78-529: Bodicote is a village and civil parish in North Oxfordshire , approximately 2 miles (3 km) south of the centre of Banbury . The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,126. The Church of England parish church of Saint John the Baptist is a Grade II* listed building , with the chancel arch dating back to the 13th century. The Domesday Book of 1086 records a windmill that stood next to
156-513: A London borough . (Since the new county was beforehand a mixture of metropolitan boroughs , municipal boroughs and urban districts, no extant parish councils were abolished.) In 1974, the Local Government Act 1972 retained rural parishes, but abolished most urban parishes, as well as the urban districts and boroughs which had administered them. Provision was made for smaller urban districts and boroughs to become successor parishes , with
234-579: A 20,000 signature petition against it. About 1,070 houses are being built along with local shops, a public house, church, restaurant, primary school and other local services. Currently in November 2022 there is only a Primary School and a Community Centre in the building originally earmarked for a doctors’ surgery. Stagecoach in Oxfordshire bus route B3 runs half-hourly, Mondays to Saturdays, between Bodicote village and Hardwick Hill via Banbury town centre. There
312-515: A Special Expense, to residents of the unparished area to fund those activities. If the district council does not opt to make a Special Expenses charge, there is an element of double taxation of residents of parished areas, because services provided to residents of the unparished area are funded by council tax paid by residents of the whole district, rather than only by residents of the unparished area. Parish councils comprise volunteer councillors who are elected to serve for four years. Decisions of
390-576: A boundary coterminous with an existing urban district or borough or, if divided by a new district boundary, as much as was comprised in a single district. There were 300 such successor parishes established. In urban areas that were considered too large to be single parishes, the parishes were simply abolished, and they became unparished areas . The distinction between types of parish was no longer made; whether parishes continued by virtue of being retained rural parishes or were created as successor parishes, they were all simply termed parishes. The 1972 act allowed
468-472: A city council (though most cities are not parishes but principal areas, or in England specifically metropolitan boroughs or non-metropolitan districts ). The chairman of a town council will have the title "town mayor" and that of a parish council which is a city will usually have the title of mayor . When a city or town has been abolished as a borough, and it is considered desirable to maintain continuity of
546-456: A city council. According to the Department for Communities and Local Government , in England in 2011 there were 9,946 parishes. Since 1997 around 100 new civil parishes have been created, in some cases by splitting existing civil parishes, but mostly by creating new ones from unparished areas. Parish or town councils have very few statutory duties (things they are required to do by law) but have
624-548: A city was Hereford , whose city council was merged in 1998 to form a unitary Herefordshire . The area of the city of Hereford remained unparished until 2000 when a parish council was created for the city. As another example, the charter trustees for the City of Bath make up the majority of the councillors on Bath and North East Somerset Council. Civil parishes cover 35% of England's population, with one in Greater London and few in
702-440: A civil parish is usually an elected parish council (which can decide to call itself a town, village, community or neighbourhood council, or a city council if the parish has city status). Alternatively, in parishes with small populations (typically fewer than 150 electors) governance may be by a parish meeting which all electors may attend; alternatively, parishes with small populations may be grouped with one or more neighbours under
780-481: A civil parish which has no parish council, the parish meeting may levy a council tax precept for expenditure relating to specific functions, powers and rights which have been conferred on it by legislation. In places where there is no civil parish ( unparished areas ), the administration of the activities normally undertaken by the parish becomes the responsibility of the district or borough council. The district council may make an additional council tax charge, known as
858-568: A common parish council. Wales was also divided into civil parishes until 1974, when they were replaced by communities , which are similar to English parishes in the way they operate. Civil parishes in Scotland were abolished for local government purposes by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 ; the Scottish equivalent of English civil parishes are the community council areas established by
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#1732891431035936-492: A fleet of 176 buses. Stagecoach Oxfordshire has a young fleet. This is partly due to Oxford's Low Emission Zone, which allows only buses with exhaust systems of at least Euro V standard or better to serve the city centre. Stagecoach Oxfordshire has replaced most of its fleet to meet this requirement. Oxford depot also has three out-stations at Bicester , Chipping Norton and Grove . Chipping Norton out-station has previously been used by Witney depot. Grove out-station houses
