Thornbury Rural District

Thornbury Rural District was a rural district council centred around Thornbury in the south of Gloucestershire. It was abolished in 1974 and the majority of it transferred into the new county of Avon, as part of the new district of Northavon.

However a group of parishes in the north of the district, around Berkeley, wished not to transfer into the new county, but chose instead to remain with Gloucestershire, under the new Stroud District Council. These were the parishes of Hinton, Hamfallow, Ham and Stone, Alkington, and Berkeley itself, and all except Stone were part of the ancient "ecclesiastical" parish of Berkeley.

With the demise of Avon, in 1996, the 'Berkeley parishes' were not re-united with the Thornbury area in the new unitary authority of South Gloucestershire, but remained with the main county of Gloucestershire.

Records of the RDC

The records of Thornbury RDC between 1872 and 1974 are held at Gloucestershire Archives in Gloucester, ref. DA38. A copy of the list may be seen at the National Archives in London, ref. NRA 37079 Thornbury RDC.