52°01′35″N 0°29′26″W / 52.0263°N 0.4906°W / 52.0263; -0.4906

Ampthill
Urban District
Population
 • 19012,177
 • 19715,390[1]
History
 • Created18 February 1893
 • Abolished31 March 1974
 • Succeeded byMid Bedfordshire
StatusLocal Government District (1893-1894)
Urban District (1894-1974)
 • HQAmpthill
Contained within
 • County CouncilBedfordshire
Map Map of boundary as of 1971

The town of Ampthill in Bedfordshire, England was administered as a Local Government District from 1893 to 1894 and an Urban District from 1894 to 1974.

Prior to 1893 the town had formed part of the Ampthill Rural Sanitary District, which had been created in 1875 covering the same area as the Ampthill Poor Law Union. On 18 February 1893 a Local Government District was established for the town, covering the whole parish of Ampthill, removing it from the Ampthill Rural Sanitary District.[2] The first meeting of the new Local Board was held on 14 April 1893 at the town's courthouse on Church Street.[3]

Under the Local Government Act 1894, Local Government Districts became Urban Districts from 31 December 1894.

Premises

The council did not have purpose-built offices of its own. Until 1920 it generally held its meetings at the courthouse.[4] A new fire station for the town was built at 10 Bedford Street in 1902–1903, and in 1920 the council took over a large room there for meetings, becoming known as the Council Chamber.[5][6][7][8] Administrative office functions were carried out at 88 Dunstable Street, which was the office of the solicitor who acted as clerk to the council.[9][10]

10 Bedford Street, Ampthill

In 1954 the fire station moved to new a new building in Oliver Street.[11] The whole building at 10 Bedford Street was then converted to become offices for the council, which remained based there until its abolition.[12]

Abolition

Ampthill Urban District was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972, being replaced by the Mid Bedfordshire District, which came into being on 1 April 1974. The area now forms part of Central Bedfordshire. A successor parish was created for the town, called Ampthill Town Council.

References

  1. ^ "Ampthill UD, A Vision of Britain through Time". GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  2. ^ The County of Bedford (Ampthill) Confirmation Order 1893, coming into force 18 February 1893, reported in Twenty-second Annual Report of the Local Government Board 1892-1893, London, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1893, Appendix D pages 233 and 236
  3. ^ Ampthill's Local Parliament, Bedfordshire Mercury (Bedford), 22 April 1893, page 7
  4. ^ Ampthill: Urban District Council, Bedfordshire Times and Independent (Bedford), 21 February 1919, page 2
  5. ^ New Fire Station at Ampthill, Bedfordshire Mercury (Bedford), 17 April 1903, page 10
  6. ^ Ampthill: Urban District Council, Bedfordshire Times and Independent (Bedford), 23 January 1920, page 4
  7. ^ Ampthill: Urban District Council, Bedfordshire Times and Independent (Bedford), 20 February 1920, page 4
  8. ^ Ampthill’s Council Chamber: Like a Barn, Bedfordshire Times and Independent (Bedford), 25 December 1925, page 2
  9. ^ Ampthill Urban District Council: Notice of Audit, Bedfordshire Times and Independent (Bedford), 18 May 1923, page 1
  10. ^ Urban District of Ampthill: Confirmation of Byelaws, Bedfordshire Times and Independent (Bedford), 21 April 1939, page 10
  11. ^ Biggleswade Chronicle, 21 May 1954, page 4
  12. ^ Planning Application 672/54: 10 Bedford Street, Ampthill, Conv. to Council Offices (approved) – referenced in planning application MB/02/00139/REG3 to Mid Bedfordshire District Council, available from Central Bedfordshire Council.
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