1014-641: A fleet of 26 Alexander Dennis Enviro400 H diesel-electric hybrid buses on Oxford – Cowley – Blackbird Leys route 1 and Oxford – Kidlington routes 7A/7B (now 2/2A/2B). Double deckers were chosen over single deckers as a result of the co-ordinated timetables and reduced frequencies to be introduced under the quality partnership. As newer buses joined the Oxfordshire fleet, the Enviro400H hybrids were transferred first to Oxford – Rose Hill route 3, then to Kidlington – Headington route 700 and now to Oxford – Cowley – Headington route 10. In October 2016 Stagecoach announced
1092-517: A new code. In either case the code must comply with the Nolan Principles of Public Life . A parish can be granted city status by the Crown . As of 2020 , eight parishes in England have city status, each having a long-established Anglican cathedral: Chichester , Ely , Hereford , Lichfield , Ripon , Salisbury , Truro and Wells . The council of an ungrouped parish may pass a resolution giving
1170-943: A new route created in January 2017 between Woodstock and Oxford via Kidlington and Oxford Parkway . Route 7 was given Stagecoach Gold status with brand new Enviro400 MMC vehicles delivered to Stagecoach in Oxfordshire in December 2016. This service now has been extended to Witney from Woodstock and has been renamed the S7 to match the Superior branding. Routes X30, 31, and 34 between Wantage and Oxford were upgraded to Stagecoach Gold status in January 2017. The services received new Stagecoach Gold specification Enviro400 MMC vehicles that were delivered to Stagecoach in December 2016. Routes 31 and X30 were renumbered S8 & S9 respectively on 22 October 2017. In January 2022, services S8 and 34 passed to Thames Travel ,
1248-431: A new smaller manor, there was a means of making a chapel which, if generating or endowed with enough funds, would generally justify foundation of a parish, with its own parish priest (and in latter centuries vestry ). This consistency was a result of canon law which prized the status quo in issues between local churches and so made boundary changes and sub-division difficult. The consistency of these boundaries until
1326-770: A parish (a "detached part") was in a different county . In other cases, counties surrounded a whole parish meaning it was in an unconnected, "alien" county. These anomalies resulted in a highly localised difference in applicable representatives on the national level , justices of the peace , sheriffs, bailiffs with inconvenience to the inhabitants. If a parish was split then churchwardens, highway wardens and constables would also spend more time or money travelling large distances. Some parishes straddled two or more counties, such as Todmorden in Lancashire and Yorkshire. Stagecoach in Oxfordshire Stagecoach in Oxfordshire
1404-416: A parish council, and instead will only have a parish meeting : an example of direct democracy . Alternatively several small parishes can be grouped together and share a common parish council, or even a common parish meeting. A parish council may decide to call itself a town council, village council, community council, neighbourhood council, or if the parish has city status, the parish council may call itself
1482-503: A population of between 100 and 300 could request their county council to establish a parish council. Provision was also made for a grouped parish council to be established covering two or more rural parishes. In such groups, each parish retained its own parish meeting which could vote to leave the group, but otherwise the grouped parish council acted across the combined area of the parishes included. Urban civil parishes were not given their own parish councils, but were directly administered by
1560-1079: A range of discretionary powers which they may exercise voluntarily. These powers have been defined by various pieces of legislation. The role they play can vary significantly depending on the size, resources and ability of the council, but their activities can include any of the following: Parish councils have powers to provide and manage various local facilities; these can include allotments , cemeteries, parks, playgrounds, playing fields and village greens , village halls or community centres , bus shelters, street lighting, roadside verges, car parks, footpaths, litter bins and war memorials. Larger parish councils may also be involved in running markets , public toilets and public clocks, museums and leisure centres . Parish councils may spend money on various things they deem to be beneficial to their communities, such as providing grants to local community groups or local projects, or fund things such as public events, crime prevention measures, community transport schemes, traffic calming or tourism promotion. Parish councils have
1638-532: A relatively minor role in local government. As of September 2023 , there are 10,464 parishes in England, and in 2020 they covered approximately 40% of the English population. For historical reasons, civil parishes predominantly cover rural areas and smaller urban areas, with most larger urban areas being wholly or partly unparished ; but since 1997 it has been possible for civil parishes to be created within unparished areas if demanded by local residents . In 2007
