Civil parishes in Cheshire explained

A civil parish is a country subdivision, forming the lowest unit of local government in England. There are 333 civil parishes in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, most of the county being parished. Cheshire East unitary authority is entirely parished. At the 2001 census, there were 565,259 people living in 332 parishes, accounting for 57.5 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]

Parishes were run by vestries, meeting annually to appoint officials, and were generally identical to ecclesiastical parishes,[6] although some townships in large parishes administered the Poor Law themselves; under the Divided Parishes and Poor Law Amendment Act 1882, all extra-parochial areas and townships that levied a separate rate became independent civil parishes.[7]

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]

The Local Government Act 1972 retained civil parishes in rural areas, and many former Urban Districts and Municipal Boroughs that were being abolished, were replaced by new successor parishes; urban areas that were considered too large to be single parishes became unparished areas.[9]

The current position

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]

List of civil parishes and unparished areas

ImageNameStatusPopulationDistrictFormer local authority[12] Refs
Civil parish 1,081 [13]
[14]
Civil parish 4,409 [15]
Civil parish 642 [16]
[17] [18]
Town 12,578 [19]
[20]
Civil parish 199 [21]
Civil parish 261 [22]
Civil parish 281
Civil parish 133
Civil parish 1,790
Civil parish 145
Civil parish 226
Civil parish 98
Civil parish 202
Civil parish 620
Civil parish 9
Civil parish 234
Town 7,095 [23]
Civil parish 406
Civil parish 166
Civil parish 1,012
Civil parish 134
Civil parish 206
Civil parish 492
Civil parish 360
[24]
Civil parish 1,308
Civil parish
[25]
Civil parish 1,254
Civil parish 136
Civil parish 153
Civil parish 100
Civil parish 399
Civil parish 2,201
Civil parish 431
Town 25,750 [26]
Civil parish 60
Civil parish 1,130
Town 48,592 [27]
[28]
[29]
Civil parish 4,301 [30]
Civil parish 380
Civil parish
Civil parish 289
Civil parish 81
Civil parish 163
Civil parish 1,673
Civil parish 2,201
Civil parish 615
Civil parish 6,266[31]
[32]
Civil parish 272
Civil parish 6,781
Civil parish 281
Civil parish 344
Civil parish 223
Civil parish 594
Civil parish 1,632
Civil parish 688
Civil parish 5,669
Civil parish
Civil parish 140
Civil parish 466
Town 12,656 [33]
Civil parish 4,863
Civil parish
Civil parish 275
Civil parish 492
Town 49,531 [34]
[35]
Civil parish 201
Civil parish 510
Civil parish 165
Civil parish 222
Civil parish 601
Town 13,101 [36]
Civil parish 439
Civil parish 224
Civil parish 2,546
Civil parish 150
Civil parish 375
Civil parish 629
Town 12,515 [37]
Civil parish 571
Civil parish 475
Civil parish 669
Civil parish 178
Civil parish 5,552
Civil parish 323
Civil parish 335
Civil parish 116
Civil parish 102
Civil parish 815

Civil parish 541
Civil parish 649
Civil parish 101
Civil parish 220
Town 14,433
Civil parish 3,324
Civil parish 1,282
Civil parish 2,155
Town 17,630 [38]
Civil parish 4,849
Civil parish 376
Civil parish 491
Civil parish 343
Civil parish 175
Civil parish 233
Civil parish 394
Civil parish 1,084
Civil parish 357
Civil parish 1,051
[39]
Civil parish 2,464
Civil parish 248
Civil parish 137
Civil parish 316
Civil parish 81
Civil parish 168
Civil parish 121
Civil parish 181
Civil parish 175
Civil parish
Civil parish 135
Civil parish 2,973
Town 30,326
[40]
Civil parish 164
Civil parish 8,222
Civil parish 723
Civil parish 404
Civil parish 1,060
Civil parish 1,474
Civil parish 216
[41]
Civil parish 1,898 [42]
Civil parish 1,046
[43]
[44]
Civil parish 807
Civil parish 716
Unparished area 58,503 [45]
[46]
Civil parish 1,761
[47]
Unparished area 53,261 [48]
[49]
Civil parish 10,477 [50]
[51]
Town 11,395 [52]
Civil parish 11,265
Civil parish 2,920
Civil parish 105
Civil parish 8,534 [53]
Civil parish 9,377
Civil parish 24,211
Civil parish 316
Civil parish 10,552 [54]
Civil parish 8,699
Civil parish 17,019
Civil parish 1,884
Civil parish 6,396
Civil parish 1,009
Civil parish 1,594
Unparished area 53,093 [55]
[56]
Civil parish 4,366
Civil parish 7,868

