108-569: Kingswear is a village and civil parish in the South Hams area of the English county of Devon . The village is located on the east bank of the tidal River Dart , close to the river's mouth and opposite the small town of Dartmouth . It lies within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty , and has a population of 1,332, reducing to 1,217 at the 2011 census. Kingswear is noted for being
216-513: 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
324-417: 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 , 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
432-515: 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
540-576: 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
648-570: A branch from Newton Abbot . The steam railway's Paignton terminus is adjacent to the National Rail station. Bus services operated by Stagecoach connect Kingswear with Brixham and Paignton , and other bus services in Dartmouth can be reached by ferry. It was intended to build a station in Dartmouth as part of a proposed continuation towards Plymouth but when the railway could not cross the Dart, they built
756-472: 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
864-456: 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
972-548: 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
1080-481: 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
1188-588: A few volunteers help at Churston railway station . The line was built by the Dartmouth and Torbay Railway , opening to Brixham Road station on 14 March 1861 and on to Kingswear on 10 August 1864. The Dartmouth and Torbay Railway was always operated by the South Devon Railway and was amalgamated with it on 1 January 1872. This was only short-lived as the South Devon Railway was in turn amalgamated into
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#17328485887641296-446: A loop and signal box with electric multiple-aspect signals were brought into use at Churston. This allowed two trains to operate on busy days. The section from Churston to Kingswear remained "one engine in steam" but from Churston to Paignton was operated by "staff and ticket" until "electric token working" was implemented in 1980. The signal box was replaced by one at Britannia Crossing in 1991. Download coordinates as: The route
1404-523: A marina. The Royal Dart Hotel at Kingswear was sold later. British Rail retained ownership of the line from south of Queen's Park station to a point adjacent to the end of the sidings at Goodrington, including the station, which was operated under a running powers agreement, and which was acquired by the DVR Company in 2000. A short section at and just south of the Sands Road level crossing at Paignton remains
1512-424: A midday service each way, as the locomotive and stock were otherwise unemployed, but from the end of that summer it became a purely seasonal operation. The purchase price of the railway was £250,000 and a further £25,000 was paid for signalling alterations at Paignton. Most of this was recouped from the sale of surplus land, mainly at Goodrington, which was subsequently developed as flats, and at Kingswear, which became
1620-517: 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
1728-431: 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
1836-738: 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. Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway The Dartmouth Steam Railway , formerly known as
1944-416: 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
2052-457: A passing station, although all normal trains are timetabled to pass at Churston. At the Halt the line starts its climb up a steep gradient (initially 1 in 71, easing slightly to 1 in 93 and then rising to 1 in 60 before levelling out just before Churston ) behind the beach huts that line Goodrington Beach. The 630 miles (1,014 km) South West Coast Path follows alongside the line on the right. As
2160-404: A plc on 29 November 2018. The operational base is at Paignton where an engine shed is situated. Heavy overhauls of locomotives are undertaken at Churston where there is a locomotive workshop on the west side of the line, and a paint shop and turntable on the east side. When the heritage railway took over there was just a single track so "one engine in steam" operation was used. In July 1979
2268-431: 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 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
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#17328485887642376-503: 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
2484-1079: 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
2592-409: 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
2700-589: 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
2808-938: 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
2916-514: 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
3024-621: A terminus in Kingswear instead and the line to Plymouth from Newton Abbot was routed via Totnes and South Brent. The Station Cafe in Dartmouth was originally Dartmouth Station which was built when the new embankment was opened in 1885. The village is also served by Greenway Halt railway station, also on the Dartmouth Steam Railway. Kingswear is linked to Dartmouth , on the other side of the River Dart, by three ferries. The Higher Ferry and