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#17328914310351716-473: A revised business structure. The Oxford Tube currently operates a fleet of 32 Plaxton Panorama double decker coaches on limited stops services between Oxford and London Victoria . On 3 March 2014 Stagecoach Group announced its biggest vehicle order to date. Costing Stagecoach over £100 million in total, it included 26 new VanHool TX Astromega coaches to operate the Oxford Tube service. The first of
1794-409: A role in the planning system; they have a statutory right to be consulted on any planning applications in their areas. They may also produce a neighbourhood plan to influence local development. The Localism Act 2011 allowed eligible parish councils to be granted a " general power of competence " which allows them within certain limits the freedom to do anything an individual can do provided it
1872-589: A set number of guardians for each parish, hence a final purpose of urban civil parishes. With the abolition of the Poor Law system in 1930, urban parishes became a geographical division only with no administrative power; that was exercised at the urban district or borough council level. In 1965 civil parishes in London were formally abolished when Greater London was created, as the legislative framework for Greater London did not make provision for any local government body below
1950-938: A small village or town ward to a large tract of mostly uninhabited moorland in the Cheviots, Pennines or Dartmoor. The two largest as at December 2023 are Stanhope (County Durham) at 98.6 square miles (255 km ), and Dartmoor Forest (Devon) at 79.07 square miles (204.8 km ). The two smallest are parcels of shared rural land: Lands Common to Axminster and Kilmington (Devon) at 0.012 square miles (0.031 km ; 3.1 ha; 7.7 acres), and Lands Common to Brancepeth and Brandon and Byshottles (County Durham) at 0.0165 square miles (0.043 km ; 4.3 ha; 10.6 acres). The next two smallest are parishes in built up areas: Chester Castle (Cheshire) at 0.0168 square miles (0.044 km ; 4.4 ha; 10.8 acres) (no recorded population) and Hamilton Lea (Leicestershire) at 0.07 square miles (0.18 km ; 18 ha; 45 acres) (1,021 residents at
2028-514: A spur to the creation of new parishes in some larger towns which were previously unparished, in order to retain a local tier of government; examples include Shrewsbury (2009), Salisbury (2009), Crewe (2013) and Weymouth (2019). In 2003 seven new parish councils were set up for Burton upon Trent , and in 2001 the Milton Keynes urban area became entirely parished, with ten new parishes being created. Parishes can also be abolished where there
2106-507: Is at present the only part of England where civil parishes cannot be created. If enough electors in the area of a proposed new parish (ranging from 50% in an area with less than 500 electors to 10% in one with more than 2,500) sign a petition demanding its creation, then the local district council or unitary authority must consider the proposal. Since the beginning of the 21st century, numerous parish councils have been created, including some relatively large urban ones. The main driver has been
2184-539: Is evidence that this is in response to "justified, clear and sustained local support" from the area's inhabitants. Examples are Birtley , which was abolished in 2006, and Southsea , abolished in 2010. Every civil parish has a parish meeting, which all the electors of the parish are entitled to attend. Generally a meeting is held once a year. A civil parish may have a parish council which exercises various local responsibilities prescribed by statute. Parishes with fewer than 200 electors are usually deemed too small to have
2262-519: Is held annually on the fifth of November, to mark Guy Fawkes Night . In the early 2000s the District Council's planning department put forward in its Local Plan plans to build the new Longford Park housing estate, east of Bodicote village and south of the Cherwell Heights housing estate of Banbury. In February 2006 Cherwell District Council approved the plans to meet a housing target despite
2340-508: Is no evening, Sunday or bank holiday service. Stagecoach in Oxfordshire route S4 serves the A4260 main road along the eastern edge of Bodicote village. It runs hourly, Mondays to Fridays, between Banbury and Oxford . 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
2418-405: Is not prohibited by other legislation, as opposed to being limited to the powers explicitly granted to them by law. To be eligible for this, a parish council must meet certain conditions such as having a clerk with suitable qualifications. Parish councils receive funding by levying a " precept " on the council tax paid by the residents of the parish (or parishes) served by the parish council. In
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2496-635: Is the trading name of Thames Transit Ltd. It is a bus operator serving the county of Oxfordshire , England. Since 1997 has been a subsidiary of Stagecoach Group , and since February 2021 it has been part of Stagecoach West , managed from the latter's headquarters in Gloucester. In 1987 Harry Blundred, a former bus driver and controller from Devon , founded both Thames Transit and the Oxford Tube. In 1997 Stagecoach Group bought both operations from Blundred and merged them with Stagecoach Midland Red . Stagecoach South Midlands operated four brands: In July 2002
