96-509: Thaxted is a town and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of north-west Essex , England. The town is in the valley of the River Chelmer , not far from its source in the nearby village of Debden , and is 97 metres (318 feet) above sea level (where the parish church stands). The town is 15 miles (24 km) north from the county town of Chelmsford and 5.5 miles (9 km) east from
192-513: 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
288-527: A Saxon settlement on a Roman road . There was a Roman villa to the east of the current town and Roman artefacts have been discovered in the area. The British Museum holds a Roman bronze head of Bacchus found at Thaxted in the nineteenth century. The first documented record of Thaxted, including a church, is in the Liber Eliensis , describes a gift of land in "Thacstede" by a woman named Æthelgifu at some time between 881 and 1016. Archeological research of
384-465: A village design statement was produced for Thaxted to describe the character of the town and parish and to inform any future development. It was drawn up after consultation with local residents and under the auspices of Thaxted Parish Council and the Thaxted Society, and was published after further consultation with the rural community council and Uttlesford District Council . The Thaxted Society
480-535: A Home Defence aircraft landing ground. The unit was equipped with Royal Aircraft Factory BE2 and BE12 variants fighters of No. 75 Squadron until the summer of 1918, and thereafter with Avro 504Ks and Bristol F2bs . The site was decommissioned at the end of the First World War in 1919. The landing ground was located north of Bardfield End Green. Thaxted Parish Church is a fine example of English Perpendicular church architecture built between 1340 and 1510 and
576-515: 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
672-576: 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
768-472: 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
960-548: 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
1056-481: 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
SECTION 10
#17328550007451152-514: A common council of twenty-four "capital burgesses" including an elected mayor, and seated at the Guildhall The borough status lapsed in 1686, but Thaxted continues to be referred to as a "town" by its inhabitants. In 1829, there were 2,293 people living in Thaxted; in 1848 there were 2,527. At the time of the 1881 census, that figure had fallen to 1,914, and it fell further by 1921 to 1,596. In 2001,
1248-448: A market was granted in 1205. Sometime during the first half of the fourteenth century, certain town inhabitants acquired the status of burgesses ( burgenses) living within an area of the town known as the borough ( burgus ), achieving some degree of freedom from obligations toward the manor. However, this independence "did not extend to any real measure of self-government". The exact date that Thaxted first acquired formal borough status
1344-517: 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
1440-431: 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
1536-681: 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. Cutlers Green Cutlers Green
1632-416: 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
1728-662: A part of the town's defences, 15th- to 16th-century artifacts, and fragments of animal bone waste, mainly from cattle. In the 1086 Domesday Book , the settlement, in the Hundred of Dunmow , consisted of 108 households with a population of 54 villagers , 34 smallholders , 16 slaves, and 4 freemen . The land supported 28.5 plough teams—being seven lord's teams and 21.5 men's teams—and contained two mills, meadow of 154 acres (0.62 km), and woodland with 850 pigs. In 1066 there were four cobs , 36 cattle, an additional 128 pigs, 200 sheep, and 10 beehives. The sheep had increased to 320, and
1824-431: 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
1920-503: 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
2016-1079: 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
SECTION 20
#17328550007452112-402: A recorder and two serjeants at law, amongst other officers. The Charter describes the borough as having fallen into "great ruin and decay by reason of great poverty and necessity"; the charter may have signalled an effort to revitalise the fortunes of the town and was reconfirmed by Elizabeth I and James I . However, despite efforts to encourage the development of the wool trade in the town with
2208-638: A rival British School in Bolford Street in 1856. Both schools ceased to operate when the Primary School was established in 1878. From 1944 to 1962, the Bachad Farm Institute, located on a farm at Bardfield End Green, provided agricultural training to young Jewish refugees, including many from the Kindertransport , as part of a network of hakhshara youth training farms. Thaxted Public Library
2304-409: 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
2400-589: 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
2496-938: 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
2592-514: 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
2688-558: A testament to the prosperity of the town in the Middle Ages. It is one of the largest churches in Essex, 183 feet long and 87 feet wide with a spire reaching 181 feet and is dedicated to St John the Baptist with Our Lady and St Laurence. Thaxted Guildhall is a Grade I listed timber-framed medieval moot hall in the main high street. It was built in the late 15th century, supposedly with funding from
