Other administrative land divisions
Poor law Union (later Superintendent Registrar’s District)
The Poor Law Unions were the areas of administration for poor relief established under the Poor Relief (Ireland) Act, 1838. Each Poor Law Union had its own workhouse which was financed from the rates payable by the property owners of each Poor Law Union.Because these areas centred on large market towns to a radius of approximately 10 miles, they often tended to cross county boundaries. There were 27 Poor Law Unions in Northern Ireland.
Dispensary districts (later Registrar’s districts)
Poor Law Unions were further subdivided into dispensary districts, each with their own medical officer.
When civil registration of births, marriages and deaths began in 1864, the Poor Law Unions became the Superintendant Registrars' Districts while the dispensary districts corresponded to the Registrars' Districts.
District Electoral Division / Ward
The District Electoral Divisions (DEDs) were originally established under the Poor Relief (Ireland) Act 1838 as poor law electoral divisions for the election of Boards of Guardians for each Poor Law Union. Their present names up to 1972 were fixed under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898.Under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 a system of County Councils and Urban and Rural District Councils was set up. The DEDs were then used to elect members to the rural district councils, with groups of DEDs combining to elect members to County Councils.
The equivalent territorial unit for the purpose of elections in county boroughs, municipal boroughs and urban districts is the Ward. In the larger urban areas there will be a number of Wards but in the smaller urban areas the entire urban district acts as a Ward.
After 1922 when Northern Ireland was established the boundaries of DEDs were re-drawn. The boundaries changed again in 1973 when new district councils were set up and these 26 districts were subdivided into 526 Wards which were in turn grouped into 98 District Electoral Areas for local government elections.
Diocese
The Christian church developed an administrative structure of dioceses, each being an area over which a bishop presided. Made up of groups of parishes, the boundaries of dioceses were largely settled by the 14th century. Most are named after important church or monastic foundations.You will encounter dioceses when you want to use pre-1858 wills indexes. Before this date wills were proved and letters of administration granted in the ecclesiastical courts of the Church of Ireland in each diocese, so to identify a will in the surviving wills indexes it is necessary to know what diocese the family lived in.
Alphabetical List of Dioceses in Northern Ireland
- Armagh - (Counties Armagh, Londonderry and Tyrone)
- Clogher - (Counties Armagh, Fermanagh and Tyrone)
- Connor - (Counties Antrim, Down and Londonderry)
- Derry - (Counties Antrim, Londonderry and Tyrone)
- Down - (Counties Antrim and Down)
- Dromore - (Counties Antrim, Armagh and Down)
- Kilmore - (County Fermanagh)
- Newry & Mourne - (Counties Armagh and Down)
