View source for Civil parish

{{short description|Territorial designation and lowest tier of local government in England}}
{{About|civil parishes in England|civil parishes in other countries|Civil parish (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2013}}
{{Infobox subdivision type
| name = Civil parish (England)
| alt_name = 
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| map = Parishes in England map, 2021.svg
| caption = Map of English civil parishes
| category = [[Parish (administrative division)|Parish]]
| territory = [[England]]
| upper_unit = [[Districts of England|Districts]]
| start_date = Various, see text
| start_date1 = 
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| legislation_begin = Various, see text
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| current_number = [[List of civil parishes in England|10,464]]
| number_date = 2023<ref name="dataset">{{cite web|url=https://www.planning.data.gov.uk/dataset/parish|title=Dataset: Civil parish|first=|last=|website=Office for National Statistics|date=10 September 2023}}</ref>
| type = City
| type1 = Community
| type2 = Neighbourhood
| type3 = Parish
| type4 = Town
| type5 = Village
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| exofficio = 
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| population_range = 0–[[List of the most populous civil parishes in England|137,387]] ([[Northampton]])
| area_range = 
| government = [[Parish councils in England|City council]]
| government1 = [[Parish councils in England|Community council]]
| government2 = [[Parish councils in England|Neighbourhood council]]
| government3 = [[Parish councils in England|Parish council]]
| government4 = [[Parish councils in England|Town council]]
| government5 = [[Parish councils in England|Village council]]
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}}
{{Politics of England}}
In [[England]], a '''civil parish''' is a type of [[Parish (administrative division)|administrative parish]] used for [[Local government in England|local government]]. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government.<ref name="ONS Geography Guide">{{cite web |url=https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/a-beginners-guide-to-uk-geography-2023/about |title=A Beginners Guide to UK Geography (2023) |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=24 August 2023 |website=Open Geography Portal |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=9 December 2023 |quote=Parishes are subdivisions of local authorities in many parts of England, and their councils are the most local level of government. Unlike electoral wards and electoral divisions, parishes are not found in all parts of England. The Welsh and Scottish equivalents are communities. Note that the full term for administrative parishes is “civil parish”, to distinguish them from the ecclesiastical parishes that are found in all parts of the UK.}}</ref> Civil parishes can trace their origin to the [[Parish (Church of England)|ancient system of parishes]], which for centuries were the principal unit of secular and religious administration in most of England and Wales. Civil and religious parishes were formally split into two types in the 19th century and are now entirely separate. Civil parishes in their modern form came into being through the [[Local Government Act 1894]] ([[56 & 57 Vict.]] c. 73), which established elected [[Parish councils in England|parish councils]] to take on the secular functions of the [[vestry|parish vestry]].

A civil parish can range in size from a sparsely populated rural area with fewer than a hundred inhabitants, to a large [[town]] with a population [[List of the most populous civil parishes in England|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 council|principal authorities]], and in most cases have a relatively minor role in local government.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/sps/migrated/documents/neilbarnett.pdf |title=Is UK local government really so big? |last1=Barnett |first1=Neil |last2=Sweeting |first2=David |website=University of Bristol |date=2013 |access-date=20 July 2022}}</ref>

{{As of|2023|09}}, there are 10,464 parishes in England,<ref name="dataset"/> and in 2020 they covered approximately 40% of the English population.<ref name="UAparishHOCL">{{cite web |last1=Baker |first1=Carl |last2=Sandford |first2=Mark |title=Unitary authorities: The role of parish and town councils |url=https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/unitary-authorities-the-role-of-parish-and-town-councils/ |publisher=House of Commons Library |access-date=8 March 2023 |date=16 December 2020}}</ref> For historical reasons, civil parishes predominantly cover rural areas and smaller urban areas, with most larger urban areas being wholly or partly [[Unparished area|unparished]]; but since 1997 it has been possible for civil parishes to be created within unparished areas if [[#Revival|demanded by local residents]]. In 2007 the right to create civil parishes was extended to [[London borough]]s,<ref name=reviews>{{cite book| url=http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/pdf/1527635.pdf | title=Guidance on Community Governance Reviews | publisher=[[Department for Communities and Local Government]] |location=London |isbn=978-1-4098-2421-3 |year=2010}}</ref> although only one, [[Queen's Park, London|Queen's Park]], has so far been created.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18249803|title=Queen's Park parish gets go-ahead|work=BBC News|date=29 May 2012}}</ref>

Eight parishes also have [[City status in the United Kingdom|city status]] (a status granted by the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|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 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 [[Community (Wales)|communities]], which are similar to English parishes in the way they operate. [[Civil parishes in Scotland]] were abolished for local government purposes by the [[Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929]]; the Scottish equivalent of English civil parishes are the [[Community council#Scotland|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]].