2784-496: Is a Grade I listed mansion to the south-east of the town of Thaxted. It was built in brick by Sir John Cutte between 1510 and 1515, on the site of a timber-framed late– c. 1470 moated manor house . Clarence House is a Grade I listed Queen Anne townhouse in Watling Street, opposite the church. It was built in 1715 and retains many original features. Its garden wall is Grade I listed separately. Dick Turpin's Cottage
2880-570: Is a conservation charity founded in 1963 to safeguard and promote Thaxted's legacy. It publishes the Thaxted Bulletin twice a year, with the 100th edition appearing in winter 2017. The society's remit is to scrutinise and respond to local planning and Government planning regulation and policy. The annual Thaxted Festival takes place over four weekends in June and July every year, presenting a programme of musical concerts. Thaxted Cricket Club represents
2976-412: Is a hamlet in the civil parish of Thaxted , and the Uttlesford district of Essex , England. The hamlet is 1 mile (1.6 km) west from the town of Thaxted. The name of the hamlet is reminiscent of the cutlery industry which developed in Thaxted in the late Middle Ages. According to a Thaxted vicar, the remains of forges were found at Cutlers Green in the nineteenth century. The common land at
Thaxted - Misplaced Pages Continue
3072-507: 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
3168-539: 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
3264-405: 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
3360-419: Is one of a group of timber-framed terrace houses in picturesque Stoney Lane, but there is no evidence to support its association with the famous highwayman. It, along with Nos. 2 and 4 either side, are Grade I listed buildings. On the south side of Town Street, the former Recorder's House – named because it was once the home of the first Recorder under the 1556 Charter, Serjeant Bendlowes – has carvings beneath
3456-665: Is operated by Essex County Council and located in Town Street. A Community and Tourist Information Office is located within the Library, staffed by volunteers. There are a number of venues for meetings in the town. The Guildhall is sometimes used for events, meetings and exhibitions. Bolford Street Hall, formerly the British School built in 1849, is maintained by the parish council. Thaxted Church Hall in Margaret Street in maintained by
3552-551: Is recalled by the town's well-known guildhall , by the town badge which consists of two crossed swords , and in the name of the nearby hamlet of Cutlers Green . Why a town like Thaxted, lacking in the natural resources required for the large-scale manufacturing metal products, should have developed this industry is unclear. Although it had been assumed that Thaxted's cutlers were finishing blades made elsewhere, excavations undertaken in 2015 in Orange Street found evidence to support
3648-401: Is unknown but the 1556 charter states that Thaxted "is an ancient borough and had from time immemorial a mayor and other officers and ministers and was endowed with diverse liberties". Royal documents from the end of the fifteenth century refer to the "manor and borough of Thaxted". It seems clear however that Thaxted did not achieve self-government as a fully-fledged borough until the granting of
3744-504: 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
3840-623: The Harcamlow Way long-distance trail passes through the town. Thaxted Surgery, situated in Margaret Street, provides general practice healthcare to the community. The Thaxted Centre for the Disabled, founded in 1963 and situated on Dunmow Road, supports persons with physical disabilities through volunteers and community fundraising. Essex County Fire and Rescue Service maintains an on-call fire station in Thaxted, with locally based firefighters on standby to respond to incidents. Between 2007 and 2009,
3936-1010: 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
Thaxted - Misplaced Pages Continue
4032-473: The M11 motorway . The parish contains the hamlets of Cutlers Green , Bardfield End Green , Sibleys Green, Monk Street and Richmond's Green . Much of its status as a "town" rests on its prominent late medieval guildhall , a place where guilds of skilled tradesmen regulated their trading practices, and its English Perpendicular parish church. According to A Dictionary of British Place Names , Thaxted derives from
4128-480: The Old English thoec or þæc combined with stede , being a "place where thatching materials are got". In the 1086 Domesday Book , the settlement is referred to as 'Tachesteda' and in subsequent official records variously as " Thacstede", " Thaxstede ", " Thackestede " and " Thakstede ", amongst other spellings. As late as the nineteenth century, the spelling " Thackstead " was still in use. Thaxted developed as
4224-670: The Windmill , Bolford Street Hall, the allotments, the public car parks in Park Street and Margaret Street, the public toilets, Margaret Street Gardens and the green space at Cutlers Green . Thaxted lies within the Thaxted and the Eastons Ward for Uttlesford District Council which elects two representatives to serve on the district council. Thaxted lies within the Thaxted Division (or super ward) for Essex County Council , which also covers
4320-472: 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