3132-609: Is a request stop. Goodrington Sands became a request stop for the winter timetable only in 2016, but remains a compulsory stop at other times. The Dart Valley Railway Company Ltd was formed initially to purchase the trackbed and station sites of the Totnes to Ashburton line, which is now known as the South Devon Railway . On 30 December 1972, the Paignton to Dartmouth line was also sold to the Dart Valley Railway Company Ltd by
3240-507: 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
3348-413: Is described facing forwards from Paignton to Kingswear, which puts the sea on the left and the River Dart on the right. The line is 6 miles and 57 chains long (10.8 km) and starts from its own platform at Paignton (also known as Paignton Queens Park). The shed for operational locomotives is built into the south end of the station building, although coaling is done at the north end alongside
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3456-539: 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
3564-405: 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
3672-451: Is now known as the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway . In 2007 the village briefly figured in the national press when the parish council co-opted British National Party member Peter Pirnie as a councillor. He resigned after a row broke out over his party affiliation. As of the year 2001, the parish had a population of 1,332. The equivalent figures for 1801 and 1901 are 300 and 841, and
3780-529: Is owned and operated by Dart Valley Railway Limited. This company also owns Dart Pleasure Craft Limited , which operates the Dartmouth Passenger Ferry as well as river and coastal cruises. The railway and connecting boat and bus services are jointly promoted as the Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat Company. Unusually amongst heritage railways, it is a commercial operation which does not rely on volunteer labour or charitable donations, although
3888-563: Is situated on the outskirts. Kingswear also contains the Church of St Thomas , which is a member of the Anglican Diocese of Exeter and whose patron saint is Saint Thomas of Canterbury . Kingswear is not mentioned in the Domesday Book . However, it is believed that the settlement of Kingston, in the civil parish about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the east of the village, dates from the time of
3996-504: 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
4104-524: The A379 road as it approaches the Dartmouth Higher Ferry . It is from the signal box here that the signalling for the whole line is controlled. Between this point and Kingswear, the line was built mostly on the shore of the river, is accompanied by a footpath on the right, and isolates a bay on the left, formerly known as Ballast Cove. After this, there is a long siding on the left, and shorter sidings on
4212-538: The Anglo-Saxons , with evidence of Stone Age settlers. The first documentary mention of Kingswear was c.1170 when William de Vinci gave the local church half of the land in the village. After the murder of Thomas Becket in 1170, Becket's tomb in Canterbury became a place of pilgrimage. Pilgrims travelling by sea from further west, and from Brittany , were known to use Kingswear as a landing place. The current church
4320-521: The Great Western Railway in 1876. The planned extension across the river to Dartmouth never took place, and instead rail passengers used a railway-owned ferry. The Royal Dart Hotel was constructed adjacent to the station, and provided accommodation for passengers waiting to sail to overseas destinations. In the second half of the 19th century the Kingswear Regatta was held over two days in
4428-464: The Great Western Railway on 1 February 1876. Brixham Road became a junction and was renamed "Churston" on 1 January 1868 when the independent Torbay and Brixham Railway opened its short line. There were level crossings at Sands Road, Paignton, Tanners Road, Goodrington and on the approach to the Dartmouth Higher Ferry. A new halt, less than one coach long, was opened on 18 October 1877 at
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4536-1010: 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
4644-542: The Lower Ferry are both vehicular ferries. The Passenger Ferry , as its name suggests, carries only passengers. The nearest bridge across the Dart is in Totnes , some 12 miles (19 km) away by road. The 630-mile (1,010 km) long South West Coast Path crosses from Dartmouth on the ferry and then follows the coast around towards Brixham . In recent history, Kingswear and the River Dart were used as filming locations for
4752-575: The Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway , is a 6.7-mile (10.8 km) heritage railway on the former Great Western Railway branch line between Paignton and Kingswear in Devon , England. Much of the railway's business is from summer tourists from the resorts of Torbay , who travel to Kingswear , where the Dartmouth Passenger Ferry takes them across the River Dart to Dartmouth . The line
4860-472: 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
4968-588: 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
5076-403: 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 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
5184-480: The railway terminus for Dartmouth, a role continued to this day by the presence of the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway in the village. Two vehicle ferries and one pedestrian ferry provide links to Dartmouth. The village itself contains several small tourist-oriented shops and public houses , and is home to the Royal Dart Yacht Club . Kingswear Castle , a privately owned 15th century artillery tower,