2574-560: Is to be noted however, that often the bus routes will not be operated by their "Gold" branded buses. In addition to the routes operated by Stagecoach in Oxfordshire, Stagecoach West also operates route S6 which runs between Swindon and Oxford via Faringdon . In 2008 route 20, operating between Chipping Norton and Oxford, and route 20A, operating between Charlbury and Oxford, were combined to create route S3 operating alternately Oxford – Woodstock – Charlbury and Oxford – Woodstock – Chipping Norton. The service serves Blenheim Palace. Route S3
2652-504: The 'Standards Board regime' with local monitoring by district, unitary or equivalent authorities. Under new regulations which came into effect in 2012 all parish councils in England are required to adopt a code of conduct with which parish councillors must comply, and to promote and maintain high standards. A new criminal offence of failing to comply with statutory requirements was introduced. More than one 'model code' has been published, and councils are free to modify an existing code or adopt
2730-742: The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , which have fewer powers than their English and Welsh counterparts. There are no equivalent units in Northern Ireland . The parish system in Europe was established between the 8th and 12th centuries, and an early form was long established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest . These areas were originally based on the territory of manors , which, in some cases, derived their bounds from Roman or Iron Age estates; some large manors were sub-divided into several parishes. Initially, churches and their priests were
2808-1010: The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) to become the smallest geographical area for local government in rural areas. The act abolished the civil (non-ecclesiastical) duties of vestries . Parishes which straddled county boundaries or sanitary districts had to be split so that the part in each urban or rural sanitary district became a separate parish (see List of county exclaves in England and Wales 1844–1974 ). The sanitary districts were then reconstituted as urban districts and rural districts , with parishes that fell within urban districts classed as urban parishes, and parishes that fell within rural districts were classed as rural parishes. The 1894 act established elected civil parish councils as to all rural parishes with more than 300 electors, and established annual parish meetings in all rural parishes. Civil parishes were grouped to form either rural or urban districts which are thereafter classified as either type. The parish meetings for parishes with
2886-438: The ancient system of parishes , which for centuries were the principal unit of secular and religious administration in most of England and Wales. Civil and religious parishes were formally split into two types in the 19th century and are now entirely separate. Civil parishes in their modern form came into being through the Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73), which established elected parish councils to take on
2964-472: The break with Rome , parishes managed ecclesiastical matters, while the manor was the principal unit of local administration and justice. Later, the church replaced the manor court as the rural administrative centre, and levied a local tax on produce known as a tithe . In the medieval period, responsibilities such as relief of the poor passed increasingly from the lord of the manor to the parish's rector , who in practice would delegate tasks among his vestry or
3042-463: The (often well-endowed) monasteries. After the dissolution of the monasteries , the power to levy a rate to fund relief of the poor was conferred on the parish authorities by the Poor Relief Act 1601 . Both before and after this optional social change, local (vestry-administered) charities are well-documented. The parish authorities were known as vestries and consisted of all the ratepayers of
3120-564: The 19th century is useful to historians, and is also of cultural significance in terms of shaping local identities; reinforced by the use of grouped parish boundaries, often, by successive local authority areas; and in a very rough, operations-geared way by most postcode districts. There was (and is) wide disparity in parish size. Writtle , Essex traditionally measures 13,568 acres (21 sq mi) – two parishes neighbouring are Shellow Bowells at 469 acres (0.7 sq mi), and Chignall Smealy at 476 acres (0.7 sq mi) Until
3198-584: The 2011 census, Newland with Woodhouse Moor and Beaumont Chase reported inhabitants, and there were no new deserted parishes recorded. Nearly all instances of detached parts of civil parishes (areas not contiguous with the main part of the parish) and of those straddling counties have been ended. 14 examples remain in England as at 2022, including Barnby Moor and Wallingwells , both in Nottinghamshire. Direct predecessors of civil parishes are most often known as "ancient parishes", although many date only from
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3276-505: The 2021 census). The 2001 census recorded several parishes with no inhabitants. These were Chester Castle (in the middle of Chester city centre), Newland with Woodhouse Moor , Beaumont Chase , Martinsthorpe , Meering , Stanground North (subsequently abolished), Sturston , Tottington , and Tyneham (subsequently merged). The lands of the last three were taken over by the Armed Forces during World War II and remain deserted. In
