Crickhowell Rural District

The district had its origins in the Crickhowell poor law union, which had been created in 1836, covering Crickhowell itself and several surrounding parishes.^[1] In 1872 sanitary districts were established, giving public health and local government responsibilities for rural areas to the existing boards of guardians of poor law unions. Areas with existing urban authorities were excluded from the rural sanitary district, which covered the rest of the poor law union. Parts of the urban local government districts of Brynmawr, Ebbw Vale, Rhymney and Tredegar fell within the Crickhowell poor law union, and were therefore excluded from the Crickhowell rural sanitary district.^[2][3]

The town of Crickhowell itself had no urban authority, and so it was administered as part of the rural sanitary district. The rural sanitary district was administered from Crickhowell Union Workhouse, which had been completed in 1872 (on the site of an earlier workhouse) at the hamlet of Dardy in the parish of Llangattock, about a mile west of Crickhowell itself.^[1]

Under the Local Government Act 1894, rural sanitary districts became rural districts from 28 December 1894 with their own elected councils. Crickhowell Rural District Council held its first meeting on 31 December 1894 at the workhouse. The first chairman was Joseph Bailey, a former Conservative MP who had also been the chairman of the Crickhowell Board of Guardians for some years previously.^[4]

The parishes within the district were:^[5]