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Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of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

Cumberland

Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....

 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 1934 to 1974.

It was created 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....

, by the merger of the 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....

s of Arlecdon and Frizington

Arlecdon and Frizington

Arlecdon and Frizington is a civil parish in the Borough of Copeland in Cumbria, England. The parish includes Arlecdon, Frizington, Rowrah and Asby. It has a population of 3,678....

, Cleator Moor

Cleator Moor

Cleator Moor is a small town and civil parish in the English county of Cumbria and within the boundaries of the traditional county of Cumberland....

, Egremont

Egremont, Cumbria

Egremont is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Copeland in Cumbria, England, south of Whitehaven and on the River Ehen. The town, which lies at the foot of Uldale Valley and Dent Fell, was historically within Cumberland and has a long industrial heritage including dyeing, weaving and...

, and Harrington

Harrington, Cumbria

Harrington is on the Cumbrian coast south of Workington and north of Whitehaven. Its industrial history, which largely ended in the late 1930s, included an iron works, coal mining, and steel making. It once had five railway stations...

 along with part of Bootle Rural District and most of Whitehaven Rural District. The district was named after Ennerdale

Ennerdale Water

Ennerdale Water is the most westerly lake in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. It is a glacial lake, with a maximum depth of 45 metres , and at 700 to 1,500 metres wide and 3.9 kilometres is one of the smallest lakes in the area...

.

It survived until 1974 when 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 was merged with other districts to form the Copeland

Copeland, Cumbria

Copeland is a local government district and borough in western Cumbria, England. Its council is based in Whitehaven. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the borough of Whitehaven, Ennerdale Rural District and Millom Rural District....

 district in Cumbria

Cumbria

Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...

.

It is interesting to note that in the neighbouring county of Westmorland

Westmorland

Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...

 a similar type of area and in fact containing fewer towns and villages namely Lakes

Lakes, Cumbria

Lakes is a large civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, with a population of 5,127 according to the 2001 census. It covers the small town of Ambleside, and the villages and hamlets of Clappersgate, Rydal, Grasmere, Troutbeck, Chapel Stile, Elterwater, Little Langdale, and...

was created at the same time as an urban district.