3354-569: The Baker's Arms pub. It was built in 1702 and latterly was controlled by Mitchells & Butlers brewery. Bodicote has a convenience store, a Londis with sub-Post Office, in Molyneux Drive. There is a garden centre, Cotefield Nursery, with a café. There is also a hairdressing salon on the High Street. Playing fields and a cricket pavilion are located on White Post Road. Bodicote Cricket Club plays in
3432-645: The Banbury and Oxford brands were merged as "Stagecoach in Oxfordshire". In March 2004 Stagecoach in Oxfordshire and Stagecoach in Warwickshire were split into two divisions with those names. Stagecoach buses in Oxford, and from Oxford to Abingdon and Kidlington , compete with local buses operated by the Oxford Bus Company . Oxford is one of the few UK cities where such free and unsubsidised competition, as envisaged by
3510-473: The Baptist was a chapel of ease of St Mary the Virgin, Adderbury until 1855. The chancel arch is 13th-century. The building has north and south aisles linked to the nave by 14th century arcades of three bays each. There used to be a bell tower over the north aisle. In 1844 the architects John Plowman and H.J. Underwood effected an almost complete rebuilding of St John's that included demolishing
3588-556: The S8 was renumbered X1, furthermore the S9 had its frequency increased to every 20 minutes on Mondays to Saturdays & every 30 minutes on Sundays. Stagecoach Oxfordshire operated route 737 from Oxford Gloucester Green to Stansted Airport under contract to National Express from March 2007 until June 2013. This route is now operated on behalf of National Express by the Oxford Bus Company . As of December 2016, Stagecoach Oxfordshire operated
3666-554: The South Northants Cricket League. The Bodfest Village Festival has been held by a group of volunteers annually since the year 2000, originally held on King's Field. The festival typically takes place in late July/early August and includes live bands, a pig roast and a barn dance. A plastic duck race and raffle are held each spring on the Sor Brook to raise funds for the festival. A large firework display on King's Field
3744-724: The administration of the poor laws was the main civil function of parishes, the Poor Law Amendment Act 1866 , which received royal assent on 10 August 1866, declared all areas that levied a separate rate or had their own overseer of the poor to be parishes. This included the Church of England parishes (until then simply known as "parishes"), extra-parochial areas , townships and chapelries . To have collected rates this means these beforehand had their own vestries, boards or equivalent bodies. Parishes using this definition subsequently became known as "civil parishes" to distinguish them from
3822-583: The architects of bus deregulation in the 1980s, still exists. In 2010 it was announced that Oxford Bus Company and Stagecoach in Oxfordshire, in consultation with Oxfordshire County Council , had agreed a Bus Quality Partnership as enabled by the Local Transport Act 2008 . The partnership would improved multi-operator ticketing across the City and co-ordinate bus timetables on the four busiest shared routes. On 15 July 2010 Stagecoach in Oxfordshire introduced
3900-399: The charter, the charter may be transferred to a parish council for its area. Where there is no such parish council, the district council may appoint charter trustees to whom the charter and the arms of the former borough will belong. The charter trustees (who consist of the councillor or councillors for the area of the former borough) maintain traditions such as mayoralty . An example of such
3978-478: The coach. In 2020, Stagecoach announced that it would replace their current Tube fleet with 34 new Plaxton Panorama vehicles, built on Volvo B11RLE chassis. In 2023, Stagecoach added services via High Wycombe Coachway, and also starting in Carterton and operating via Witney and Eynsham . Stagecoach in Oxfordshire operates several routes under the premium Stagecoach Gold brand. The Stagecoach Gold brand
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#17328914310354056-529: The council are carried out by a paid officer, typically known as a parish clerk. Councils may employ additional people (including bodies corporate, provided where necessary, by tender) to carry out specific tasks dictated by the council. Some councils have chosen to pay their elected members an allowance, as permitted under part 5 of the Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003. The number of councillors varies roughly in proportion to
4134-464: The council of the urban district or borough in which they were contained. Many urban parishes were coterminous (geographically identical) with the urban district or municipal borough in which they lay. Towns which included multiple urban parishes often consolidated the urban parishes into one. The urban parishes continued to be used as an electoral area for electing guardians to the poor law unions . The unions took in areas in multiple parishes and had
4212-466: The council will an election be held. However, sometimes there are fewer candidates than seats. When this happens, the vacant seats have to be filled by co-option by the council. If a vacancy arises for a seat mid-term, an election is only held if a certain number (usually ten) of parish residents request an election. Otherwise the council will co-opt someone to be the replacement councillor. The Localism Act 2011 introduced new arrangements which replaced
