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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. 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.

Rank Parish District Population Status Parish
council
created 		Council
1 Northampton West Northamptonshire 137,387 Town 2020 Northampton Town Council
2 Sutton Coldfield Birmingham 96,678 Town 2016 Sutton Coldfield Town Council
3 Weston-super-Mare North Somerset 82,418 Town 2000 Weston-super-Mare Town Council
4 Shrewsbury Shropshire 76,782 Town 2009 Shrewsbury Town Council
5 Aylesbury Buckinghamshire 63,126 Town 2001 Aylesbury Town Council
6 South Swindon Swindon 62,871 Parish 2017 South Swindon Parish Council
7 Corby North Northamptonshire 62,347 Parish 2021 Corby Town Council
8 Bracknell Bracknell Forest 60,057 Town 1955 Bracknell Town Council
9 Kidderminster Wyre Forest 57,400 Town 2015 Kidderminster Town Council
10 Keighley Bradford 57,345 Town 2002 Keighley Town Council
11 Kettering Town North Northamptonshire 57,100 Town 2021 Kettering Town Council
12 Crewe Cheshire East 55,318 Town 2013 Crewe Town Council
13 Banbury Cherwell 54,335 Town 2000 Banbury Town Council
14 Weymouth Dorset 53,427 Town 2019 Weymouth Town Council
15 Hereford Herefordshire 53,112 City 2000 Hereford City Council
16 Macclesfield Cheshire East 52,496 Town 2015 Macclesfield Town Council
17 Royal Leamington Spa Warwick 50,923 Town 2002 Royal Leamington Spa Town Council
18 Lowestoft East Suffolk 47,879 Town 2017 Lowestoft Town Council
19 Folkestone Folkestone and Hythe 47,352 Town 2004 Folkestone Town Council
20 Salisbury Wiltshire 41,820 City 2009 Salisbury City Council
21 Ramsgate Thanet 41,896 Town 2009 Ramsgate Town Council
21 Grantham South Kesteven 39,588 Town 2024 Grantham Town Council
23 Farnham Waverley 39,167 Town 1984 Farnham Town Council
24 Canvey Island Castle Point 38,941 Town 2007 Canvey Island Town Council
25 Hatfield Welwyn Hatfield 38,600 Town 1894 Hatfield Town Council
26 Bishop's Stortford East Hertfordshire 37,873 Town 1974 Bishop's Stortford Town Council
27 Bury St Edmunds West Suffolk 37,854 Town 2003 Bury St Edmunds Town Council
28 Elstree and Borehamwood Hertsmere 37,084 Town 1894 Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council
29 Leighton–Linslade Central Bedfordshire 37,081 Town 1974 Leighton-Linslade Town Council
30 Andover Test Valley 36,977 Town 2010 Andover Town Council
31 Morecambe Lancaster 36,530 Town 2009 Morecambe Town Council
32 Billingham Stockton-on-Tees 36,424 Town 2007 Billingham Town Council
33 Blyth Northumberland 36,379 Town 2009 Blyth Town Council
34 Bridlington East Riding of Yorkshire 36,324 Town 2000 Bridlington Town Council
35 Bridgwater Sedgemoor 35,625 Town 2003 Bridgwater Town Council
36 Chippenham Wiltshire 35,155 Town 1984 Chippenham Town Council
37 Dunstable Central Bedfordshire 35,068 Town 1985 Dunstable Town Council
38 Exmouth East Devon 34,441 Town 1995 Exmouth Town Council
39 Earley Wokingham 33,755 Town 1974 Earley Town Council
40 Central Swindon North Swindon 33,495 Parish 2017 Central Swindon North Parish Council
41 Ecclesfield Sheffield 32,903 Parish 1894 Ecclesfield Parish Council
42 Abingdon-on-Thames Vale of White Horse 32,183 Town 1974 Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council
43 Rayleigh Rochford 31,982 Town 1996 Rayleigh Town Council
44 Morley Leeds 31,832 Town 2000 Morley Town Council
45 Stanley County Durham 31,673 Town 2007 Stanley Town Council
46 Trowbridge Wiltshire 31,392 Town 1974 Trowbridge Town Council
47 Loughton Epping Forest 31,218 Town 1996 Loughton Town Council
48 Newbury West Berkshire 31,200 Town 1997 Newbury Town Council
49 Lichfield Lichfield 31,068 City 1980 Lichfield City Council
50 Winsford Cheshire West and Chester 31,038 Town 1974 Winsford Town Council
51 Bicester Cherwell 30,474 Town 1974 Bicester Town Council

Notes

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. "Corby". City Population. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  10. "Bracknell". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  11. "Kidderminster". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  12. "Keighley". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  13. "Crewe". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  14. "Banbury". City Population. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  15. "Weymouth". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  16. "Hereford". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  17. "Macclesfield". City Population.
  18. "Royal Leamington Spa". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  19. "Lowestoft". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  20. "Folkestone". City Population. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  21. "Salisbury". City Population. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  22. "Ramsgate". City Population. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  23. "South Kesteven". City Population. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
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