civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

is a country subdivision, forming the lowest unit of

local government in England Local government in England broadly consists of three layers: regional authorities, local authorities and parish councils. Legislation concerning English local government is passed by Parliament of the United Kingdom, Parliament, as England does n ...

. There are 333 civil parishes in the

ceremonial county The counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, also referred to as the lieutenancy areas of England and informally known as ceremonial counties, are areas of England to which lords-lieutenant are appointed. Legally, the areas i ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...

, most of the county being parished.

Cheshire East Cheshire East is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The local authority is Cheshire East Council. Towns within the area include Crewe, Macclesfield, Congleton, Sandbach, Wilmslow, H ...

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 The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

divisions, and were originally purely ecclesiastical divisions. Over time they acquired civil administration powers.Angus Winchester, 2000, ''Discovering Parish Boundaries''. Shire Publications. Princes Risborough, 96 pages 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''. The poor were looked after by the

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

, 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 In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of he ...

; overseers were appointed to charge a rate to support the poor of the parish. The 19th century saw an increase in the responsibility of parishes, although the ''Poor Law'' powers were transferred to Poor Law Unions. The

Public Health Act 1872 In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

grouped parishes into Rural Sanitary Districts, based on the Poor Law Unions; these subsequently formed the basis for

Rural District Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the a ...

s. Parishes were run by

vestries A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquially ...

, meeting annually to appoint officials, and were generally identical to ecclesiastical parishes, although some

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, ...

s in large parishes administered the ''Poor Law'' themselves; under the Divided Parishes and Poor Law Amendment Act 1882, all

extra-parochial area In England and Wales, an extra-parochial area, extra-parochial place or extra-parochial district was a geographically defined area considered to be outside any ecclesiastical or civil parish. Anomalies in the parochial system meant they had no ch ...

s and

s that levied a separate rate became independent civil parishes.Modern British Surnames : ''Selected Events in the History of Civil Registration and Boundary Changes 1801-1996''
Retrieved 2009-08-22 Civil parishes in their modern sense date from the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

, which abolished

; 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. Urban civil parishes continued to exist, and were generally coterminous with the

Urban District Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (his ...

Municipal Borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

County Borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...

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. The

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

retained civil parishes in rural areas, and many former

s and

s that were being abolished, were replaced by new successor parishes; urban areas that were considered too large to be single parishes became

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unpa ...

s.Office of Public Sector Information : ''Local Government Act 1972''
Retrieved 2009-08-22

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. A parish council can become a town council unilaterally, simply by resolution; and a civil parish can also gain

city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, city status ...

, but only if that is granted by

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differ ...

. The chairman of a town or city council is called a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

. The

Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (c 28) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act allows for the implementation of many provisions outlined in the Government white paper ''Strong and Prosperous Com ...

introduced alternative names: a parish council can now choose to be called a community; village; or neighbourhood council.

List of civil parishes and unparished areas

Cheshire West and Chester Cheshire West and Chester is a unitary authority with borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It was established on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 local government changes, by virtue of an order under the Local Gover ...

The former Chester County Borough and parts of the former Ellesmere Port Municipal Borough and

Neston Urban District Neston Urban District was an urban district in Cheshire, England and previously known as Neston and Parkgate Urban District (1894-1933). It was the local authority for Neston and Parkgate, in the south-west of the Wirral Peninsula. Several c ...

are unparished. *

Acton Bridge Map of the civil parish of Acton Bridge within the former borough of Vale Royal Acton Bridge (formerly Acton) is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. Located within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester on the River Weav ...

* Agden * Aldersey *

Aldford and Saighton Aldford is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Aldford and Saighton, in the county of Cheshire, England. (). The village is approximately to the south of Chester, on the east bank of the River Dee. The Aldford Brook joins ...

Allostock Allostock is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, about five miles south of Knutsford and 20 miles south of Manchester. Allostock was formerly in the ...

Alvanley Alvanley is a small rural village and civil parish near Helsby, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village is on the B5393 road and near junction 14 of the M56 motorway. Ac ...

Anderton with Marbury Anderton with Marbury is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It had a population of 582 according to the 2001 census, reducing slightly to 571 at the 2011 Census, an ...

Antrobus Antrobus may refer to: * Antrobus (surname) *Antrobus, Cheshire, a village in Cheshire, England *Antrobus baronets The Antrobus Baronetcy, of Antrobus in the County Palatine of Chester, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It w ...

* Ashton Hayes and Horton-cum-Peel *

Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre. History Aston w ...

Bache Places *Bache, Cheshire *Bache Peninsula, on Ellesmere Island, Canada People *Richard Bache (1737–1811), an American Postmaster General * Sarah Franklin Bache (1743–1808), his wife and Benjamin Franklin's daughter **Benjamin Franklin Bache ...

Backford Backford is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated between Chester and Ellesmere Port on the A41 trunk road, to the north of the Shropshire Unio ...