4290-453: The creation of town and parish councils is encouraged in unparished areas . The Local Government and Rating Act 1997 created a procedure which gave residents in unparished areas the right to demand that a new parish and parish council be created. This right was extended to London boroughs by the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 – with this, the City of London
4368-463: The desire to have a more local tier of government when new larger authorities have been created, which are felt to be remote from local concerns and identity. A number of parishes have been created in places which used to have their own borough or district council; examples include Daventry (2003), Folkestone (2004), Kidderminster (2015) and Sutton Coldfield (2016). The trend towards the creation of geographically large unitary authorities has been
4446-439: The ecclesiastical parishes. The Church of England parishes, which cover more than 99% of England, have become officially (and to avoid ambiguity) termed ecclesiastical parishes . The limits of many of these have diverged; most greatly through changes in population and church attendance (these factors can cause churches to be opened or closed). Since 1921, each has been the responsibility of its own parochial church council . In
4524-521: The established English Church, which for a few years after Henry VIII alternated between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England , before settling on the latter on the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558. By the 18th century, religious membership was becoming more fractured in some places, due in part to the progress of Methodism . The legitimacy of the parish vestry came into question, and
4602-638: The gift and continued patronage (benefaction) of the lord of the manor , but not all were willing and able to provide, so residents would be expected to attend the church of the nearest manor with a church. Later, the churches and priests became to a greater extent the responsibility of the Catholic Church thus this was formalised; the grouping of manors into one parish was recorded, as was a manor-parish existing in its own right. Boundaries changed little, and for centuries after 1180 'froze', despite changes to manors' extents. However, by subinfeudation , making
4680-455: The government at the time of the Local Government Act 1972 discouraged their creation for large towns or their suburbs, but there is generally nothing to stop their establishment. For example, Birmingham has two parishes ( New Frankley and Sutton Coldfield ), Oxford has four, and the Milton Keynes urban area has 24. Parishes could not however be established in London until the law was changed in 2007. A civil parish can range in area from
4758-505: The grove at the top of Bodicote. Sor Brook, which forms the boundary between Adderbury and Bodicote parishes, has a watermill . Bodicote was made a separate civil and Church of England parish in 1855, until which time it was part of the parish of nearby village Adderbury . Bodicote House is a large Georgian house with a number of Victorian additions. It is currently in use as the principal office for Cherwell District Council . The Church of England parish church of Saint John
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#17328914310354836-524: The introduction of new electronic ticket machines to enable passengers to pay by contactless payment card or by smartphone using Apple Pay or Google Pay . Stagecoach in Oxfordshire was the first Stagecoach division to receive these new machines for both local services and the Oxford Tube, making Stagecoach in Oxfordshire the first major operator to accept contactless payments outside London. In February 2021 Stagecoach Group announced that Stagecoach in Oxfordshire would merge with Stagecoach West as part of
4914-471: The late 19th century, most of the "ancient" (a legal term equivalent to time immemorial ) irregularities inherited by the civil parish system were cleaned up, and the majority of exclaves were abolished. The census of 1911 noted that 8,322 (58%) of "parishes" in England and Wales were not geographically identical when comparing the civil to the ecclesiastical form. In 1894, civil parishes were reformed by
4992-465: The mid 19th century. Using a longer historical lens the better terms are "pre-separation (civil and ecclesiastical) parish", "original medieval parishes" and "new parishes". The Victoria County History , a landmark collaborative work mostly written in the 20th century (although incomplete), summarises the history of each English "parish", roughly meaning late medieval parish. A minority of these had exclaves , which could be: In some cases an exclave of
5070-431: The new coaches entered service on 16 July 2014 with the entire fleet following shortly after. The new coaches increased comfort and facilities for passengers including more leg room, 4G WiFi, power sockets and USB ports in selected seats and a brand new audio information system providing passengers with departure and arrival information and the top deck also features a panoramic glass sun roof allowing more natural light into
5148-465: The new district councils (outside London) to review their parishes, and many areas left unparished in 1972 have since been made parishes, either in whole or part. For example, Hinckley , whilst entirely unparished in 1974, now has four civil parishes, which together cover part of its area, whilst the central part of the town remains unparished. Some parishes were sub-divided into smaller territories known as hamlets , tithings or townships . Nowadays
