordshire, England from 1894 to 1932.
It was created under the Local Government Act 1894 from the part of the Wallingford "rural sanitary district" in Oxfordshire. The remainder of the sanitary district was in Berkshire and became the Wallingford Rural District. Crowmarsh Rural District continued to be administered from Wallingford, with meetings held in the workhouse in the town.
The district was abolished in 1932 under a County Review Order, being split between the existing Henley Rural District and the new Bullingdon Rural District. Since 1974 the entire area has been part of the district of South Oxfordshire, which also includes Wallingford & District.

Culham Rural District
Culham was a rural district in Oxfordshire, England from 1894 to 1932. It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 from the part of the Abingdon Rural Sanitary District in the administrative county of Oxfordshire. The remainder of the sanitary district, in the administrative county of Berkshire, became Abingdon Rural District. The rural district council continued to be based at Abingdon, holding meetings in the workhouse of the Poor Law Union.

Headington Rural District
Headington was a rural district in Oxfordshire, England from 1894 to 1932, based on the Headington "rural sanitary district". It covered an area to the east of the city of Oxford. The parish of Headington was split out as a separate urban district in 1927.
It was abolished under a County Review Order in 1932 following the Local Government Act 1929. Most went to form part of Bullingdon Rural District, with the parish of Horton cum Studley/Studley going to the new Ploughley Rural District

South Oxfordshire
South Oxfordshire is a local government district in Oxfordshire, England. Its council is based in Crowmarsh Gifford, just outside Wallingford.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, from the municipal boroughs of Henley-on-Thames and Wallingford, Thame urban district, and Wallingford Rural District, Bullingdon Rural District and Henley Rural District. The Wallingford parts were previously part of the administrative county of Berkshire.

Local Government Acts 1894, 1929 and 1972

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 under the Local Government Act 1888. The 1894 legislation introduced elected councils at district and parish level.
The principal effects of the act were:

• The creation a system of urban and rural districts with elected councils. These along, with the town councils of municipal boroughs created earlier in the century, formed a second tier of local government below the existing county councils.
• The establishment of elected parish councils in rural areas.
• The reform of the boards of guardians of poor law unions.

Local Government Act 1929
The Local Government Act 1929 (19 & 20 Geo V c.17) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made changes to poor law and local government in England and Wales.
The Act abolished the system of poor law unions in England and Wales and their boards of guardians, passing their powers to local authorities. It also gave county councils increased powers over highways, and made provisions for the restructuring of urban and rural districts as more efficient local government areas.

Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 (1972 c. 70) is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974.
Its pattern of two-tier metropolitan and non-metropolitan county and district councils remains in use today in large parts of England, although the metropolitan county councils were abolished in 1986, and both county and district councils were replaced with unitary authorities in many areas in the 1990s.
Elections were held to the new authorities in 1973, and they acted as "shadow authorities" until the handover date. Elections to county councils were held on 12 April, for metropolitan and Welsh districts on 10 May, and for non-metropolitan district councils on 7 June.