List of the most populous civil parishes in England

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This is a list of the most populous civil parishes in England. [1] It includes all civil parishes with populations over 30,000, representing less than 1% of all civil parishes but almost 3% of the population.

Lichfield, Hereford and Salisbury are in addition to being some of the most populous civil parishes in England, among the smallest cities.

The first civil parish councils were created in 1894, mostly in rural areas, replacing the duties of local church authorities.

Many large parishes have been created during the 21st century, due in part to new procedures making their creation easier, and also the ongoing creation of large unitary authorities, which has led to the desire to retain a more local tier of government.

In 2020, Northampton became the largest civil parish in England due to local government reorganisation in 2021 which saw it become part of the larger West Northamptonshire unitary authority. [2]

RankParishDistrictPopulationStatusParish
council
created		Council
1 Northampton West Northamptonshire 137,387 [3] Town2020 Northampton Town Council
2 Sutton Coldfield Birmingham 96,678 [4] Town2016 Sutton Coldfield Town Council
3 Weston-super-Mare North Somerset 82,418 [5] Town2000 Weston-super-Mare Town Council
4 Shrewsbury Shropshire 76,782 [6] Town2009 Shrewsbury Town Council
5 Aylesbury Buckinghamshire 63,126 [7] Town2001 Aylesbury Town Council
6 South Swindon Swindon 62,871 [8] Parish2017 South Swindon Parish Council
7 Bracknell Bracknell Forest 60,057 [9] Town1955 Bracknell Town Council
8 Kidderminster Wyre Forest 57,400 [10] Town2015 Kidderminster Town Council
9 Keighley Bradford 57,345 [11] Town2002 Keighley Town Council
10 Kettering Town North Northamptonshire 57,100Town2021 Kettering Town Council
11 Crewe Cheshire East 55,318 [12] Town2013 Crewe Town Council
12 Banbury Cherwell 54,335 [13] Town2000 Banbury Town Council
13 Weymouth Dorset 53,427 [14] Town2019 Weymouth Town Council
14 Hereford Herefordshire 53,112 [15] City2000 Hereford City Council
15 Macclesfield Cheshire East 52,496 [16] Town2015 Macclesfield Town Council
16 Royal Leamington Spa Warwick 50,923 [17] Town2002 Royal Leamington Spa Town Council
17 Lowestoft East Suffolk 47,879 [18] Town2017 Lowestoft Town Council
18 Folkestone Folkestone and Hythe 47,352 [19] Town2004 Folkestone Town Council
19 Salisbury Wiltshire 41,820 [20] City2009 Salisbury City Council
20 Ramsgate Thanet 41,896 [21] Town2009 Ramsgate Town Council
21 Farnham Waverley 39,167Town1984 Farnham Town Council
22 Canvey Island Castle Point 38,941Town2007 Canvey Island Town Council
23 Hatfield Welwyn Hatfield 38,600Town1894 Hatfield Town Council
24 Bishop's Stortford East Hertfordshire 37,873Town 1974 Bishop's Stortford Town Council
25 Bury St Edmunds West Suffolk 37,854Town2003 Bury St Edmunds Town Council
26 Elstree and Borehamwood Hertsmere 37,084Town1894 Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council
27 Leighton–Linslade Central Bedfordshire 37,081Town 1974 Leighton-Linslade Town Council
28 Andover Test Valley 36,977Town2010 Andover Town Council
29 Morecambe Lancaster 36,530Town2009 Morecambe Town Council
30 Billingham Stockton-on-Tees 36,424Town2007 Billingham Town Council
31 Blyth Northumberland 36,379Town2009 Blyth Town Council
32 Bridlington East Riding of Yorkshire 36,324Town2000 Bridlington Town Council
33 Bridgwater Sedgemoor 35,625Town2003 Bridgwater Town Council
34 Chippenham Wiltshire 35,155Town1984 Chippenham Town Council
35 Dunstable Central Bedfordshire 35,068Town1985 Dunstable Town Council
36 Exmouth East Devon 34,441Town1995 Exmouth Town Council
37 Earley Wokingham 33,755Town 1974 Earley Town Council
38 Central Swindon North Swindon 33,495Parish2017 Central Swindon North Parish Council
39 Ecclesfield Sheffield 32,903Parish1894 Ecclesfield Parish Council
40 Abingdon-on-Thames Vale of White Horse 32,183Town 1974 Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council
41 Rayleigh Rochford 31,982Town1996 Rayleigh Town Council
42 Morley Leeds 31,832Town2000 Morley Town Council
43 Stanley County Durham 31,673Town2007 Stanley Town Council
42 Trowbridge Wiltshire 31,392Town 1974 Trowbridge Town Council
45 Loughton Epping Forest 31,218Town1996 Loughton Town Council
46 Newbury West Berkshire 31,200Town1997 Newbury Town Council
47 Lichfield Lichfield 31,068City1980 Lichfield City Council
48 Winsford Cheshire West and Chester 31,038Town 1974 Winsford Town Council
49 Bicester Cherwell 30,474Town 1974 Bicester Town Council

Notes

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    References

    1. ↑ Mid-2010 Population Estimates for Parishes in England and Wales
    2. ↑ "England's 'largest' town council set for Northampton". BBC. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
    3. ↑ "NORTHAMPTON Parish in East Midlands". City Population. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
    4. ↑ "Sutton Coldfield". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
    5. ↑ "Weston-Super-Mare". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
    6. ↑ "Shrewsbury". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
    7. ↑ "Aylesbury". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
    8. ↑ "Central Swindon South". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
    9. ↑ "Bracknell". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
    10. ↑ "Kidderminster". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
    11. ↑ "Keighley". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
    12. ↑ "Crewe". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
    13. ↑ "Banbury". City Population. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
    14. ↑ "Weymouth". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
    15. ↑ "Hereford". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
    16. ↑ "Macclesfield". City Population.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help); Unknown parameter |ur= ignored (help)
    17. ↑ "Royal Leamington Spa". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
    18. ↑ "Lowestoft". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
    19. ↑ "Folkestone". City Population. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
    20. ↑ "Salisbury". City Population. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
    21. ↑ "Ramsgate". City Population. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
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