Wolverton Urban District was a local government district in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

, England, from 1920 to 1974, covering the town of

Wolverton Wolverton is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, England. It is located at the northern edge of Milton Keynes, beside the West Coast Main Line, the Grand Union Canal and the river Great Ouse. It is the administrative seat of Wolverton and ...

and its environs, including the town of

Stony Stratford Stony Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Historically it was a market town on the important route from London to Chester ( Watling Street, now the A5). It is also the name of a civil parish with a town ...

. A district covering this area existed from 1894 to 1974, but was initially 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rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of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 a ...

called Stratford and Wolverton Rural District.A Vision of Britain – History of Stratford and Wolverton RD
/ref> It was redesignated an

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) (his ...

in 1919, briefly being called Stratford and Wolverton Urban District before being renamed Wolverton Urban District in 1920.A Vision of Britain – History of Stratford and Wolverton UD
/ref>A Vision of Britain – History of Wolverton UD
/ref>

History

The Stratford and Wolverton Rural District had its origins in the Potterspury Poor Law Union, which had been created in 1835. The poor law union was mostly in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It ...

but included four parishes in Buckinghamshire. Poor law unions formed the basis for

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 dis ...

s when they were created in 1872, with the area becoming the Potterspury Rural Sanitary District, administered by the

board 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 po ...

for the poor law union, which was based at the Union Workhouse in

Yardley Gobion Yardley Gobion ( ) is a village in the south of the English county of Northamptonshire off a by-pass of the A508 Northampton to Milton Keynes road. The village's name means 'rod wood/clearing', where they were made or acquired. Henry Gubyun h ...

. 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 on 28 December 1894, and where sanitary districts straddled county boundaries they were split to create separate rural districts for the parts in each county. The Stratford and Wolverton Rural District was therefore created covering the four Buckinghamshire parishes from the Potterspury Rural Sanitary District. The council held its first meeting on 3 January 1895 at the workhouse in

, when George Edward Willes, rector of Calverton, was appointed the first chairman. From February 1895 the council met in Stony Stratford. On 1 April 1919 a new parish of

New Bradwell New Bradwell is (mainly) an Edwardian era village, modern district and civil parish in north-west Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Together with Wolverton (on the other side of the West Coast Main Line), it was built primarily to house ...

was added to the district, having been created from part of the parish of Bradwell in the

Newport Pagnell Rural District Newport Pagnell was a rural district in the administrative county of Buckinghamshire, England, from 1894 to 1974, covering an area in the north-east of the county. History The district had its origins in the Newport Pagnell Poor Law Union, wh ...

. On the same day the Stratford and Wolverton Rural District was made an urban district. The five parishes then covered by the urban district therefore became urban parishes and so ceased to have separate parish councils and parish meetings, with the district council taking on the parish-level functions. The Stratford and Wolverton Urban District Council held its first meeting on 17 April 1919, at which meeting it resolved to request a change of name to Wolverton Urban District Council. The change of name took effect on 12 February 1920. In 1927, the parishes of Calverton, Stony Stratford East and Stony Stratford West were abolished and the Wolverton parish was extended to cover these areas. New Bradwell was abolished as part of a

county review order The Local Government Act 1929 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made changes to the Poor Law and local government in England and Wales. The Act abolished the system of poor law unions in England and Wales and their board ...

in 1934 and the area of the urban district and civil parish of Wolverton became coterminous. In 1967 the

new town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

was designated, with the Wolverton Urban District falling within the designated area. The Milton Keynes Development Corporation was established to oversee construction of the new town, and Wolverton Urban District Council lost its town planning responsibilities to the development corporation.

Parishes

The district initially consisted of the following civil parishes: * Calverton *

East * Stony Stratford West *

Premises

Prior to 1919, the rural district council generally met at St Mary's Parish Hall on London Road in Stony Stratford. On becoming an urban district in 1919, the meeting place was moved to the Wolverton Science and Art Institute on Church Street in Wolverton, before transferring to a room at the McCorquodale Printing Works in 1944. During this time the council's offices were accommodated in various premises around the district. A converted house at 122 Church Street in Wolverton served as the council's offices from 1932 to 1949, but did not have a room large enough for council meetings. In 1949 the council acquired the former White Hart public house at 8 Market Square in the centre of Stony Stratford, which had been most recently used as a working men's club. The building was converted to become the council's offices and meeting place, and was formally opened on 12 March 1949. The council then remained based at 8 Market Square until its abolition in 1974.

Abolition

Following 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 district was abolished in 1974. Its former area became part of the

Borough of Milton Keynes A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

. Initially, no

successor parish Successor parishes are civil parishes with a parish council, created in England in 1974. They replaced, with the same boundaries, a selected group of urban districts and municipal boroughs: a total of 300 successor parishes were formed from the ...

was created for the former Wolverton Urban District, and so it became an

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unpa ...

, governed directly by Milton Keynes Borough Council. Parishes were re-established for the area in 2001.

References

{{History of local government districts in Buckinghamshire History of Buckinghamshire Local government in Buckinghamshire History of Milton Keynes Districts of England abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 Districts of England created by the Local Government Act 1894

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) (his ...

Urban districts of England