Civil parishes in Cumbria

A civil parish in England is the lowest unit of local government in England, local government. There are 284 civil parishes in the ceremonial county of Cumbria, with most of the county being parished, and Allerdale, Borough of Copeland, Copeland, Eden District, Eden and South Lakeland being entirely parished. At the 2001 census, there were 359,692 people living in those 284 parishes, accounting for 73.8 per cent of the county's population.

The extent of modern Civil parishes are largely geographically based on historic Church of England parish boundaries, which were ecclesiastical divisions that had acquired civil administration powers managed by the Vestry committee.Angus Winchester, 2000, ''Discovering Parish Boundaries''. Shire Publications. Princes Risborough, 96 pages

History

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 monastery, monasteries, until their Dissolution of the Monasteries, 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 Elizabethan Poor Law (1601), Poor Law Act 1601, which made parishes responsible for administering the English Poor Laws, Poor Law; overseers were appointed to charge a rates (tax), 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 sanitary district, Public Health Act 1872 grouped parishes into Rural Sanitary Districts, based on the Poor Law Unions; these subsequently formed the basis for Rural Districts.

Parishes were run by vestry, vestries, meeting annually to appoint officials, and were generally identical to ecclesiastical parishes, although some township (England), townships in large parishes administered the ''Poor Law'' themselves; under the Divided Parishes and Poor Law Amendment Act 1882, all extra-parochial areas and township (England), townships 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 22 August 2009

Civil parishes in their modern sense date from the Local Government Act 1894, which abolished vestry, 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. Urban civil parishes continued to exist, and were generally coterminous with the Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland), 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.

The Local Government Act 1972 retained civil parishes in rural areas, and many former Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland), 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.Office of Public Sector Information : ''Local Government Act 1972''
Retrieved 22 August 2009

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 in the United Kingdom, city status, but only if that is granted by British monarchy, the Crown. The chairman of a town or city council is called a Mayors in England, mayor. 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.Office of Public Sector Information : ''Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007''
Retrieved 22 August 2009

List of civil parishes and unparished areas

See also

* List of civil parishes in England

References

External links

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

Cumbria Association of Local Councils

{{Cumbria

Civil parishes in Cumbria,
Populated places in Cumbria, Civil parishes
Lists of civil parishes in England, Cumbria
Local government in Cumbria
Cumbria-related lists