* Barnton * Barrow * Barton * Beeston *

Bostock Bostock is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 229, reducing slightly to 225 at the 2011 Census. The ...

* Broxton *

Burwardsley Burwardsley is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The parish also includes the small villages of Burwardsley, Burwardsley Hill, ...

Byley Byley is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, about 2½ miles north of Middlewich. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 202, increasing ...

Capenhurst Capenhurst is a village and civil parish in Chester in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire England. According to the 2001 Census, Capenhurst had a population of 237, increasing to 380 at the 2 ...

* Carden *

Chester Castle Chester Castle is in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It is sited at the southwest extremity of the area bounded by the city walls. The castle stands on an eminence overlooking the River Dee. In the castle complex are the remaining part ...

* Chidlow * Chorlton * Chowley * Christleton * Churton * Clotton Hoofield * Clutton *

Coddington Coddington may refer to: Places * Coddington, Cheshire, United Kingdom * Coddington, Derbyshire, United Kingdom * Coddington, Herefordshire, United Kingdom * Coddington, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom * Coddington, Wisconsin, United States * Co ...

* Comberbach * Croughton *

Crowton Crowton is a civil parish and village within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is located approximately 6 miles west of Northwich {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name ...

* Cuddington * Cuddington *

Darnhall Darnhall is a civil parish and small village to the south west of Winsford in the Borough of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. It had a population of 232 at the 2011 Census. History The Norman Earls of ...

Davenham Davenham (pronounced Dave-n-ham) is a rural village and civil parish approximately south of the town of Northwich, part of the Borough of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. It has a population of 5,655 ...

Delamere and Oakmere Delamere may refer to: Places Australia * Delamere, Northern Territory, a locality * Delamere, South Australia, a locality * Delamere Air Weapons Range, Northern Territory *Delamere Station (pastoral lease), a cattle station in the Northern Territ ...

Dodleston Dodleston is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village is situated to the south west of Chester, very close to the England–Wales border. The c ...

Duckington Duckington is a small village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated some 10½ miles (17 km) south-east of Chester, 10 miles (16 km) east of ...

Duddon and Burton Duddon and Burton is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The parish is formed of the villages of Duddon and Burton (near Tarporley), Bur ...

Dunham-on-the-Hill and Hapsford Dunham-on-the-Hill is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Dunham-on-the-Hill and Hapsford, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester, and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is on the A56 road, approx ...

* Dutton * Eaton and Eccleston *

Elton Elton may refer to: Places England * Elton, Cambridgeshire (formerly Huntingdonshire), a village ** Elton Hall, a baronial hall * Elton, Cheshire, a village and civil parish * Elton, County Durham, a village and civil parish * Elton, Derbyshire ...

* Farndon *

Frodsham Frodsham is a market town, civil parish, and electoral ward in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its population was 8,982 in 2001, increasing to 9,077 at the 2011 Census. It is s ...

* Golborne David *

Great Boughton Great Boughton is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It includes the villages of Boughton Heath and Vicars Cross. It had a population of 2,627 according to the 201 ...

Great Budworth Great Budworth is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England, north of Northwich off the A559 road, east of Comberbach, northwest of Higher Marston and southeast of Budworth Heath. Until 1948, Great Budworth was part of the Arley Hall es ...

* Guilden Sutton * Handley * Hargrave and Huxley *

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

* Harthill *

Helsby Helsby is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Overlooking the Mersey estuary, it is approximately north east of Chester and south we ...

* Huntington * Ince *

Kelsall Kelsall is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is located around east of Chester, west of Northwich and north west of Tarporley. The village is s ...

Kingsley Kingsley may refer to: People *Kingsley (given name) * Kingsley (surname) Places Australia *Kingsley, Western Australia Canada * Rural Municipality of Kingsley No. 124, Saskatchewan England *Kingsley, Cheshire * Kingsley, Hampshire * Kingsley, ...

Kingsmead Kingsmead may refer to: Places in England * Kingsmead, Bath, an electoral ward in Somerset ** Kingsmead Square, Bath * Kingsmead, Cheshire * Kingsmead, a district of Shenley Brook End in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire Other uses * Kingsmead ...

Lach Dennis Lach Dennis is a village in the civil parish of Lach Dennis and Lostock Green, in the unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The civil parish population at the 2011 census was 232. I ...

Lea-by-Backford Lea-by-Backford is a hamlet and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated between Chester and Ellesmere Port, west of the A41 trunk road and to the north of ...

* Ledsham *

Little Budworth Little Budworth is a civil parish and village between Winsford and Chester, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 59 ...

Little Leigh Little Leigh (formerly Leigh-juxta-Bartington) is a civil parish and village within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated on high ground on the north bank of the River ...

Little Stanney Little Stanney is a suburban village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is located on the Wirral Peninsula between Chester and Ellesmere Port. At the 2011 ce ...