5292-463: 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
5400-403: 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 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
5508-564: 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
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#17328485887645616-584: 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
5724-505: 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
5832-565: 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 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
5940-532: The Kingswear branch. The paint shop to the left is on the site of the former Brixham bay platform. The main locomotive workshop is on the right, behind the second platform. This is where trains normally pass. From here the line drops down, gently at first (1 in 132, then level) before steepening to 1 in 77 at the Kennels Lane bridge, passing under Greenway Road and joining the stream in Hook Bottom, with Brim Hill to
6048-593: The Ministry of Transport. In 2010, the South Devon Railway Trust bought the freehold of the Totnes to Ashburton line from what was the Dart Valley Railway plc, on 8 February 2010. Until 2016, a Channel Islands-based businessman was the major shareholder in the plc company, until he sold his entire 29.99% share holding to businessman and steam railway enthusiast, Jeremy Hosking . The company ceased to be
6156-724: 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
6264-399: 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
6372-401: The closure subject to suitable replacement bus services being available, but the closure was not proceeded with at that point. During 1971/2, talks were conducted between British Rail Western Region and Dart Valley Light Railway Ltd. about the possibility of a sale from the former to the latter. BR gave the losses as £47,000, although there was still no allowance for contributory revenue. The line
6480-529: 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
6588-464: 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
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#17328485887646696-466: 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
6804-511: 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
6912-463: 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
7020-408: The east as it leaves the original course, which continues straight on in a cutting, with a hut on the track bed. It then swings to the west over the embankment built in the early 1920s across Longwood Creek. The Noss Marina can be seen on the right. Once down to nearly river level the trees are left behind as the original course is regained. The train passes over Britannia Crossing, a level crossing over
7128-439: 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
7236-472: The entrance used by passengers. Immediately beyond the station the line crosses Sands Road on a level crossing. The second track, on the right, is used by GWR and CrossCountry to access the Network Rail carriage sidings. There is a crossover between the two lines that allows trains from Network Rail infrastructure to run through onto the steam railway. This is normally used by mainline railtours which run on
7344-473: 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
7452-467: The figure for 2001 is the highest census return over the last 200 years. Kingswear railway station is located on the river front in the centre of Kingswear, and is the terminus of the Dartmouth Steam Railway , a seasonally operated heritage railway . The nearest National Rail stations are Totnes station , on the main line from Exeter to Plymouth , and Paignton station , the terminus of
7560-689: The films The French Lieutenant's Woman , Ordeal by Innocence and the television series The Onedin Line , where Kingswear represented the New World and Dartmouth the Old World, thus giving rise to the comments of the local tour guides that this was the shortest ever crossing of the Atlantic. Kingswear also figured in Down to Earth , though mainly for shots of neighbouring Dartmouth. Civil parish In England,
7668-455: 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
7776-413: The last returned at 22:03 at the height of the season. In 1974 the service was reduced to six trains each way. 1974 was a bad year for the company financially and further retrenchment to four trains each way, together with an appeal for volunteer workers, was needed in 1975. After this, some summer trains had to be lengthened to ten or more coaches, and the passing loop at Churston was reinstated. The loop
7884-471: 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
7992-461: The left over the 148 yards (135 m) Hookhills Viaduct before reaching the line's summit at Churston. The last half mile to Churston is particularly difficult in operation, as it has the steepest gradient, is on a sharp curve, and is situated in a cutting which is often damp. On the approach to the station the turntable and sidings are seen on the left; this is where the Brixham branch line used to join
8100-532: The level crossing leading to the Dartmouth Higher Ferry, named Kingswear Crossing Halt, or later, Britannia Halt, for the Prince of Wales to bring his sons to enter the naval college based on HMS Britannia, which was moored close by on the river. In later years, the halt was used mainly by workers travelling to the Philip and Sons shipyard at Noss. In Heritage Railway times, the cost of maintenance could not be justified, and it