5226-466: The old tower and replacing it with the current west tower. The tower has a ring of eight bells, all from the Whitechapel Bell Foundry . Thomas II Mears cast a ring of five bells (the present fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and tenor bells) in 1843. The present treble, second and third bells were cast and hung in 1974, increasing the ring to eight. The tower has an iron-framed turret clock that
5304-488: The other conurbations. Civil parishes vary greatly in population: some have populations below 100 and have no settlement larger than a hamlet , while others cover towns with populations of tens of thousands. Weston-super-Mare , with a population of 71,758, is the most populous civil parish. In many cases small settlements, today popularly termed villages , localities or suburbs, are in a single parish which originally had one church. Large urban areas are mostly unparished, as
5382-401: The parish the status of a town, at which point the council becomes a town council . Around 400 parish councils are called town councils. Under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 , a civil parish may be given one of the following alternative styles: As a result, a parish council can be called a town council, a community council, a village council or occasionally
5460-404: The parish. As the number of ratepayers of some parishes grew, it became increasingly difficult to convene meetings as an open vestry. In some, mostly built-up, areas the select vestry took over responsibility from the entire body of ratepayers. This innovation improved efficiency, but allowed governance by a self-perpetuating elite. The administration of the parish system relied on the monopoly of
5538-562: The parish; the church rate ceased to be levied in many parishes and became voluntary from 1868. During the 17th century it was found that the 1601 Poor Law did not work well for very large parishes, which were particularly common in northern England. Such parishes were typically subdivided into multiple townships , which levied their rates separately. The Poor Relief Act 1662 therefore directed that for poor law purposes 'parish' meant any place which maintained its own poor, thereby converting many townships into separate 'poor law parishes'. As
5616-499: The perceived inefficiency and corruption inherent in the system became a source for concern in some places. For this reason, during the early 19th century the parish progressively lost its powers to ad hoc boards and other organisations, such as the boards of guardians given responsibility for poor relief through the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 . Sanitary districts covered England in 1875 and Ireland three years later. The replacement boards were each entitled to levy their own rate in
5694-411: The population of the parish. Most rural parish councillors are elected to represent the entire parish, though in parishes with larger populations or those that cover larger areas, the parish can be divided into wards. Each of these wards then returns councillors to the parish council (the numbers depending on their population). Only if there are more candidates standing for election than there are seats on
5772-438: The right to create civil parishes was extended to London boroughs , although only one, Queen's Park , has so far been created. Eight parishes also have city status (a status granted by the monarch ). A civil parish may be equally known as and confirmed as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council, a right not conferred on other units of English local government. The governing body of
5850-450: The secular functions of the parish vestry . A civil parish can range in size from a sparsely populated rural area with fewer than a hundred inhabitants, to a large town with a population in excess of 100,000 . This scope is similar to that of municipalities in continental Europe, such as the communes of France . However, unlike their continental European counterparts, parish councils are not principal authorities , and in most cases have
5928-456: Was introduced in Oxfordshire in 2009 with the creation of the first S-Series (Superior Series) routes. The Stagecoach Gold brand is currently used on several long-distance routes in the county. The Gold branded buses feature a special Gold and blue coloured livery along with high-back leather seats and free on-board Wi-Fi (currently disabled due to running costs). The newer Gold vehicles used on routes S7/S3, and S9 also include USB charging ports. It
6006-581: Was made by John Wise of London in 1700. The clock was renewed and modified in 1843, likely by Thomas Strange of Banbury. The church is a Grade II* listed building . Bodicote Methodist church was built in 1845. Bodicote has a Church of England primary school, Bishop Loveday School. The village has two pubs : the Horse and Jockey and the Plough. It has also the Spice Room Indian restaurant, which used to be
6084-454: Was upgraded to Stagecoach Gold status in September 2012 with the delivery of nine new Stagecoach Gold specification ADL Enviro400 bodied Scania N230UD buses for the service. In 2009 routes 27/27A/27B/X27 between Bicester and Oxford were rebranded as route S5. The route was subsequently upgraded to Stagecoach Gold in January 2012 with a fleet of 11 new Gold branded Enviro400 buses. Route 7 was
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