4416-588: 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
4512-403: 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
4608-463: 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
4704-459: The 1320s. The 1381 Poll Tax returns indicate 79 cutlers established in Thaxted, alongside other related trades such as smiths and sheathers. This artisanal development had an effect on the economic and social dynamics of the town, shifting from a feudal agricultural model , in which most people were dependent on and laboured for the lord of the manor , to an urban industrial model where many people were employed and more autonomous. The right to hold
4800-423: The 1556 charter. A guild of cutlers was established during the reign of Edward III (1327–77), led by a warden. In November 1481, Edward IV , at the behest of his mother, Cecily , who held the manor, issued letters patent to license some residents of Thaxted "to found a fraternity or perpetual gild", empowered to regulate itself and own land. A deed of foundation of the "fraternity or perpetual guild of St. John
4896-403: 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
SECTION 50
#17328550007454992-564: 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
5088-584: 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
5184-505: 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
5280-557: The B184 road following completion of the M11 motorway and the A120 dual carriageway . Ordnance Survey maps show a Roman road running north to south through Thaxted. Thaxted is connected to the local towns and villages, as well as to Stansted Airport , by local bus services, operated by Stephensons of Essex . Uttlesford District Council runs a community travel service for residents who have difficulty using public transport. From 1913 to 1952, Thaxted
5376-609: The Baptist at Thaxted" dates from 1507. The famous Guildhall is supposed to have been built by the cutlers' guild. However, it seems there was, at one time, more than one guild in existence in the town – and more than one guild hall: there is some evidence for a guild or fraternity dedicated to the Holy Rood, and the Ordnance Survey map of 1876 shows the site of a guild hall in Vicarage Mead, off Newbiggen Street. An historical account of
5472-565: 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
5568-682: The Thaxted Church Hall Trust together with the parish church. Thaxted Parish Council maintains public parks and open spaces, including the Margaret Street Garden, the Recreation Ground and Sports Pavilion, Walnut Tree Meadow in Copthall Lane, and the greens at Cutlers Green and Bardfield End Green . The latter is the location of the cricket ground. There are numerous public footpaths offering walks and hiking opportunities;
5664-724: 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
5760-497: The area by Oxford Archaeology in 2007 produced finds showing Bronze Age , late Iron Age , Roman , late medieval and post-medieval occupation, including flint fragments, floor and roof tiles, pottery sherds , ditch enclosures , graves, and skeletal remains. A further archeological excavation in the centre of the town by the Colchester Archeological Trust in 2015 found a large medieval ditch which may have been
5856-425: The beehives to 16, by 1086. In 1066 the lord was Wihtgar , son of Aelfric , who was lord or overlord of 27 other manors, chiefly in west Essex. After 1086 the lordship of Thaxted was given in part to Warner, and to Richard fitz Gilbert —son to Gilbert, Count of Brionne —who was also Tenant-in-chief to the king . During the Middle Ages, Thaxted prospered as a centre for the production of cutlery. This association
SECTION 60
#17328550007455952-559: The centre of the hamlet once belonged to the manor of Horham Hall , which lies one mile to the south. It was gifted by the lord of the manor and owner of the Hall, Mr. Sandy Shand, to Thaxted Parish Council in the 1978, which maintains it as a public common. There was a station on the Elsenham & Thaxted Light Railway named Cutlers Green Halt from 1913 until the line closed to passengers on 15 September 1952. A water tower at Cutlers Green
6048-399: 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
6144-529: 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
6240-464: 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
6336-466: 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
6432-420: The creation of a guild of clothiers in 1583, Thaxted's fortunes did not return. The charter was extinguished in 1686 after the town was unable to challenge a quo warranto writ by James II . Thaxted Parish Council consists of 11 elected members who each serve a term of 4 years. The parish council is responsible for managing certain amenities and open spaces, including the Recreation Ground and Sports Pavilion,
6528-511: 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
6624-463: 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
6720-439: 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
6816-521: 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
6912-455: 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
7008-471: 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
7104-465: 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
7200-465: 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
7296-488: 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
7392-448: 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