8208-424: The line arrives at Kingswear station . A long bridge carrying the footpath crosses the whole station site. The far end of the platform is covered by an umbrella roof and then a wooden train shed , a Grade 2 listed structure, in the style favoured by Isambard Kingdom Brunel , although he died more than four years before the station was built. The boat- and car-park alongside the station is part of Darthaven Marina and
8316-489: The line was moved inland around the creeks on 20 May 1923. This also allowed the expansion of the Philip and Son shipyard between the creeks, to which a siding was opened in 1929. Authorisation was given by the GWR board to double the line from Greenway Viaduct to Britannia Halt, and the deviation was built to double track width, but the doubling was never undertaken. There was a further timber viaduct at Waterhead Creek, Kingswear, which
8424-465: 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
8532-465: 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
8640-544: The north of the station, aligned on the old Brixham branch. In 1991 the control of all signalling was moved to a new panel at Britannia Crossing near Kingswear. A locomotive workshop was opened at Churston in 1993 and a carriage shop opened there three years later. A new level crossing just to the north of Kingswear to serve the Darthaven Marina, controlled from the Britannia signal box with the aid of closed-circuit television,
8748-488: 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
8856-493: The overall "Dartmouth Steam Railway and Riverboat Company" title. It remains the property of The Dart Valley Railway Limited (the "Light" having been dropped in 1999, and ceasing to be a plc in 2018). The summer service in 1973 featured the locomotive LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman on four days per week, newly returned from its financially disastrous sojourn in the United States. Trains commenced at 07:28 from Paignton, and
8964-448: 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 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
9072-401: 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
9180-404: 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
9288-562: 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
9396-499: 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
9504-411: 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
9612-422: The property of Network Rail. An independent station alongside the main station at Paignton, known as "Queens Park", was opened to serve the Kingswear trains on the site of the old Park Sidings. The line was initially marketed as the "Torbay Steam Railway", but this was changed to the "Torbay and Dartmouth Railway", then to the "Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway" and then to the "Dartmouth Steam Railway", part of
9720-413: The right and passing Greenway Halt on the right-hand side. Shortly after the Halt the gradient eases to 1 in 100 as the train passes through the 495-yard long Greenway Tunnel. On leaving the tunnel, the gradient steepens to 1 in 66 and the River Dart appears on the right as the train passes over Greenway Viaduct. The line continues at 1 in 66 through Long Wood, a National Trust property. The line turns to
9828-574: The right which are also crossed by the Hoodown Crossing, which gives access to the Dart Harbour and Navigation Authority workshop on the right, and to a road on the north side of Waterhead Creek. After crossing the Waterhead Viaduct across Waterhead Creek, the line swings to the right and the bay platform line is seen on the left. The Marina Crossing is then crossed and the platform is reached as
9936-545: The steam railway to Kingswear. Opposite the Network Rail carriage sidings on the right is a siding built by the steam railway to store engineering equipment, but now mostly redundant, since the sidings alongside Goodrington Sands station were acquired. The train now calls at Goodrington Sands station (formerly Halt). Behind the platform to the right are more sidings which were transferred to the steam railway in 2007. There are two platforms at Goodrington Sands, which can also act as
10044-702: The summer. It was reestablished in 2006 and has been held annually since. During the Second World War the Royal Dart Hotel became HMS Cicala and headquarters of the British 15th Destroyer Flotilla . Journeys were made from there to the northern beaches of Brittany , landing agents and equipment for the French Resistance and bringing back escaping allied soldiers and airmen. The Free French Navy operated motor launches and motor torpedo boats from Kingswear and
10152-468: The train passes Goodrington Sands, Saltern Cove and Broadsands, panoramic views of the UNESCO Global Geopark geology are seen. After a small headland the train passes the secluded Saltern Cove (a site of special scientific interest for its geology and marine biology) and Armchair Rock, then swings inland to the right to pass over first the 72 yards (66 m) Broadsands Viaduct and then swings to
10260-644: 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 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
