St Albans was, from 1894 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Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of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 Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

The district was formed by the Local Government Act 1894

Local Government Act 1894

The Local Government Act 1894 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level under the Local Government Act 1888...

 from the area of the existing St Albans rural sanitary district

Sanitary district

Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1875 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures:*Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies...

. An elected rural district council replaced the rural sanitary authority which had consisted of the poor law

Poor Law

The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief which existed in England and Wales that developed out of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws before being codified in 1587–98...

 guardians

Board of Guardians

Boards of guardians were ad hoc authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930.-England and Wales:The boards were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish Overseers of the Poor established under the old poor law, following the recommendations...

 of the area. The rural district comprised an area surrounding St Albans

St Albans

St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...

, but did not include the city, which was an independent municipal borough

Municipal borough

Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...

.

The district was abolished on 1 April 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....

, and its area distributed between the newly created non-metropolitan districts of Dacorum

Dacorum

The Borough of Dacorum is a local government district in Hertfordshire, England that includes the towns of Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted, Tring and Kings Langley. The district, which was formed in 1974, had a population of 137,799 in 2001...

 and St Albans.

Parishes

The rural district initially consisted of seven civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

es. Three parishes were formed in 1894 by the division of the parishes of St Michael, St Peter and Sandridge between the rural district and the city of St Albans. In 1947 the number was increased to eight, with the division of the parish of St Peter Rural.

1894 parish	Notes	1974 district
Harpenden Harpenden Harpenden is a town in Hertfordshire, England.The town's total population is just under 30,000.-Geography and administration:There are two civil parishes: Harpenden and Harpenden Rural....	Part of parish constituted Harpenden Urban District in 1898, remainder became Harpenden Rural Harpenden Rural Harpenden Rural is a civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England, to the west of Harpenden parish itself. It was created in 1898 when the old Harpenden parish was split into two - one urban and one rural....  parish.	St Albans
Redbourn Redbourn Redbourn is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, lying on Watling Street, 3 miles from Harpenden, 4 miles from St Albans and 5 miles from Hemel Hempstead. It has a population of around 6,000.-History:...		Divided between Dacorum (the part within the designated area of Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire in the East of England, to the north west of London and part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2001 Census was 81,143 ....  New Town New towns in the United Kingdom Below is a list of some of the new towns in the United Kingdom created under the various New Town Acts of the 20th century. Some earlier towns were developed as Garden Cities or overspill estates early in the twentieth century. The New Towns proper were planned to disperse population following the... ) and St Albans (the remainder)
St Michael Rural	Formed from the part of the parish of St Michael Church of St. Michael, St. Albans St Michael's Church in St Albans is a parish church in the Church of England.-Background:It is, based upon the writing of Matthew Paris, believed to have been originally founded in AD948 by Abbot Ulsinus of St Albans...  outside the City of St Albans	Divided between Dacorum (the part within the designated area of Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire in the East of England, to the north west of London and part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2001 Census was 81,143 ....  New Town New towns in the United Kingdom Below is a list of some of the new towns in the United Kingdom created under the various New Town Acts of the 20th century. Some earlier towns were developed as Garden Cities or overspill estates early in the twentieth century. The New Towns proper were planned to disperse population following the... ) and St Albans (the remainder)
St Peter Rural	Formed from the part of the parish of St Peter outside the City of St Albans	Colney Heath Colney Heath Colney Heath is a large village south-east of St Albans, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.The population of the ward of Colney Heath at the time of the 2001 census was 5,449....  formed 1947	St Albans
		London Colney London Colney London Colney is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. It is located to the north of London, at Junction 22 of the M25 motorway....  formed 1947	St Albans
St Stephen		St Albans
Sandridge Rural Sandridge Sandridge is a small village and civil parish between St Albans and Wheathampstead in Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom.-Early history:...	Formed from the part of the parish of Sandridge outside the City of St Albans. Renamed Sandridge 1957	St Albans
Wheathampstead Wheathampstead Wheathampstead is a village and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans, in Hertfordshire, England. It is north of St Albans and in the Hitchin and Harpenden parliamentary constituency....		St Albans