Under the Public Health Act 1872 sanitary districts were created, and the boards of guardians of poor law unions were made responsible for public health and local government for any part of their district not included in an urban authority.
[4] The link with the poor law union continued, with all the elected councillors of the rural district council being ex officio members of the St Albans Board of Guardians.
[6][7] The council continued to meet at Town Hall until the 1920s, with administrative office functions carried out at various premises in St Albans.
[11] St Albans Rural district was abolished on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972.
The majority of its area was included in the non-metropolitan district of St Albans City and District, with the exception of small parts that went to Dacorum, being the parts of the parishes of Redbourn and St Michael Rural that were within the designated area of Hemel Hempstead New Town.