* Littleton * Lostock Gralam * Malpas * Manley * Marston *

Mickle Trafford and District Mickle may refer to: Geographical features *Mickle Fell, mountain in the Pennines, England * Mickle Island, southeast of Flagstaff Point, west of Ross Island, Antarctica * Mickle Mere, nature reserve south of Ixworth in Suffolk, England *Mickle Tr ...

* Mollington * Moston *

Mouldsworth Mouldsworth is a village and civil parish on the outskirts of Chester in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is about 8 miles north east of Chester city centre on the B5393 road ...

* Moulton *

Neston Neston is a town and civil parish on the Wirral Peninsula, in Cheshire, England. It is part of the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester. The village of Parkgate is located to the north west and the villages of Little Neston and Nes ...

* Nether Peover *

No Man's Heath and District No (and variant writings) may refer to one of these articles: English language * ''Yes'' and ''no'' (responses) * A determiner in noun phrases Alphanumeric symbols * No (kana), a letter/syllable in Japanese script * No symbol, displayed ...

Norley Norley is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cheshire, England, north of Delamere Forest, near the village of Cuddington, Vale Royal, Cuddington. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 1,169. Its ...

Northwich {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

* Poulton and Pulford * Puddington * Rowton *

Rudheath Rudheath is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in the north west of England, approximately 2 miles east of Northwich. The population of the civil parish as tak ...

* Rushton *

Saughall and Shotwick Park Saughall is a village and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Located between Shotwick and Blacon, it is approximately north west of Chester and from Sealan ...

Shocklach Oviatt and District Shocklach Oviatt and District is a civil parish in the Cheshire West and Chester unitary authority, in the county of Cheshire, England. The parish was created in 2015, combining the previous civil parishes of Caldecott, Church Shocklach, Horto ...

Sproston Sproston is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in the north-west of England, approximately 2 miles east of Middlewich. The population of the civil parish tak ...

Stanthorne and Wimboldsley Stanthorne is a village in Cheshire, England, 2 miles west of Middlewich. The A54 runs through the village, connecting it to the railway station at Winsford. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 153. In 2015, the civil parish amalgamated ...

Stoak Stoak is a small village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester; and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Within the parish, to the west of the village is the intersection of the M53 and M56 Motorways, a ...

* Stretton * Sutton Weaver *

Tarporley Tarporley is a large village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. The civil parish also contains the village of Rhuddall Heath. Tarporley is bypassed by the A49 and A51 roads. At the 2011 census, the population was 2,614. History Tarporle ...

Tarvin Tarvin is a village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It had a population of 2,693 people at the 2001 UK census, rising to 2,728 at the 2011 Census, and the ward covers about . ...

Tattenhall and District Tattenhall is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Tattenhall and District, south-east of Chester, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In the 2001 census, ...

Thornton-le-Moors Thornton-le-Moors is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. At the census of 2001 it had a population of 260, reducing slightly to 253 at the 2011 census. ...

Threapwood Threapwood is a small village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is close to the villages of Shocklach, Worthenbury and Malpas, Che ...

Tilston Tilston is a village and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census, the population was recorded ...

Tiverton and Tilstone Fearnall Tiverton most often refers to: *Tiverton, Devon, a town in England __NOTOC__ Tiverton may also refer to: Canada * Tiverton, Ontario, a village * Tiverton, Nova Scotia, a village known for its "Balancing Rock" United Kingdom *Tiverton, Cheshire, a ...

Tushingham-cum-Grindley, Macefen and Bradley Tushingham-cum-Grindley, Macefen and Bradley is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It was created in 2015, under the terms of the Local Government and Public Invo ...

Upton-by-Chester Upton-by-Chester is a civil parish and a large suburb on the outskirts of Chester, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It includes the villages of Upton and Upton Heath. Histor ...

* Utkinton and Cotebrook * Waverton *

Weaverham Weaverham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. Just off the A49, it is just to the west of Northwich and south of the River Weaver, and has a population of ...

* Wervin *

Whitegate and Marton Whitegate and Marton is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire. The parish has one main settlement of Whitegate, Cheshire, Whitegate and Marton (Winsf ...

* Whitley *

Wigland Wigland is a civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire West and Chester and ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. It, along with the neighbouring parishes of Agden, Chidlow, Stockton and Wychough, has a population of 182 (2011 Census). The ...

* Willington *

Wincham 200px, Map of civil parish of Wincham in the former borough of Vale Royal Wincham is a civil parish and village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is about three miles north ...

Winsford Winsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich. It grew around the salt mining indust ...

References

External links

Office for National Statistics : ''Geographical Area Listings''

Cheshire East Council : ''Clerks of Town Councils, Parish Councils and Parish Meetings''

Cheshire West and Chester Council : ''Contact Details for Local Council Clerks''

Halton Borough Council : ''Parish Councils''

Warrington Borough Council : ''Parish and Town Councils''
{{authority control

Civil parishes In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority. ...