Misplaced Pages

#897102

22-546: Blaby ( / ˈ b l eɪ b i / ) is a town in the Blaby District in central Leicestershire , England, some five miles south of Leicester city centre. At the time of the 2011 census, Blaby had a population of 6,194, falling slightly from 6,240 in 2001. Given Blaby's proximity to the city, it is part of the Leicester Urban Area . Its name likely came from Old Norse . Blábýr = " farmstead or village belonging to

44-562: A chairman, vice-chairman and up to two additional members from outside their own body, provided that they were qualified to be a guardian in a like manner to the elected members. Boards of guardians were abolished in 1930 by the Local Government Act 1929 , when their powers and responsibilities passed to local and national government bodies, including public assistance committees . A similar system of Poor Law to that in England and Wales

66-779: A few miles away. Blaby gives its name to the Blaby district and previously to the Parliamentary constituency that was held by former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson between 1974 and 1992. Blaby is now part of the constituency of South Leicestershire and represented by Alberto Costa of the Conservative Party . There was a railway station on the Birmingham to Peterborough Line , but it closed in 1968. The " Blaby Special " heirloom tomato variety originates from

88-577: A man named Blár" (where the -r is a case ending ). There seems to have been a dense patch of Viking settlement in Leicestershire , although some records in the Blaby Library indicate the origin of the village's name was from the first vicar. Blaby is twinned with the village of Villers-sous-Saint-Leu in France. While there are few buildings of outstanding historical or architectural interest, old Blaby

110-495: A neighbouring union without the consent of its board. Each board was composed of guardians elected by the owners and bona fide occupiers of land liable to pay the poor rate . Depending on the value of the property held, an elector could cast from one to three votes. Electors could nominate proxies to cast their vote in their absence. Where property was held by a corporation or company, its governing body could nominate an officer to cast its vote or votes. Each civil parish in

132-450: Is a conservation area. Old Blaby contains The Bakers Arms, a thatched public house that dates back to 1485. The other public houses to be found in Blaby are The Fox & Tiger, The Bulls Head and The Black Horse. The Tom Thumb and The Egyptian Queen have been demolished. Blaby is home to three schools: Blaby Stokes CE Primary School, Blaby Thistly Meadow Primary School, and Foxfields Academy. To

154-470: The Blaby Rural District came into being. At the same time, Wigston was removed from the district to become its own urban district . Oadby was subsequently also removed from the district in 1913 to become an urban district. In 1935 the district ceded some territory to Leicester and gained six parishes from the abolished Hinckley Rural District . In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972 ,

176-560: The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 , replacing the parish overseers of the poor established under the old poor law, following the recommendations of the Poor Law Commission . Boards administered workhouses within a defined poor law union consisting of a group of parishes, either by order of the Poor Law Commission , or by the common consent of the parishes. Once a union was established it could not be dissolved or merged with

198-530: The Blaby Poor Law Union , which had been created in 1836. Although named after Blaby, the union built its workhouse in Enderby . In 1872 sanitary districts were established, giving public health and local government responsibilities for rural areas to the existing boards of guardians of poor law unions. In 1894 rural sanitary districts were redesignated as rural districts with their own councils, and so

220-487: The M1. Blaby District contains several well-known developments in the county, centred around junction 21 of the M1. The most prominent is Fosse Shopping Park. The district contains 24 civil parishes . The parish council for Braunstone has declared its parish to be a town, allowing it to take the style "town council"; the area is often called "Braunstone Town" to distinguish it from the adjoining Braunstone estate which used to be in

242-787: The Shoults' Tomato Farm, which was located in Blaby from circa 1908 until 1948: the variety was thought to be extinct but was revived from a seed bank in 2005. A new school was incorporated (Blaby Stokes C of E) to absorb the influx of children from families new to the village taking up residence in the new development. Blaby is home to rugby union side, Leicester Lions , who play at the 2,000 capacity Westleigh Park. 52°34′21″N 1°10′04″W  /  52.57240°N 1.16777°W  / 52.57240; -1.16777 Blaby District The neighbouring districts are Hinckley and Bosworth , Charnwood , Leicester , Oadby and Wigston , Harborough and Rugby . The district traces its origins to

SECTION 10

#1732852176898

264-408: The area was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan district called Blaby. Blaby District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Leicestershire County Council . The whole district is also covered by civil parishes , which form a third tier of local government. The council has been under Conservative majority control since 1999. Political control of

286-457: The council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows: The leaders of the council since 2004 have been: Following the 2023 election the composition of the council was: The next election is due in 2027. Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 36 councillors representing 17 wards , with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. The district straddles

308-482: The parish but was transferred to Leicester in 1935. Some of the smaller parishes have a parish meeting rather than a parish council. 52°34′23″N 1°12′00″W  /  52.573°N 1.2°W  / 52.573; -1.2 Board of guardians Boards of guardians were ad hoc authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. Boards of guardians were created by

330-544: The parliamentary constituencies of South Leicestershire and Chanrnwood . There was a Blaby constituency between 1974 and 2010, which was represented by Nigel Lawson between 1974 and 1992. Blaby District Council's main offices are on Desford Road in Narborough. The old part of the building was formerly a house called the Old Rectory, which had previously served as the rectory for the nearby All Saints Church . The house

352-479: The property ownership requirements at that moment. In Ashton-under-Lyne , Bertha Mason was the first woman to be elected to the board and served until she moved to London in 1904. By the Public Health Act 1875 ( 38 & 39 Vict. c. 55), boards of guardians became rural sanitary authorities for all areas outside a municipal borough or town with a local board . The Local Government Act 1894 altered

374-547: The south of the Bakers Arms stands Bouskell Park, with a 19th-century ice house. Other parks include Northfield Park, used for football, cricket, fetes and fairs, and Oakfield Park, located off Hospital Lane. Most shops and amenities stand on the old A426 road between Leicester to the north and Lutterworth to the south. Fosse Park shopping centre, the M1 motorway , and the M69 motorway are

396-459: The system; members of newly established rural district councils became guardians for their areas, with poor law elections being limited to urban areas. At the same time, property qualifications were abolished, plural voting was ended and women were able to become guardians. The term of office of a guardian was increased to three years, with all guardians elected, and no ex officio or nominated board members. Boards were, however, permitted to co-opt

418-477: The union was represented by at least one guardian, with those with larger populations or special circumstances having two or more. The exact constitution of each board was determined by the Poor Law Commissioners. Guardians were subject to annual elections. In addition to the elected guardians, any justice of the peace residing in a parish of the union was entitled to be an ex officio guardian. It

440-552: Was bought in 1936 for £4,250 by Blaby Rural District Council to serve as its headquarters and has been significantly extended since then. In 1994 a new development called Thorpe Astley in the parish of Braunstone was started, being built over the course of 15 years. This totalled over 2,000 homes during the phased construction. The development in Lubbesthorpe, approved in January 2014, is located to land west of Thorpe Astley, divided by

462-416: Was introduced to Ireland in 1838, with boards of guardians elected by rate-payers. The Irish system differed from that in England and Wales, as the civil parish was not used as the basis for the election of guardians. In their place electoral divisions were formed by the agglomeration of townlands . The ratio of elected to ex officio guardians was to be at least three to one, with an election to be held among

SECTION 20

#1732852176898

484-481: Was long unclear whether women were permitted to win election to boards of guardians. In 1875, Martha Merington was accepted as a candidate for the Kensington Board of Guardians, and was successful. Her election was upheld, although there was much opposition. She was disqualified after winning a further election in 1879 as she was moving house on the election day and so it was uncertain whether she technically met

#897102