Cheshire West and Chester

The former Chester County Borough and parts of the former Ellesmere Port Municipal Borough and Neston Urban District are unparished.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Angus Winchester, 2000, Discovering Parish Boundaries. Shire Publications. Princes Risborough, 96 pages
  2. http://www.racfoundation.org/files/British%20Highways%20Development%20Before%20Motorways.pdf RAC Foundation : What Went Wrong? British Highway Development Before Motorways
  3. http://www.victorianweb.org/history/poorlaw/plintro.html The Victorian Web : The Poor Law : Introduction
  4. http://www.staffs.ac.uk/schools/humanities_and_soc_sciences/census/unions.htm Staffordshire University : Poor Law Unions and Registration Districts
  5. https://web.archive.org/web/20070810205704/http://vision.edina.ac.uk/types/status_page.jsp?unit_status=RSD A Vision of Britain Through Time : Status Details for Rural Sanitary District
  6. Robert Tittler, The Reformation and the Towns in England, 1998, Oxford University Press, 395 pages,
  7. http://homepages.newnet.co.uk/dance/webpjd/offstats/regevents.htm Modern British Surnames : Selected Events in the History of Civil Registration and Boundary Changes 1801-1996
  8. 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
  9. http://www.uk-legislation.hmso.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1972/cukpga_19720070_en_1 Office of Public Sector Information : Local Government Act 1972
  10. http://www.uk-legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1997/ukpga_19970029_en_1 Office of Public Sector Information : Local Government and Rating Act 1997
  11. http://www.uk-legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2007/ukpga_20070028_en_1 Office of Public Sector Information : Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007
  12. From 1974 to 2009 Cheshire East was divided into boroughs: Congleton, formed from Alsager Urban District, Congleton Municipal Borough, Congleton Rural District, Middlewich Urban District and Sandbach Urban District; Crewe and Nantwich, formed from Crewe Municipal Borough, Nantwich Rural District and Nantwich Urban District; and Macclesfield, formed from Alderley Edge Urban District, Bollington Urban District, Bucklow Rural District (part), Disley Rural District, Knutsford Urban District, Macclesfield Municipal Borough, Macclesfield Rural District and Wilmslow Urban District. Cheshire West and Chester was divided into Chester, formed from Chester County Borough, Chester Rural District and Tarvin Rural District; Ellesmere Port and Neston, formed from Ellesmere Port Municipal Borough and Neston Urban District; and Vale Royal, formed from Northwich Rural District, Northwich Urban District, Runcorn Rural District (part) and Winsford Urban District
  13. https://archive.today/20121224072407/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10107647 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Macclesfield Rural District
  14. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=8&containerAreaId=790336 Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : Macclesfield
  15. https://archive.today/20121224103327/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10135175 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Alderley Edge Urban District
  16. https://archive.today/20121224080439/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10166299 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Nantwich Rural District
  17. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=8&containerAreaId=790334 Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : Crewe and Nantwich
  18. Web site: Alpraham and Calveley. Mapit. 4 July 2023.
  19. https://archive.today/20121225125739/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10067807 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Alsager Urban District
  20. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=8&containerAreaId=790333 Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : Congleton
  21. https://archive.today/20120914113739/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10074654 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Congleton Rural District
  22. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10027494 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Bucklow Rural District
  23. https://archive.today/20121224083643/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10167139 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Bollington Urban District
  24. Web site: Bulkeley and Ridley. Mapit. 4 July 2023.
  25. Web site: Burland and Acton. Mapit. 4 July 2023.
  26. https://archive.today/20121224155547/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10025333 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Congleton Municipal Borough
  27. https://archive.today/20121224085531/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10003349 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Crewe Municipal Borough
  28. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/home.do Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Table KS01 : Usual Resident Population
  29. Web site: Public Notice: Outcome of the Crewe Community Governance Review. Cheshire East Council. 16 May 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20150329233428/http://cheshireeast.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/voting_and_elections/electoral_review/crewe_governance_options/outcome_of_the_review.aspx. 29 March 2015. dead.
  30. https://archive.today/20120917180819/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10220488 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Disley Rural District
  31. https://archive.today/20120915075340/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10109670 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Wilmslow Urban District
  32. Web site: The Cheshire East Borough Council (Reorganization of Community Governance) (Wilmslow, Handforth and Styal) Order 2011. Lgbce. 2 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180303105812/https://www.lgbce.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/12234/cheshire-east-bc-rocg-wilmslow,-handforth-and-styal-order-2011.pdf. 3 March 2018. dead. dmy-all.
  33. https://archive.today/20121224100259/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10153980 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Knutsford Urban District
  34. https://archive.today/20121224065419/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10137135 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Macclesfield Municipal Borough
  35. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/home.do Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Table KS01 : Usual Resident Population
  36. https://archive.today/20120918162516/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10221171 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Middlewich Urban District
  37. https://archive.today/20121224062117/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10137147 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Nantwich Urban District
  38. https://archive.today/20120918031145/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10153992 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Sandbach Urban District
  39. Web site: The Cheshire East Borough Council (Reorganization of Community Governance) (Wilmslow, Handforth and Styal) Order 2011. Lgbce. 2 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180303105812/https://www.lgbce.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/12234/cheshire-east-bc-rocg-wilmslow,-handforth-and-styal-order-2011.pdf. 3 March 2018. dead. dmy-all.
  40. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/home.do Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Table KS01 : Usual Resident Population
  41. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=8&containerAreaId=790279 Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : Halton
  42. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10167036 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Whiston Rural District
  43. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/home.do Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Table KS01 : Usual Resident Population
  44. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/pdf/uksi_20080174_en.pdf The Electoral Commission : The Halton (Parish Electoral Arrangements) Order 2008
  45. https://archive.today/20121224090354/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10062263 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Runcorn Urban District
  46. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/home.do Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Table KS01 : Usual Resident Population
  47. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/home.do Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Table KS01 : Usual Resident Population
  48. https://archive.today/20121224085747/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10074642 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Widnes Municipal Borough
  49. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/home.do Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Table KS01 : Usual Resident Population
  50. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10137159 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Runcorn Rural District
  51. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=8&containerAreaId=790280 Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : Warrington
  52. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10027020 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Warrington Rural District
  53. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10186791 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Golborne Urban District
  54. https://archive.today/20121225093328/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10173814 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Lymm Urban District
  55. https://archive.today/20121225105508/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10109450 A Vision of Britain Through Time : Warrington County Borough
  56. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/home.do Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Table KS01 : Usual Resident Population
  57. Web site: Lach Dennis change of name notice. Cheshire West and Chester Council. 6 July 2023.
  58. Web site: Children of Cheshire West and Chester Council. Mapit. 23 March 2018.

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