North Cotswold was, from 1935 to 1974, a rural district

Rural district

Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the administrative counties.-England and Wales:In England...

 in the administrative county

Administrative counties of England

Administrative counties were a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government from 1889 to 1974. They were created by the Local Government Act 1888 as the areas for which county councils were elected. Some large counties were divided into several administrative...

 of Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

, England.

Formation

Under the Local Government Act 1929

Local Government Act 1929

The Local Government Act 1929 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made changes to the Poor Law and local government in England and Wales....

 county councils were given the duty of reviewing the districts within their county. Gloucestershire contained a large number of very small urban and rural districts, and it was decided to reduce the number by amalgamation. This was carried out by The County of Gloucester Review Order 1935, which came into effect on 1 April 1935. North Cotswold Rural District was formed by the amalgamation of the whole or part of four districts:

• Campden Rural District
  Campden Rural District
  Campden was, from 1894 to 1935, a rural district in the administrative county of Gloucestershire, England. The district lay on the north-eastern boundary of the Gloucestershire, and consisted of three separate areas nearly surrounded by the counties of Warwickshire and Worcestershire...
  
   (less 3 parishes transferred to Stratford-on-Avon Rural District, Warwickshire
  Warwickshire
  Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
  
  )
• Stow on the Wold Urban District
• Stow on the Wold Rural District (less 2 parishes to Northleach Rural District)
• Winchcombe Rural District
  Winchcombe Rural District
  Winchcombe was, from 1894 to 1935, a rural district in the Cotswolds area of England. It included parts of two administrative counties: Gloucestershire and Worcestershire.-Formation:...
  
   (part only, most passed to Cheltenham Rural District)

Parishes

The district consisted of the following parishes:

Coat of arms and motto

North Cotswold Rural District Council was granted armorial bearings

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 by letters patent

Letters patent

Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...

 dated 9 September 1955. The grant consisted of arms and crest, which were blazon

Blazon

In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...

ed as follows:

Vert a pallet argent over all a fleece Or ringed and banded gules on a chief enarched of the second two mitres also gules, and for a crest, out of a coronet composed of four fleurs-de-lys set upon a rim Or, a swan rousant proper gorged with a ducal coronet pendent therefrom an escutcheon gules charged with a sun gold.

The green field and "enarched" chief or top third of the shield represented the curve of a hill. The fleece was a symbol of the traditional woollen industry of the area. The Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 motto

Motto

A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...

 chosen by the council: Montes Excelsi Refugio or "the high hills for a refuge" was adapted from Psalm 104

Psalm 104

Psalm 104 is a poem from the Book of Psalms in the Hebrew Bible, describing the ongoing act of God continuously bringing the world into existence. German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder remarked, "It is worth studying the Hebrew language for ten years in order to read Psalm 104 in the original"...

.

Abolition

The district was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972

Local Government Act 1972

The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....

, which completely reorganised council boundaries throughout England and Wales. North Cotswold RD was merged with four neighbouring districts to form the non-metropolitan district

Non-metropolitan district

Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...

 of Cotswold

Cotswold (district)

Cotswold is a local government district in Gloucestershire in England. It is named after the wider Cotswolds region. Its main town is Cirencester....

, one of six districts in Gloucestershire.