A
civil parish is a subnational entity, forming the lowest unit of
local government in
England. There are 104 civil parishes in the
ceremonial county of
Berkshire, most of the county being parished;
Reading is completely unparished;
Bracknell Forest,
West Berkshire and
Wokingham are entirely parished. At the 2001 census, there were 483,882 people living in the 104 parishes, accounting for 60.5 per cent of the county's population.
History
Parishes arose from
Church of England divisions, and were originally purely ecclesiastical divisions. Over time they acquired civil administration powers.[1]
The
Highways Act 1555 made parishes responsible for the upkeep of roads. Every adult inhabitant of the parish was obliged to work four days a year on the roads, providing their own tools, carts and horses; the work was overseen by an unpaid local appointee, the Surveyor of Highways.[2]
The poor were looked after by the
monasteries, until their
dissolution. In 1572, magistrates were given power to 'survey the poor' and impose taxes for their relief. This system was made more formal by the
Poor Law Act 1601, which made parishes responsible for administering the
Poor Law; overseers were appointed to charge a
rate to support the poor of the parish.[3] The 19th century saw an increase in the responsibility of parishes, although the Poor Law powers were transferred to
Poor Law Unions.[4] The
Public Health Act 1872 grouped parishes into Rural Sanitary Districts, based on the Poor Law Unions; these subsequently formed the basis for
Rural Districts.[5]
Civil parishes in their modern sense date from the
Local Government Act 1894, which abolished
vestries; established elected parish councils in all rural parishes with more than 300 electors; grouped rural parishes into Rural Districts; and aligned parish boundaries with county and borough boundaries.[7] Urban civil parishes continued to exist, and were generally coterminous with the
Urban District,
Municipal Borough or
County Borough in which they were situated; many large towns contained a number of parishes, and these were usually merged into one. Parish councils were not formed in urban areas, and the only function of the parish was to elect guardians to Poor Law Unions; with the abolition of the Poor Law system in 1930 the parishes had only a nominal existence.[8]
Recent governments have encouraged the formation of town and parish councils in unparished areas, and the
Local Government and Rating Act 1997 gave local residents the right to demand the creation of a new civil parish.[10]
A parish council can become a town council unilaterally, simply by resolution;[9] and a civil parish can also gain
city status, but only if that is granted by
the Crown.[9] The chairman of a town or city council is called a
mayor.[9] The
Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 introduced alternative names: a parish council can now choose to be called a community; village; or neighbourhood council.[11]
^Alex MacMorran and T R Colquhoun Dill, The Local Government Act 1894 and the Subsequent Statutes Affecting Parish Councils, 1907, Butterworth and Co, London, 626 pages
A
civil parish is a subnational entity, forming the lowest unit of
local government in
England. There are 104 civil parishes in the
ceremonial county of
Berkshire, most of the county being parished;
Reading is completely unparished;
Bracknell Forest,
West Berkshire and
Wokingham are entirely parished. At the 2001 census, there were 483,882 people living in the 104 parishes, accounting for 60.5 per cent of the county's population.
History
Parishes arose from
Church of England divisions, and were originally purely ecclesiastical divisions. Over time they acquired civil administration powers.[1]
The
Highways Act 1555 made parishes responsible for the upkeep of roads. Every adult inhabitant of the parish was obliged to work four days a year on the roads, providing their own tools, carts and horses; the work was overseen by an unpaid local appointee, the Surveyor of Highways.[2]
The poor were looked after by the
monasteries, until their
dissolution. In 1572, magistrates were given power to 'survey the poor' and impose taxes for their relief. This system was made more formal by the
Poor Law Act 1601, which made parishes responsible for administering the
Poor Law; overseers were appointed to charge a
rate to support the poor of the parish.[3] The 19th century saw an increase in the responsibility of parishes, although the Poor Law powers were transferred to
Poor Law Unions.[4] The
Public Health Act 1872 grouped parishes into Rural Sanitary Districts, based on the Poor Law Unions; these subsequently formed the basis for
Rural Districts.[5]
Civil parishes in their modern sense date from the
Local Government Act 1894, which abolished
vestries; established elected parish councils in all rural parishes with more than 300 electors; grouped rural parishes into Rural Districts; and aligned parish boundaries with county and borough boundaries.[7] Urban civil parishes continued to exist, and were generally coterminous with the
Urban District,
Municipal Borough or
County Borough in which they were situated; many large towns contained a number of parishes, and these were usually merged into one. Parish councils were not formed in urban areas, and the only function of the parish was to elect guardians to Poor Law Unions; with the abolition of the Poor Law system in 1930 the parishes had only a nominal existence.[8]
Recent governments have encouraged the formation of town and parish councils in unparished areas, and the
Local Government and Rating Act 1997 gave local residents the right to demand the creation of a new civil parish.[10]
A parish council can become a town council unilaterally, simply by resolution;[9] and a civil parish can also gain
city status, but only if that is granted by
the Crown.[9] The chairman of a town or city council is called a
mayor.[9] The
Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 introduced alternative names: a parish council can now choose to be called a community; village; or neighbourhood council.[11]
^Alex MacMorran and T R Colquhoun Dill, The Local Government Act 1894 and the Subsequent Statutes Affecting Parish Councils, 1907, Butterworth and Co, London, 626 pages