The Borough of Rhuddlan was a local government district with borough status from 1974 to 1996, being one of six districts in the county of

Clwyd Clwyd ( , ) is a preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east corner of the country; it is named after the River Clwyd, which runs through the area. To the north lies the Irish Sea, with the English cerem ...

, north-east

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

History

The borough was created on 1 April 1974, 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 ...

. It covered the area of three former districts from 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 ...

Flintshire Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...

, which were all abolished at the same time: * Prestatyn Urban District * Rhyl Urban District * St Asaph Rural District The district was named after Rhuddlan Castle, where the Statute of Rhuddlan was issued in 1284. This was illustrated in the borough's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

which showed a castle of the time of

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...

in the shield, and a Welsh dragon grasping a parchment scroll, representing the statute, as the crest. The borough's motto was ''Rhuddlan Crud Cymru'' or ''Rhuddlan, Cradle of Wales''. In 1996 the borough was abolished under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, which saw Clwyd County Council and its constituent districts abolished, being replaced by principal areas, whose councils perform the functions which had previously been divided between the county and district councils. Although Rhuddlan had been entirely created from areas that were in Flintshire prior to 1974, the area was placed in the new county of Denbighshire with effect from 1 April 1996.

Political control

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. Throughout the council's existence a majority of the seats were held by independent councillors.

Premises

The council was initially based at several offices across the district, mostly inherited from its predecessor authorities. In 1991 it consolidated its offices at a new building called Russell House on the corner of Russell Road and Churton Road in Rhyl, built on the site of a house which had previously housed some council departments. Russell House was formally opened by

Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Richard Alexander Walter George; born 26 August 1944) is a member of the British royal family. He is the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, the youngest ...

, on 26 November 1991. After the council's abolition in 1996, Russell House became an area office for the successor Denbighshire County Council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhuddlan (District) Former subdivisions of Wales History of Flintshire Districts of Wales abolished in 1996 1974 establishments in Wales