The district had its origins in the Kendal Poor Law Union, which had been created in 1836, covering Kendal itself and a large rural area surrounding the town. In 1872 sanitary districts were established, giving public health and local government responsibilities for rural areas to the existing boards of guardians of poor law unions. The Kendal Rural Sanitary District therefore covered the area of the poor law union except for Bowness on Windermere, Grasmere, Kendal, Kirkby Lonsdale, and Windermere, which each had urban authorities and so became their own urban sanitary districts. Ambleside was subsequently made its own urban sanitary district in 1884, removing it from the Kendal Rural Sanitary District. The Kendal Rural Sanitary District was administered from the workhouse in Kendal, which had been built in 1769 at 1A Windermere Road.[2]
Under the Local Government Act 1894, rural sanitary districts became rural districts from 28 December 1894. Had the Kendal Rural Sanitary District followed the usual naming pattern, it would have become "Kendal Rural District". However, at the new council's first meeting, on 29 December 1894 at the workhouse, the council chose instead to call the district "South Westmorland Rural District". John Holme of Milnthorpe was appointed the first chairman of the council, having been the chairman of the board of guardians for the previous fourteen years.[3]
In 1935 the district boundaries were changed. It gained Kirkby Lonsdale, which ceased to be a separate urban district. At the same time it ceded the parishes of Langdales, Rydal and Loughrigg, and Troutbeck to the new Lakes Urban District, created from those parishes plus the Ambleside and Grasmere Urban Districts and the parish of Patterdale from West Ward Rural District.[1]