Axbridge was a

rural district A rural district was a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. I ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England, from 1894 to 1974. It was named after the town of Axbridge. It was created in 1894 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 leve ...

as a successor to the Axbridge rural

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 ...

. In 1974, it was abolished 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 area was split between three districts. The

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

es of

Banwell Banwell is a village and civil parish on the River Banwell in the North Somerset district of Somerset, England. Its population was 3,251 according to the 2021 census. Toponymy Banwell's name is first securely attested around the year 900 i ...

, Bleadon, Butcombe, Churchill,

Congresbury Congresbury is a village and civil parish on the northwestern slopes of the Mendip Hills in North Somerset, England, which in 2011 had a population of 3,497. It lies on the A370 between Junction 21 of the M5 and Bristol Airport, south of Br ...

, Hutton, Kewstoke, Locking, Puxton, Wick St. Lawrence, Winscombe and

Wrington Wrington is a village and a civil parish, civil and ecclesiastical parish on the north slopes of the Mendip Hills in North Somerset, England. Both include nearby Redhill, Somerset, Redhill. Wrington lies in the valley of the Congresbury Yeo riv ...

, and part of the parishes of

Blagdon Blagdon is a village and civil parish in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Somerset, within the unitary authority of North Somerset, in England. It is located in the Mendip Hills, a recognised Area of Outstanding Natural ...

, Burrington and Loxton became part of the Woodspring district in the new county of Avon, with the remainder of the district becoming part of the

Sedgemoor Sedgemoor is a low-lying area of land in Somerset, England. It lies close to sea level south of the Polden Hills, historically largely marsh (or "moor" in its older sense). The eastern part is known as King's Sedgemoor, and the western part We ...

district in Somerset.

References

Axbridge RD at Vision of Britain
*

Districts of England created by the Local Government Act 1894 Districts of England abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 History of Somerset Local government in Somerset Rural districts of England