Hart District

The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of two former districts, which were both abolished at the same time: The new district was initially going to be named Hartley Wintney, after the rural district which covered most of the area, which in turn was named after the village of the same name. The shadow authority elected to oversee the transition to the new system requested a change of name to Hart, after the River Hart which runs through the area. The change of name was approved by the government on 17 January 1974, before the new district formally came into being. The River Hart is said to derive its name from the number of deer in the…