10368-485: Was nationalised into British Railways on 1 January 1948. Further carriage sidings to handle the heavy traffic on summer Saturdays were opened at Goodrington in 1956, when the road bridge on Tanners Road, started before the Second World War, was completed and the level crossing abolished. A turntable was brought into use there in the following year. The Reshaping of British Railways report (the "Beeching Report")
10476-458: Was also given for a second halt at Broadsands, and there has been considerable debate as to whether it was actually built. C.R. Potts seems to have settled this with new evidence to show that it was not built. Park Sidings opened alongside Paignton Station in 1930 to give more room to stable carriages. A goods depot opened south of the station the following year, and the running line was doubled as far as Goodrington Sands. The Great Western Railway
10584-462: Was based in Brookhill, a large house dating from about 1820 on the outskirts of the village. In 1948 the railway became the Kingswear branch of the newly nationalised British Rail , but by 1968 the closure of the line was being proposed. Instead, the line was purchased by a private company. Since 1973, the line has operated a seasonal steam operated service, principally as a tourist attraction. The line
10692-604: Was built, and dedicated to St Thomas, as a staging point on the pilgrim route. The church was rebuilt in 1847. By 1365 a ferry was operating from Kittery Point, the westernmost tip of Kingswear, to Dartmouth. In 1636, settlers sailed from here to the mouth of the Piscataqua River in North America to found the town now known as Kittery , Maine . In 1864 the Dartmouth and Torbay Railway reached Kingswear, providing connections to Exeter and London . The line became part of
10800-562: Was demolished. The line was single-track except for a crossing loop at Churston. It had been built using the 7 ft ( 2,134 mm ) broad gauge , but on 21 May 1892 was converted to 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge . There were masonry viaducts at Broadsands, Hookhills and Greenway. South of Greenway Tunnel the railway was originally carried across two creeks on low timber viaducts, that at Longwood being 200 yards (183 m) long and Noss being 170 yards (155 m). These were demolished after
10908-491: 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 the gift and continued patronage (benefaction) of
11016-627: Was formally proposed to the Ministry of Transport that the line from Paignton should be closed entirely, with costs given as £54,500 and income as £17,100 exclusive of income from arriving passengers. However, a letter from the Divisional Manager at Bristol to the Regional Headquarters at Paddington on 11 December 1968 gave the contributory revenue as £54,000, so showing a profit of £16,600. The Transport Users Consultative Committee approved
11124-435: Was not proposed for closure, although it was shown as being subject to "modification". Except in peak season, most train services from 18 April 1966 operated as a shuttle service from Paignton ; Sunday trains were withdrawn from 24 September 1967, although some were run during the summer of the following year. The Brixham branch closed on 13 May 1963 and the crossing loop at Churston was closed on 20 October 1968. In 1968 it
11232-607: Was officially closed on 28 October 1972, but BR ran a diesel multiple unit service on behalf of DVLR, subsidised by Devon County Council. On 30 December 1972, the line was sold to the Dart Valley Light Railway Ltd, which at that time operated the nearby heritage railway that subsequently became the South Devon Railway . A winter service was operated from 1 January 1973, principally for the children at Churston Grammar School . There were two early morning services and two afternoon services. These were soon supplemented by
11340-492: Was opened on 24 January 1993. In 2007 the passing loop at Goodrington Sands was reinstated, along with the carriage sidings to give more space for storing rolling stock. In 2011 new offices for the railway and boats were opened at Kingswear in the style of a large GWR-style signal box. The following year saw the Dartmouth Steam Railway's station at Paignton rebuilt in GWR style, and a new unstaffed station opened at Greenway Halt to serve Agatha Christie 's Greenway Estate . This
11448-608: Was published by the British Railways Board in 1963. It included the results of a survey which listed stations in three categories by annual income: Red (up to £5000); Blue (£5000 to £25000); and Green: (over £25000). Paignton was in the Green category, with Goodrington Sands, Churston, Kingswear and Dartmouth stations all in the Blue category. Brixham was in the Red category. As a result, the line
11556-513: Was reinstated at Churston in 1979 using colour-light signals, controlled by a new signal box on the original site, and made possible an hourly service in the peak season. On Saturdays, there were many passengers for holiday camps in the Brixham area, and three trains were run between Paignton and Churston only. In 1981 the turntable from the British Rail sidings at Goodrington was moved to Churston, to
11664-402: Was replaced by a double track concrete and steel viaduct in 1928, after which the heaviest locomotives could be used on the whole line. A turntable and an engine shed were provided at Kingswear. The shed was demolished in 1929, when the platform was extended to its present length of 850 ft (260 m). A station was opened at Goodrington Sands , south of Paignton, on 9 July 1928. Approval
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