Kempston Urban District

52.121°N 0.489°W / 52.121; -0.489

Kempston
Urban district
Population
 • 19014,729
 • 197112,485[1]
History
 • Created1 April 1896
 • Abolished31 March 1974
 • Succeeded byBedford Borough
 • HQKempston
Contained within
 • County CouncilBedfordshire
Map of boundary as of 1971

Kempston was an urban district in Bedfordshire, England between 1896 and 1974.

Formation

The historic parish of Kempston covered a large area to the south-west of the town of Bedford. From 1835 Kempston had been part of the Bedford Poor Law Union, and therefore became part of the Bedford Rural Sanitary District under the Public Health Acts of 1872 and 1875.[2] The Bedford Rural Sanitary District became the Bedford Rural District under the Local Government Act 1894.[3]

By this time, the north-eastern part of Kempston parish (closest to Bedford) was becoming increasingly urbanised. Within months of the Bedford Rural District being established, work began to create an urban district council for the more built-up part of the parish. In June 1895 Bedfordshire County Council decided that the parish of Kempston should be split between a Kempston Urban District and a new parish for the remainder called Kempston Rural which was to stay in the Bedford Rural District. These changes came into force on 1 April 1896.[4][5]

The first meeting of the Kempston Urban District Council was held on 18 May 1896 at the Bedford Road School in Kempston, with Paul Williams Wyatt being appointed the first chairman.[6] He was a clergyman, being the chaplain of the Savoy Chapel at the time, but had previously served between 1889 and 1894 as the first vicar of St Leonard's Church, just over the borough boundary into Bedford.[7]

Premises
104 Bedford Road, Kempston - built as the Urban District Council's headquarters in 1904

For the first few years of its existence, Kempston Urban District Council met at Bedford Road School in Kempston.[8] New offices and a council chamber were built in 1904 at 104 Bedford Road, Kempston, being officially opened on 13 October 1904.[9] The council stayed at 104 Bedford Road until 1970 when it moved to The Manor on Manor Drive in Kempston.[10][11]

Abolition

Kempston Urban District was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972, becoming part of Bedford District on 1 April 1974. A successor parish was created for the town, called Kempston Town Council, which continued to be based at The Manor until 1996 when it returned to 104 Bedford Road. A community centre was built behind 104 Bedford Road at the time, which was named Centenary Hall, marking the anniversary of the creation of the Urban District Council a hundred years earlier.[12][13][14]

References
  1. "Kempston UD". A Vision of Britain Through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  2. Higginbotham, Peter. "Bedford Poor Law Union". The Workhouse. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  3. The Bedford Rural District Council, Bedfordshire Times and Independent (Bedford), 5 January 1895, page 7
  4. Administrative County of Bedford: Parish of Kempston, Bedfordshire Mercury (Bedford), 6 July 1895, page 4
  5. "The County of Bedford (Kempston) Confirmation Order, 1896". Annual Report of the Local Government Board. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1896. p. 366. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  6. Kempston: Urban District Council, Bedfordshire Times and Independent (Bedford), 23 May 1896, page 3
  7. A Great Loss to Bedford: The Rev. Paul W. Wyatt Mourned By All, Bedfordshire Times and Independent (Bedford), 3 January 1936, pages 9-10
  8. Kempston: Urban District Council, Bedfordshire Mercury (Bedford), 29 April 1904, page 8
  9. Kempston Council Buildings, Bedfordshire Times and Independent (Bedford), 14 October 1904, page 5
  10. Post Office Telephone Directory Section 201: Bedford Area, 1970, page 235. Council address given as 104 Bedford Road.
  11. Directory of Official Architects and Planners. 1970. p. 97. Retrieved 22 August 2021. Council Offices, The Manor, Kempston.
  12. London Gazette, 12 September 1996, page 12151. Address given as Manor Hall, Manor Drive, Kempston.
  13. Bedford Borough Planning Application 96/00448/FUL, granted 6 June 1996. Application by Kempston Town Council for extension of existing building to form offices and erection of community hall etc. at 104 Bedford Road, Kempston
  14. "Centenary Hall". Kempston Town Council. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
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