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Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of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

 in Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...

 in 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 formed from that part of the Wisbech

Wisbech

Wisbech is a market town, inland port and civil parish with a population of 20,200 in the Fens of Cambridgeshire. The tidal River Nene runs through the centre of the town and is spanned by two bridges...

 rural sanitary district which was in Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...

, 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...

. It covered the parishes of Elm

Elm, Cambridgeshire

Elm is a Fenland village in Cambridgeshire, England. The civic parish of Elm, had a resident population of 3,295, as recorded during the 2001 United Kingdom census. It is located alongside the county boundary with Norfolk,on the outskirts of the market town of Wisbech. The northern end of Elm,...

, Leverington

Leverington

Leverington is a village and civil parish in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 2,914 people....

, Outwell

Outwell

Outwell is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk The village is west of Norwich, south-west of King's Lynn and north of London. The nearest town is Wisbech which is north west of the village. The Village is on the route of the A1101 Bury St. Edmunds to Long Sutton road...

, Parson Drove

Parson Drove

Parson Drove is a village in the Fens, in Cambridgeshire, England. Located approximately west of Wisbech, the nearest town, the village is named after the central road around which the village developed, formerly a green drove wider than it is now....

, Tydd St Giles, Upwell

Upwell

Upwell is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.It covers an area of and had a population of 2,456 in 1,033 households as of the 2001 census.For the purposes of local government, it falls within the district of King's Lynn and West Norfolk...

 and Wisbech St Mary

Wisbech St Mary

Wisbech St Mary is a small village, west of the town of Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, England.and lies between two roads, the B1169 and the A47.The village has a church, a primary school and some public houses....

. It surrounded Wisbech itself to the north, west and south.

It formed part of the administrative county of Isle of Ely

Isle of Ely

The Isle of Ely is a historic region around the city of Ely now in Cambridgeshire, England but previously a county in its own right.-Etymology:...

 from its creation until 1965, when this merged to form part of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely

Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely

Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely was, from 1965 to 1974, an administrative county of England. In 1974 it became part of an enlarged Cambridgeshire.-Formation:...

.

In 1974 the district was abolished 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....

. It became part of the Fenland

Fenland

Fenland is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. Its council is based in March, and covers the neighbouring market towns of Chatteris, Whittlesey, and Wisbech, often called the "capital of the fens"...

district.