7488-401: 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
7584-404: 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
7680-562: 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
7776-499: 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
7872-411: The population had risen again to 2,526. The 2011 census put the total population of Thaxted at 2,845. By the 2021 census, the figure had risen to 3,116 inhabitants. Thaxted County Primary School was established in 1878 under the 1870 Education Act . It still occupies the fine Victorian building on the eastern edge of the town built for it in 1880 and is run by Essex County Council. Thaxted lies within
7968-411: 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
8064-475: The relationship between the two towns and their people. According to a local vicar, in local Essex dialect the word "thaxted" meant "sharp, clever" – an apparent reference to the former cutlery industry. Thaxted once lay on the busy A130 trunk road from Chelmsford to Cambridge which brought large trucks through the centre of the town past the Guildhall and Church. In the 1980s, this route was downgraded to become
8160-611: The secondary education catchment area for the Helena Romanes School in Great Dunmow. There are a number of preschools in the area. The 1556 Borough Charter provided for setting up a grammar school . This occupied the Guildhall from 1714 until it closed in 1878. A day school, operated by the Church of England, opened in 1819 and was housed in a building funded by Lord Maynard on the Broxted Road. The non-conformists established
8256-532: The significant cutlery industry, hence the assumption that it served the cutlers' guild. John Webb's Windmill is a restored brick tower mill, built in 1810, standing to the south of the church. The view of the windmill from the Bullring, framed by the almshouses, is a classic Essex postcard view. The Almshouses consist of the thatched Chantry House and the tiled Almshouses building of 1714, the latter still in use providing accommodation for elderly people. Horham Hall
8352-542: The southern entrance to the town. Thaxted Morris Men is a morris side , which was founded in 1911 under the instigation of Conrad Noel , Vicar of Thaxted, as a response to a renewed interest in morris dancing. The side (team) performed locally as part of coronation celebrations for George V . Since 2001, Thaxted has been twinned with Saint-Vrain in the French department of Essonne . A twinning association aims to promote friendship and cultural understanding and to foster
8448-521: The surrounding villages of Ashdon, Debden, Little Dunmow, the Eastons, Felsted, Hempstead, the Sampfords, Stebbing and Wimbish, and elects one county councillor. The Thaxted electoral ward had a recorded population of 5,291 at the 2021 census . Thaxted acquired borough status sometime in the fifteenth century. It was incorporated by charter in 1556 as a borough and "body corporate and politic", governed by
8544-466: The town and parish. The club's teams play in the Herts & Essex Border League, play Sunday Friendlies, and in under-12 and under-15 competitions. Thaxted's football club, Thaxted Rangers, was formed in 1998 and has a senior team and youth teams. Thaxted Bowling Club was founded in 1965 and has a green and clubhouse off Park Street. Thaxted Tennis Club operates from tennis courts situated on Dunmow Road at
8640-402: The town in 1831 states that the "mote hall" [the extant guildhall] was being used as a school and the "guild hall" was the town workhouse. In 1556, the town took advantage of the fact that the lord of the manor was a minor to request incorporation of the borough, which was granted by Philip and Mary , allowing a town government consisting of a mayor, two bailiffs, twenty-four burgesses, a court,
8736-644: 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
8832-525: The windows including the arms of Edward IV . It is Grade II* listed. Civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government . It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes , 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
8928-568: The work of bladesmiths alongside cutlers/hafters. The cutlers seem to have been already well-established by the beginning of the fourteenth century: in 1310, a cutler named Adam de Thakstede had prospered enough to purchase the freedom of the City of London and set up business in Cheapside . A manuscript in the Bodleian Library indicates that Thaxted was already widely identified with its cutlery by
9024-577: Was constructed in 1938 to supply the Thaxted area. Several buildings in Cutlers Green are Grade II listed , including Richmond's in the Wood farmhouse, which dates to the fourteenth century, several other farmhouses and cottages ranging from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries and a seventeenth century timber-framed and weatherboarded barn, There was once a public house - the Oak Beer House - which
9120-491: 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
9216-458: Was served by a light railway branch line from Elsenham which ran to a terminus station located about one mile south of the town. The line, the Elsenham & Thaxted Light Railway , was known to locals as the "Gin and Toffee" line because the main investors where a local sweet factory owner and a distillery magnate. Passenger traffic ceased on 15 September 1952 and the line closed definitively on 1 June 1953. Between 1916 and 1919, Thaxted hosted
#744255