England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

, an extra-parochial area, extra-parochial place or extra-parochial district was a geographically defined area considered to be outside any

ecclesiastical {{Short pages monitor Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse

rates Rate or rates may refer to: Finance * Rate (company), an American residential mortgage company formerly known as Guaranteed Rate * Rates (tax), a type of taxation system in the United Kingdom used to fund local government * Exchange rate, rate ...

and usually

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...

s. They were formed for a variety of reasons, often because an area was unpopulated or unsuitable for agriculture, but also around institutions and buildings or natural resources. Extra-parochial areas caused considerable problems when they became inhabited as they did not provide religious facilities, local governance or provide for the relief of the poor. Their status was often ambiguous and there was demand for extra-parochial areas to operate more like parishes. Following the introduction of the

New Poor Law The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 ( 4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 76) (PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey denying the right of the poor to subsistence. It c ...

, extra-parochial areas were effectively made civil parishes by the ''Extra-Parochial Places Act 1857'' and were eliminated by the

Poor Law Amendment Act 1868 Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

. This was achieved either by being integrated with a neighbouring or surrounding parish, or by becoming a separate

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

if the population was high enough.Parish and Belonging: Community, Identity and Welfare in England and Wales, 1700–1950. By K. D. M. Snell (New York, Cambridge University Press, 2006)

Formation

Extra-parochial areas formed in every county in England for a number of reasons. Often they were remote areas without population or areas covered by a particular resource such as

commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

s and fenlands. The names of some former extra-parochial areas such as Nowhere, Norfolk; Nomansland, Devon; and

No Man's Heath, Warwickshire No Man's Heath is an area of the civil parish of Newton Regis, in the North Warwickshire district, in the county of Warwickshire, England, about northeast of Tamworth. It is near the boundaries of four English counties: Derbyshire, Leicester ...

point to their isolation. Early institutions such as hospitals,

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the poor of a locality, for those who had held ce ...

s and leper colonies were often made to be extra-parochial, as were houses of the gentry, depopulated villages, cathedral closes, castle grounds,

Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford, Universities of Oxford and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most prestigious universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collect ...

colleges, and the

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court: Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple, and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have s ...

. Later the lack of parochial administration, including policing, would cause extra-parochial places to be used for the non-conformist religious congregation and

Chartism Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of ...

meetings. Examples include the precincts of

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 par ...

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

and

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

. Others were created for individual reasons such as

Rothley Temple Rothley Temple, or more correctly Rothley Preceptory, (pronounced ''Rowth-Ley'') was a preceptory (a religious establishment operated by certain orders of monastic knights) in the village of Rothley, Leicestershire, England, associated with bo ...

which was used by the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

and

Old Sarum Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest recor ...

which was an abandoned settlement. The

Army Chaplains Act 1868 An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on Ground warfare, land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include avia ...

allowed the creation of extra-parochial districts outside normal ecclesiastical administration of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

for the purposes of churches on army bases.

Problems

The administration of the

Old Poor Law The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief in England and Wales that developed out of the codification of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws in 1587–1598. The system continued until the modern welfare state emerged in the late 1940s. En ...

caused particular problems for people from or resident in extra-parochial areas. The

Poor Relief Act 1662 The Poor Relief Act 1662 ( 14 Cha. 2. c. 12) was an act of the Cavalier Parliament of England. It was ''an Act for the Better Relief of the Poor of this Kingdom'' and is also known as the Settlement Act or the Settlement and Removal Act. The ...

meant that poor relief could only be received from a parish of settlement, where a person was born or normally located. This excluded residents of extra-parochial places from the welfare system. In some cases relief was funded from the county rate, elsewhere a neighbouring parish provided support, and in a very limited number of extra-parochial places, there was provision of poor relief by overseers. However, the legal status of these areas regarding poor relief remained ambiguous. The

presented different problems as parishes were grouped into

poor law union A poor law union was a geographical territory, and early local government unit, in Great Britain and Ireland. Poor law unions existed in England and Wales from 1834 to 1930 for the administration of poor relief. Prior to the Poor Law Amendment ...

s it was unclear what and how a contribution should be made from extra-parochial areas. It was also unclear what rights the justices of the peace had to sit on a

board of guardians Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the po ...

. The problems of these areas relating to the administration of poor relief were exacerbated as the extra-parochial nature of the places attracted vulnerable people such as single women who wished to give birth there in order to avoid illegitimacy law, registration costs and parish settlement of their children by birth. Aside from the Poor Law and civil administration, the nature of extra-parochial places caused other problems, such as rents being disproportionately high. In 1844, there were 575 extra-parochial places exempt from poor rates, with a combined population of 104,533 and area of . An 1850 report listed those which were liable to the county rate.

Conversion to parishes

Because it was problematic for communities to be without religious provision or the usual structures of local governance there were demands to make extra-parochial areas operate in the same way as parishes or for them to become part of an adjoining parish. The status of some extra-parochial areas was called into question, contested or at least ambiguous. Because of shifts in population, it had become necessary to divide, merge and otherwise alter

ancient 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

es and for them to diverge for ecclesiastical and civil purposes. Some extra-parochial areas were absorbed by new parishes as part of this process. The (

20 Vict. This is a complete list of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the year 1857. Note that the first parliament of the United Kingdom was held in 1801; parliaments between 1707 and 1800 were either Parliament of Great Britain, parliam ...

c. 19) from 1 January 1858 effectively turned extra-parochial places into civil parishes, providing for poor relief, poor rates, police rates, burial, and registration. Overseers could be appointed from an adjoining parish if no inhabitant was suitable. A local act could be used to join the extra-parochial area to a poor law union or parish if the guardians agreed. It was also possible for the extra-parochial place to be merged with another parish if a majority of landowners and occupiers agreed. The legislation was almost prevented from passing by the influential barristers of the

who were able to secure a special provision to ensure

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

,The Solicitors' journal & reporter, Volume 1

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

, and

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

could not be grouped into any poor law union, although they were otherwise considered to be parishes. This provision was also made for Charterhouse, London. The 1857 act was not completely successful and several areas continued to operate extra-parochially. The

Poor Law Amendment Act 1866 Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse

incorporated "for all civil parochial purposes" the extra-parochial places remaining on 25 December 1868, that were without an appointed

overseer of the poor An overseer of the poor was an official who administered poor relief such as money, food, and clothing in England and various other countries which derived their law from England, such as the United States. England In England, overseers of the po ...

, into a neighbouring parish with the longest common boundary.The Poor law amendment act, 1868: 31 & 32 Vict., C. CXXII

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Extra-Parochial Area Geography of the United Kingdom Types of subdivision in the United Kingdom