Wikipedia

List of the most populous civil parishes in England

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] In 2026 the parishes of Bournemouth and Poole were formed, the pre 2019 districts of Bournemouth and Poole had a 2015 estimated population of 194,500 and 150,600 however as well as boundary changes the pre 2019 Bournemouth area also has Throop and Holdenhurst and the pre 2019 Poole area also has Broadstone.

Rank Parish District Population Status Parish
council
created		 Council
1NorthamptonWest Northamptonshire137,387[3]Town2020Northampton Town Council
2Sutton ColdfieldBirmingham96,678[4]Town2016Sutton Coldfield Town Council
3Weston-super-MareNorth Somerset82,418[5]Town2000Weston-super-Mare Town Council
4ShrewsburyShropshire76,782[6]Town2009Shrewsbury Town Council
5HarrogateNorth Yorkshire71,725[7]Town2025Harrogate Town Council
6AylesburyBuckinghamshire63,126[8]Town2001Aylesbury Town Council
7South SwindonSwindon62,871 [9]Parish2017South Swindon Parish Council
8CorbyNorth Northamptonshire62,347 [10]Parish2021Corby Town Council
9BracknellBracknell Forest60,057[11]Town1955Bracknell Town Council
10KidderminsterWyre Forest57,400[12]Town2015Kidderminster Town Council
11KeighleyBradford57,345[13]Town2002Keighley Town Council
12Kettering TownNorth Northamptonshire57,100Town2021Kettering Town Council
13BarrowWestmorland and Furness55,489[14]Town2023Barrow Town Council
14CreweCheshire East55,318[15]Town2013Crewe Town Council
15BanburyCherwell54,335[16]Town2000Banbury Town Council
16WeymouthDorset53,427 [17]Town2019Weymouth Town Council
17HerefordHerefordshire53,112[18]City2000Hereford City Council
18MacclesfieldCheshire East52,496[19]Town2015Macclesfield Town Council
19Royal Leamington SpaWarwick50,923[20]Town2002Royal Leamington Spa Town Council
20LowestoftEast Suffolk47,879[21]Town2017Lowestoft Town Council
21FolkestoneFolkestone and Hythe47,352[22]Town2004Folkestone Town Council
22SalisburyWiltshire41,820[23]City2009Salisbury City Council
23RamsgateThanet41,896[24]Town2009Ramsgate Town Council
24GranthamSouth Kesteven39,588[25]Town2024Grantham Town Council
25FarnhamWaverley39,167Town1984Farnham Town Council
26ScarboroughNorth Yorkshire38,954[26]Town2025Scarborough Town Council
27Canvey IslandCastle Point38,941Town2007Canvey Island Town Council
28HatfieldWelwyn Hatfield38,600Town1894Hatfield Town Council
29Bishop's StortfordEast Hertfordshire37,873Town1974Bishop's Stortford Town Council
30Bury St EdmundsWest Suffolk37,854Town2003Bury St Edmunds Town Council
31Elstree and BorehamwoodHertsmere37,084Town1894Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council
32Leighton–LinsladeCentral Bedfordshire37,081Town1974Leighton-Linslade Town Council
33AndoverTest Valley36,977Town2010Andover Town Council
34MorecambeLancaster36,530Town2009Morecambe Town Council
35BillinghamStockton-on-Tees36,424Town2007Billingham Town Council
36BlythNorthumberland36,379Town2009Blyth Town Council
37BridlingtonEast Riding of Yorkshire36,324Town2000Bridlington Town Council
38BridgwaterSomerset35,625Town2003Bridgwater Town Council
39ChippenhamWiltshire35,155Town1984Chippenham Town Council
40DunstableCentral Bedfordshire35,068Town1985Dunstable Town Council
41ExmouthEast Devon34,441Town1995Exmouth Town Council
42EarleyWokingham33,755Town1974Earley Town Council
43Central Swindon NorthSwindon33,495Parish2017Central Swindon North Parish Council
44EcclesfieldSheffield32,903Parish1894Ecclesfield Parish Council
45Abingdon-on-ThamesVale of White Horse32,183Town1974Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council
46RayleighRochford31,982Town1996Rayleigh Town Council
47MorleyLeeds31,832Town2000Morley Town Council
48StanleyCounty Durham31,673Town2007Stanley Town Council
49TrowbridgeWiltshire31,392Town1974Trowbridge Town Council
50LoughtonEpping Forest31,218Town1996Loughton Town Council
51NewburyWest Berkshire31,200Town1997Newbury Town Council
52LichfieldLichfield31,068City1980Lichfield City Council
53WinsfordCheshire West and Chester31,038Town1974Winsford Town Council
54BicesterCherwell30,474Town1974Bicester Town Council

Notes

edit

References

edit
  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. ↑ "Harrogate". City Population. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  8. ↑ "Aylesbury". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  9. ↑ "Central Swindon South". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  10. ↑ "Corby". City Population. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  11. ↑ "Bracknell". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  12. ↑ "Kidderminster". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  13. ↑ "Keighley". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  14. ↑ "Barrow-in-Furness". City Population. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
  15. ↑ "Crewe". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  16. ↑ "Banbury". City Population. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  17. ↑ "Weymouth". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  18. ↑ "Hereford". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  19. ↑ "Macclesfield". City Population.
  20. ↑ "Royal Leamington Spa". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  21. ↑ "Lowestoft". City Population. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  22. ↑ "Folkestone". City Population. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  23. ↑ "Salisbury". City Population. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  24. ↑ "Ramsgate". City Population. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  25. ↑ "South Kesteven". City Population. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  26. ↑ "Scarborough". City Population. Retrieved 17 May 2025.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_the_most_populous_civil_parishes_in_England&oldid=1354346767"