Extra-parochial area
| Extra-parochial area | |
|---|---|
| |
| Created |
|
| Abolished by |
|
| Abolished |
|
| Number | 686[1] (as of 19th century) |
| Act of Parliament | |
 20 Vict. c. 19 | |
| Dates | |
|---|---|
| Royal assent | 21 March 1857 |
In
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
Later the lack of parochial administration, including policing, would cause extra-parochial places to be used for the non-conformist religious congregation and Chartism meetings. Examples include the precincts of Chester Castle, Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle; and the islands of Lundy (since 2013 its own ecclesiastical parish) and Skokholm. Others were created for individual reasons such as Rothley Temple which was used by the Knights Templar and Old Sarum which was an abandoned settlement.[1] The Army Chaplains Act 1868 allowed the creation of extra-parochial districts outside normal ecclesiastical administration of the Church of England for the purposes of churches on army bases.[2]
Problems
The administration of the
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
The
After the 31st of December 1857, every place entered separately in the Report of the Registrar General on the
last Census which now is or is reputed to be extra-parochial, and wherein no rate is levied for the relief of the poor, shall for all the purposes of the assessment to the poor rate, the relief of the poor, the county, police, or borough rate, the burial of the dead, the removal of nuisances, the registration of parliamentary and municipal voters, and the registration of births and deaths, be deemed a parish for such purposes, and shall be designated by the name which is assigned to it in such report; and the justices of the peace having jurisdiction over such place, or over the greater part thereof, shall appoint overseers of the poor therein; and with respect to any other place being or reputed to be extra-parochial and wherein no rate is levied for the relief of the poor, such justices may appoint overseers of the poor therein, notwithstanding anything contained in the 7 & 8 Vict c 101.
Extra-Parochial Places Act 1857
The legislation was almost prevented from passing by the influential barristers of the
In each of the places termed the Inner Temple, the Middle Temple, and Gray's Inn, the officer for the time being acting as the under-treasurer of such inn of court, and in the place termed Charterhouse, London, the registrar shall be the overseer of such place; and in default of any such officer, the justices having jurisdiction in such inns or place respectively shall appoint some inhabitant householder therein to be the overseer thereof for the then current year, and thenceforth from year to year so long as the office of under-treasurer or registrar shall be vacant; provided that such places shall not be liable to be added to any union or other district for the purposes aforesaid.
Extra-Parochial Places Act 1857
The 1857 act was not completely successful and several areas continued to operate extra-parochially. The Poor Law Amendment Act 1866 converted to civil parishes any place that levied a separate poor rate and the Poor Law Amendment Act 1868 incorporated "for all civil parochial purposes" the extra-parochial places remaining on 25 December 1868, that were without an appointed overseer of the poor, into a neighbouring parish with the longest common boundary.[8]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Parish and Belonging: Community, Identity and Welfare in England and Wales, 1700โ1950. By K. D. M. Snell (New York, Cambridge University Press, 2006)
- ^ The Law of Organized Religions: Between Establishment and Secularism, By Julian Rivers
- ^ Report from the Select Committee of the House of Lords Appointed to Consider the Laws Relating to Parochial Assessments. Sessional papers. Vol. HC 1850 XVI (641) 1. 26 July 1850. p. 156, qq. 983, 984.
- ^ Poor Law Board (4 July 1850). Return of the value of all extra-parochial property which either has been or is liable to be assessed to the county rate, under the Act 8 & 9 Vict. c. 111, as fixed either by a county rate made under the said Act or by the property tax. Sessional papers. Vol. HC 1850 XLIX (526) 11.
- ^ a b The Solicitors' journal & reporter, Volume 1
- ^ The Inner Temple as a local authority
- ^ Middle Temple as a Local Authority Archived 2012-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Poor law amendment act, 1868: 31 & 32 Vict., C. CXXII