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Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of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

 of Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, 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...

 from 1894 to 1974.

It was created in 1894 as a successor to the Wantage 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...

. It was named after Wantage

Wantage

Wantage is a market town and civil parish in the Vale of the White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. The town is on Letcombe Brook, about south-west of Abingdon and a similar distance west of Didcot....

, which formed a separate urban district

Urban district

In the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....

 entirely surrounded by the rural district.

The district was abolished in 1974 (as were all other rural districts, 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....

). Its area was split, with the parishes of Ardington

Ardington

Ardington is a village and civil parish about east of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. Ardington was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire....

, Blewbury

Blewbury

Blewbury is a village and civil parish at the foot of the Berkshire Downs about south of Didcot. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.-Prehistory:...

, Childrey

Childrey

Childrey is a village and civil parish about west of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. The parish was part of the Wantage Rural District in Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the whole of the Vale of White Horse from Berkshire to Oxfordshire.Childrey was originally an island...

, Chilton

Chilton, Oxfordshire

Chilton is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse about southwest of Didcot. The parish was part of Berkshire until the 1974 local government boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire....

, Denchworth

Denchworth

Drayton is a village and civil parish about north of Wantage. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire.The parish is bounded by the Land Brook in the west and the Childrey Brook in the east...

, East Challow

East Challow

East Challow is a village and civil parish about west of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. Historically it was part of the ecclesiastical parish of Letcombe Regis, but since 1852 East and West Challow have formed their own single ecclesiastical parish...

, East Hanney

Hanney

Hanney was an ancient ecclesiastical parish about north of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. It included the villages of East Hanney and West Hanney and Lyford...

, East Hendred

East Hendred

East Hendred is a village and civil parish in the English county of Oxfordshire, about east of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse and a similar distance west of Didcot. In 1974 it was transferred from Berkshire....

, Goosey, Grove

Grove, Oxfordshire

Grove is a village and civil parish on Letcombe Brook about north of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.-Parish churches:...

, Harwell

Harwell, Oxfordshire

Harwell is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse west of Didcot. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.-Amenities:...

, Letcome Bassett, Letcombe Regis

Letcombe Regis

Letcombe Regis is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire...

, Lockinge

Lockinge

Lockinge is a civil parish in Oxfordshire in England, consisting of the villages of East Lockinge and West Lockinge, as well as the hamlet of Betterton, which is also a lost settlement. It is located between the town of Wantage and the village of Ardington. In 1974 it was transferred from Berkshire...

, Sparsholt

Sparsholt, Oxfordshire

Sparsholt is a village and civil parish about west of the market town of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. The village is a spring line settlement at the foot of the Berkshire Downs escarpment. The parish includes the hamlet of Westcot about west of the village...

, Upton

Upton, Oxfordshire

Upton is a spring line village and civil parish at the foot of the Berkshire Downs, south of Didcot in the Vale of the White Horse district, Oxfordshire, England...

, West Challow

West Challow

West Challow is a village and civil parish about west of the market town of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. The village is on Childrey Brook, which is a tributary of the River Ock...

, West Hanney

Hanney

Hanney was an ancient ecclesiastical parish about north of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. It included the villages of East Hanney and West Hanney and Lyford...

 and West Hendred

West Hendred

West Hendred is a village and civil parish about east of Wantage. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire....

 becoming part of the Vale of White Horse

Vale of White Horse

The Vale of White Horse is a local government district of Oxfordshire in England. The main town is Abingdon, other places include Faringdon and Wantage. There are 68 parishes within the district...

 district in Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

, and the rest becoming part of the Newbury

West Berkshire

West Berkshire is a local government district in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England, governed by a unitary authority . Its administrative capital is Newbury, located almost equidistantly between Bristol and London.-Geography:...

 district of Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

.