Millom Town Council Area

7,829  (2011 Census)

7,894  (2001 Census)

Historical

Lower Millom (pop. 411 in 1848)

Upper Millom (pop. 511 in 1848)

Townships became civil parishes in their own right in 1866 (see below).

Millom Parish  (Holy Trinity)

Prior to 1866, Millom Parish covered a much wider geographical area compared to todays Civil Parish / town council area. In addition to the townships of Upper and Lower Millom, the parish also included the chapelries of Thwaites and Ulpha, and the townships of Birker with Austhwaite and Chapel-Sucken.

Ancient parishes refer to the parishes before the split between ecclesiastical (church) and civil parishes in the 19th century. They had a parish church and often were composed of multiple townships and chapelries. In many cases, townships and parishes were originally based on the territory of manors from the feudal system during medieval times. Civil parishes were created following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1866, in which Church of England parishes, extra-parochial areas, townships and chapelries, became "civil parishes" which could set their own poor rate (tax). Then the reforms of Local Government Act 1894 established elected civil parish councils (or parish meetings for parishes with less than 300 residents) and created urban and rural districts. Boundaries of parishes and civil parishes may have changed over time.

Bootle Poor Law Union, established on the 12th of June 1837.

Initially the Union used two existing smaller workhouses in Bootle and Millom, until a new Union Workhouse was built to the west of Bootle in 1856.

Under the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 parishes were grouped into Unions, each of which had to build a workhouse if they did not already have one. It ended the old system of locally provided poor relief which had come under strain as numbers out of work grew, following increasing mechanisation of agriculture and the economic downturn after the Napoleonic Wars, along with changing social attitudes. The workhouse provided those unable to support themselves financially with accommodation and work. Inmates were generally segregated into men, women, boys and girls. 

The workhouse system was abolished by the Local Government Act 1929, but many workhouses lived on as ‘Public Assistance Institutions’ until the National Assistance Act 1948.

Cumberland (~12th centurty to 1974)

Cumbria - county established on 1st April 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972.

Allerdale above Derwent (ward)

Millom Urban District Council  (1894 to 1934) - established by the Local Government Act 1894

Millom Rural District Council (1934 to 1974) - which amalgamated Millom Urban District Council and Bootle Rural District Council .

Millom Rural District was abolished in 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972. The former district area then formed part of the Borough of Copeland, which also incorporated Ennerdale Rural District Council and Whitehaven Municipal Borough Council areas.

Millom Town Council was established in 1974, at the time of local government reorganisation.