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rural district A rural district was a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom.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

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

from 1894 to 1974. It was named after Ely, but did not include the city itself, instead covering the rural area to the west and north of it. It formed part of the

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...

of the

Isle of Ely The Isle of Ely () is a historic region around the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. Between 1889 and 1965, it formed an Administrative counties of England, administrative county. Etymology Its name has been said to ...

from 1894 to 1965, when this was merged into

Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely was, from 1965 to 1974, an administrative county, administrative and Geographical counties of England, geographical county in East Anglia in the United Kingdom. In 1974 it became part of an enlarged Cambridgeshire. ...

History

The district had its origins in the Ely

Poor Law Union A poor law union was a geographical territory, and early local government unit, in Great Britain and Ireland. Poor law unions existed in England and Wales from 1834 to 1930 for the administration of poor relief. Prior to the Poor Law Amendment ...

, which had been created in 1836, covering Ely and several surrounding parishes. In 1872

sanitary districts 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 ...

were established, giving public health and local government responsibilities for rural areas to the existing

boards 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 poor ...

of poor law unions. The Ely Rural Sanitary District therefore covered the area of the poor law union except for Ely itself, which already had a

local board of health A local board of health (or simply a ''local board'') was a local authority in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulat ...

and so formed its own urban sanitary district. The Ely Rural Sanitary District was administered from Ely Union Workhouse, which had been built in 1837 at Tower Road in Ely. 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 ...

, rural sanitary districts became rural districts from 28 December 1894. The act also specified that rural sanitary districts which straddled county boundaries should be split into separate rural districts for the part in each county. Whilst most of the Ely Rural Sanitary District was in the Isle of Ely, it also contained Redmere, a small parish in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

which had a population of about 40. An inquiry was held and it was decided to amend the county boundary to transfer Redmere from Norfolk into the Isle of Ely. In the event the change of county boundary did not take effect until 30 September 1895, a few months after Ely Rural District had come into being, and Redmere was therefore briefly a rural district on its own. However, the act allowed for such small rural districts to be temporarily administered by the district from which they had been separated, as long as separate accounts were kept. In practice therefore, Redmere Rural District was an accounting distinction; it was always administered by Ely Rural District. Ely Rural District Council held its first meeting on 3 January 1895 at the workhouse, when James Luddington of Littleport, a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

, was appointed the first chairman of the council. In 1974 Ely Rural District was abolished, and its area made part of the new

East Cambridgeshire East Cambridgeshire (locally known as East Cambs) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. Its council is based in the cathedral city of Ely. The district also contains the towns of Littleport and Soham and surrounding rural a ...

district of

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

Parishes

The district comprised the parishes of: * Coveney *

Downham Downham may refer to: Places ;in England * Downham, Cambridgeshire, a civil parish **Little Downham *Downham, Essex *Downham, Lancashire *Downham, London, a district of south east London **Downham Estate, housing estate in Downham, London *Downham, ...

Grunty Fen Grunty Fen is a fen and former civil parish, now in the parish of Wilburton, in the East Cambridgeshire district, in Cambridgeshire, England. It is 4 miles south west of Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely. In 1931 the parish had a population of 95. Hist ...

* Haddenham *

Littleport Littleport is a town in East Cambridgeshire, in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. It lies about north-east of Ely and south-east of Welney, on the Bedford Level South section of the River Great Ouse, close to Burnt Fen and Mare Fe ...

Mepal Mepal is a village in Cambridgeshire, England. Mepal is part of the East Cambridgeshire district, and is located just north of the A142 road between Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely and Chatteris. First listed as ''Mepahala'' in the 12th century, the v ...

* Redmere (abolished 1933 and absorbed into Littleport) *

Stretham Stretham Locally, the is a glottal stop: or even is a village and civil parish south-south-west of Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely in Cambridgeshire, England, about by road from London. Its main attraction is Stretham Old Engine, a steam engine, ...

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road (England), A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, coverin ...

* Wentworth *

Wilburton Wilburton is a small village of just over 1,000 inhabitants, situated in Cambridgeshire, England. It is 6 miles south west of Ely. While nominally an agricultural village, many residents work in Cambridge, Ely or London. History Wilburton i ...

Witcham Witcham is a small village near Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. The village is surrounded by fenland farms and has a village hall and a 13th-century church dedicated to St Martin. It has a pub called the White Horse, which was the winner of t ...

Witchford Witchford is a village and civil parish about west of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,385. History Anglo-Saxon cemetery When the site of RAF Witchford was being cleared a bulldozer drive ...

Statistics

Premises

The council continued to meet at the workhouse, later called Tower House, until the late 1940s. Tower House became Tower Hospital following the creation of the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

in 1948, after which the council moved its meeting place to the council chamber at its neighbour Ely Urban District Council's offices at 6 Lynn Road in Ely. From the early 1920s until the council's abolition in 1974, Ely Rural District Council's staff were based at offices at 11 Lynn Road in Ely.

References

{{Reflist Districts of England created by the Local Government Act 1894 Districts of England abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 History of Cambridgeshire Ely, Cambridgeshire Rural districts of England