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Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of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

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

, 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 1934.

Formation

The rural district was created 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 part of Risbridge 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...

 that was in Essex (the rest forming the Clare Rural District

Clare Rural District

Clare Rural District was a rural district in the county of West Suffolk, England. It was created in 1894. On 1 April 1935 it was enlarged by the addition of the parishes of Lidgate and Ousden from the disbanded Moulton Rural District, Cavendish and Hawkedon from the Melford Rural District and...

 in West Suffolk

West Suffolk

West Suffolk was an administrative county of England created in 1889 from part of the county of Suffolk. It survived until 1974 when it was rejoined with East Suffolk. Its county town was Bury St Edmunds....

). A directly-elected rural district council (RDC) replaced the rural sanitary authority, which 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...

 for the area.

The rural district initially covered the following parishes:.

• Ashen
  Ashen, Essex
  Ashen is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located about east-southeast of Haverhill and is north from the county town of Chelmsford. The village lies to the south of the River Stour, which here forms the county boundary with Suffolk. The village is in the district of Braintree...
  
  
• Birdbrook
  Birdbrook
  Birdbrook is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located approximately southeast of Haverhill, Suffolk and is 34km north from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Braintree and in the parliamentary constituency of Saffron Walden. The parish is part...
  
  
• Helion Bumpstead
• Kedington
  Kedington
  Kedington is a village located between Clare and Haverhill in south-west Suffolk.Known as Kidituna in the Domesday Book , there were 280 people living there at that time....
  
   (part only: the remainder of the parish was in Suffolk)
• Ovington
  Ovington, Essex
  Ovington is a small village in Essex, England. The village is situated about three miles from the village of Clare. It consists of Ovington hall, St. Mary's Church, and a few houses. Its a pretty place, with the air traffic of Ridgewell Airfield...
  
  
• Steeple Bumpstead
  Steeple Bumpstead
  Steeple Bumpstead is a village near Braintree, Essex, England, south of Haverhill.The parish church does not actually have a steeple, however the Congregational Church has a small Victorian one. It is believed that the Steeple referred to was actually located on the A1307 close to what is now the...
  
  
• Sturmer
  Sturmer
  "Sturmer" might refer to:* Andy Sturmer is a singer, songwriter, and music producer.*Sturmer, Essex is a village in England.*A Sturmer Pippin is a type of apple.*Sturmer...
  
  

In 1895 the Essex portion of Kedington was transferred to Clare Rural District, West Suffolk. Meetings of the Bumpstead RDC continued to be held in Kedington, however.

Bumpstead Rural District was abolished in 1934 by a County Review Order

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....

 and merged into the Halstead Rural District

Halstead Rural District

Halstead was a rural district in Essex, England from 1894 to 1974. It was created by the Local Government Act 1894 as a successor to the Halstead rural sanitary district....

.