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]

Rank Parish District Population Status Parish
council
created 		Council
1 Northampton West Northamptonshire 137,387[3] Town 2020 Northampton Town Council
2 Sutton Coldfield Birmingham 96,678[4] Town 2016 Sutton Coldfield Town Council
3 Weston-super-Mare North Somerset 82,418[5] Town 2000 Weston-super-Mare Town Council
4 Shrewsbury Shropshire 76,782[6] Town 2009 Shrewsbury Town Council
5 Harrogate North Yorkshire 71,725[7] Town 2025 Harrogate Town Council
6 Aylesbury Buckinghamshire 63,126[8] Town 2001 Aylesbury Town Council
7 South Swindon Swindon 62,871 [9] Parish 2017 South Swindon Parish Council
8 Corby North Northamptonshire 62,347 [10] Parish 2021 Corby Town Council
9 Bracknell Bracknell Forest 60,057[11] Town 1955 Bracknell Town Council
10 Kidderminster Wyre Forest 57,400[12] Town 2015 Kidderminster Town Council
11 Keighley Bradford 57,345[13] Town 2002 Keighley Town Council
12 Kettering Town North Northamptonshire 57,100 Town 2021 Kettering Town Council
13 Barrow Westmorland and Furness 55,489[14] Town 2023 Barrow Town Council
14 Crewe Cheshire East 55,318[15] Town 2013 Crewe Town Council
15 Banbury Cherwell 54,335[16] Town 2000 Banbury Town Council
16 Weymouth Dorset 53,427 [17] Town 2019 Weymouth Town Council
17 Hereford Herefordshire 53,112[18] City 2000 Hereford City Council
18 Macclesfield Cheshire East 52,496[19] Town 2015 Macclesfield Town Council
19 Royal Leamington Spa Warwick 50,923[20] Town 2002 Royal Leamington Spa Town Council
20 Lowestoft East Suffolk 47,879[21] Town 2017 Lowestoft Town Council
21 Folkestone Folkestone and Hythe 47,352[22] Town 2004 Folkestone Town Council
22 Salisbury Wiltshire 41,820[23] City 2009 Salisbury City Council
23 Ramsgate Thanet 41,896[24] Town 2009 Ramsgate Town Council
24 Grantham South Kesteven 39,588[25] Town 2024 Grantham Town Council
25 Farnham Waverley 39,167 Town 1984 Farnham Town Council
26 Scarborough North Yorkshire 38,954[26] Town 2025 Scarborough Town Council
27 Canvey Island Castle Point 38,941 Town 2007 Canvey Island Town Council
28 Hatfield Welwyn Hatfield 38,600 Town 1894 Hatfield Town Council
29 Bishop's Stortford East Hertfordshire 37,873 Town 1974 Bishop's Stortford Town Council
30 Bury St Edmunds West Suffolk 37,854 Town 2003 Bury St Edmunds Town Council
31 Elstree and Borehamwood Hertsmere 37,084 Town 1894 Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council
32 Leighton–Linslade Central Bedfordshire 37,081 Town 1974 Leighton-Linslade Town Council
33 Andover Test Valley 36,977 Town 2010 Andover Town Council
34 Morecambe Lancaster 36,530 Town 2009 Morecambe Town Council
35 Billingham Stockton-on-Tees 36,424 Town 2007 Billingham Town Council
36 Blyth Northumberland 36,379 Town 2009 Blyth Town Council
37 Bridlington East Riding of Yorkshire 36,324 Town 2000 Bridlington Town Council
38 Bridgwater Somerset 35,625 Town 2003 Bridgwater Town Council
39 Chippenham Wiltshire 35,155 Town 1984 Chippenham Town Council
40 Dunstable Central Bedfordshire 35,068 Town 1985 Dunstable Town Council
41 Exmouth East Devon 34,441 Town 1995 Exmouth Town Council
42 Earley Wokingham 33,755 Town 1974 Earley Town Council
43 Central Swindon North Swindon 33,495 Parish 2017 Central Swindon North Parish Council
44 Ecclesfield Sheffield 32,903 Parish 1894 Ecclesfield Parish Council
45 Abingdon-on-Thames Vale of White Horse 32,183 Town 1974 Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council
46 Rayleigh Rochford 31,982 Town 1996 Rayleigh Town Council
47 Morley Leeds 31,832 Town 2000 Morley Town Council
48 Stanley County Durham 31,673 Town 2007 Stanley Town Council
49 Trowbridge Wiltshire 31,392 Town 1974 Trowbridge Town Council
50 Loughton Epping Forest 31,218 Town 1996 Loughton Town Council
51 Newbury West Berkshire 31,200 Town 1997 Newbury Town Council
52 Lichfield Lichfield 31,068 City 1980 Lichfield City Council
53 Winsford Cheshire West and Chester 31,038 Town 1974 Winsford Town Council
54 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. ^ "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.
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