Newport Pagnell Urban District was a local government district in 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 ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

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 1897 to 1974.

Origins

When parish and district councils were established in December 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 ...

, the parish of

Newport Pagnell Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area. The town is separated from the rest of the u ...

was included 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 ...

, which was administered from the workhouse at 1 London Road in Newport Pagnell. Shortly after the new districts were established, the process began for making the parish of Newport Pagnell its own

urban district An urban district is a division generally managed by a local government. It may also refer to a city district, district, urban area or quarter Specific urban districts in some countries include: * Urban districts of Denmark * Districts of Germa ...

, which came into effect on 1 October 1897. The short-lived Newport Pagnell Parish Council was therefore replaced by Newport Pagnell Urban District Council (UDC). The UDC held its first meeting on 2 October 1897 at the town's Reading Room at 58 High Street, which had previously been the meeting place of the parish council. William Rogers Chantler was appointed the first chairman of the UDC.

Premises

Within a couple of weeks of its creation, the new council decided to take a lease of the Reading Room at 58 High Street. The building was adapted to serve as office accommodation for the council's staff as well as being its meeting place. The building was formally re-opened as the council's offices on 3 May 1898. In 1912 the council vacated 58 High Street, moving next door to a large house at 60 High Street, which was purchased for £1,000. The council remained at 60 High Street until 1969, when it moved to a house called Lovat Bank at 37 Silver Street, which had previously been used as a Territorial Army centre. The council remained at Lovat Bank until its abolition in 1974.

Abolition

Newport Pagnell Urban District 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 ...

, becoming part of the

Borough of Milton Keynes The City of Milton Keynes is a borough with city status, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is the northernmost district of the South East England Region. The borough abuts Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and the remainder of Buckinghamshire. The ...

on 1 April 1974. Initially, no

successor parish Successor parishes are Civil parishes in England, civil parishes with a parish councils in England, parish council, created in England in 1974. They replaced, with the same boundaries, a selected group of Urban district (England and Wales), urban d ...

was created for the former urban district, and it was instead governed directly by Milton Keynes Borough Council. The Newport Pagnell civil parish was re-established in 1985.

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 districts of England Newport Pagnell