==History==
===Ancient parishes===<!-- Ancient parish redirects here -->
The parish system in Europe was established between the 8th and 12th centuries,<ref>Encyclopaedia Britannica 1993{{full citation needed|date=November 2023}}</ref> and an early form was long established in England by the time of the [[Norman Conquest of England|Norman Conquest]]. These areas were originally based on the territory of [[Manorialism |manors]],<ref name="Baker 1989">{{cite book | title=Local Council Administration in English Parishes and Welsh Communities | year=1989 | last=Arnold-Baker |first=Charles | author-link=Charles Arnold-Baker | publisher=Longcross Press |isbn=978-0-902378-09-4 }}</ref> which, in some cases, derived their bounds from Roman or Iron Age estates; some large manors were sub-divided into several parishes.<ref>{{cite book|title =The Local Historian's Encyclopaedia|first= John|last= Richardson|date = 1986|publisher = Historical Publications Limited}}</ref>

Initially, churches and their priests were the gift and continued patronage (benefaction) of the [[lord of the manor]], but not all were willing and able to provide, so residents would be expected to attend the church of the nearest manor with a church. Later, the churches and priests became to a greater extent the responsibility of the [[Catholic Church]] thus this was formalised; the grouping of manors into one parish was recorded, as was a manor-parish existing in its own right.<ref>Churches in the Landscape, Richard Morris, JM Dent & Sons, 1989, Chapter 6</ref>
 
Boundaries changed little, and for centuries after 1180 'froze', despite changes to manors' extents.<ref name=or/> However, by [[subinfeudation]], making a new smaller manor, there was [[chapelry|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]]).<ref name=or>History of the Countryside by Oliver Rackham, 1986 p19</ref> 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 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 {{convert|13,568|acre|mi2|0}} &ndash; two parishes neighbouring are [[Shellow Bowells]] at {{convert|469|acre|mi2|1}}, and [[Chignall Smealy]] at {{convert|476|acre|mi2|1}}

Until the [[English reformation|break with Rome]],<ref>{{cite web |website=A Vision of Britain |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/types/status_page.jsp?unit_status=AP |title=Status details for Ancient Parish |access-date=20 July 2022 |publisher=University of Portsmouth}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="Baker 1989" /> In the medieval period, responsibilities such as relief of the poor passed increasingly from the lord of the manor to the parish's [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|rector]], who in practice would delegate tasks among his vestry or the (often well-endowed) monasteries. After the [[dissolution of the monasteries]], the power to levy a [[Rates (tax)|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) [[charitable organization|charities]] are well-documented.<ref>The ''[[Victoria County Histories]]'' provide, for most parishes but not all, evidence of local private charities with details.</ref>

The parish authorities were known as vestries and consisted of all the ratepayers of 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 [[Vestry#Select vestry|select vestry]] took over responsibility from the entire body of ratepayers. This innovation improved efficiency, but allowed governance by a self-perpetuating elite.<ref name="Baker 1989" /> The administration of the parish system relied on the monopoly of the established English Church, which for a few years after [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] alternated between the Roman Catholic Church and the [[Church of England]], before settling on the latter on the accession of [[Elizabeth I of England|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 the perceived inefficiency and corruption inherent in the system became a source for concern in some places.<ref name="Baker 1989" /> For this reason, during the early 19th century the parish progressively lost its powers to ''ad hoc'' boards and other organisations, such as the [[Board of guardians|boards of guardians]] given responsibility for poor relief through the [[Poor Law Amendment Act 1834]]. [[Sanitary district]]s covered England in 1875 and Ireland three years later. The replacement boards were each entitled to levy their own rate in the parish; the church rate ceased to be levied in many parishes and became voluntary from 1868.<ref name="Baker 1989" />

===Civil and ecclesiastical split===
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 [[Township (England)|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'.<ref name=handbook>{{cite book |last1=Herbert |first1=N. M. |last2=Jenkin |first2=A. F. |title=The Councillors' Handbook |date=1888 |publisher=Haddin, Best & Co. |location=London |page=4 |url=https://archive.org/details/councillorshandb00herb/page/4/mode/2up |access-date=14 November 2024}}</ref>

As 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 area]]s, [[township (England)|township]]s and [[Chapelry|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 the ecclesiastical parishes.<ref>{{cite book |title=A collection of the public general statutes passed in the twenty-ninth and thirtieth years of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria |date=1866 |location=London |pages=574–577 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SVYMAQAAMAAJ&dq=Poor+Law+Amendment+Act+1866&pg=PA574 |publisher=Google Books |access-date=6 November 2021 |chapter=Poor Law Amendment Act 1866 (29 & 30 Victoria, c. 113)}}</ref>

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 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 [[exclave]]s were abolished. The [[1911 United Kingdom census|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.

===1894 reforms===
In 1894, civil parishes were reformed by 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 [[vestry|vestries]]. Parishes which straddled county boundaries or [[sanitary district]]s 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 district (England and Wales)|urban district]]s and [[rural district]]s, with parishes that fell within urban districts classed as urban parishes, and parishes that fell within rural districts were classed as rural parishes.

====Rural parishes====
The 1894 act established elected civil parish councils as to all rural parishes with more than 300 electors, and established annual [[parish meeting]]s 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 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 parishes====
Urban civil parishes were not given their own parish councils, but were directly administered by the council of the urban district or borough in which they were contained. Many  urban parishes were coterminous (geographically identical) with the [[Urban district (England and Wales)|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 union]]s. The unions took in areas in multiple parishes and had 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.

===1965{{ndash}}1974 reforms===
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 a [[London borough]]. (Since the new county was beforehand a mixture of [[metropolitan borough]]s, municipal boroughs and urban districts, no extant parish councils were abolished.)

In 1974, the [[Local Government Act 1972]]<ref name=lga1972>{{cite book|title=Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70|publisher=The Stationery Office Ltd|isbn=0-10-547072-4|year=1997}}</ref> 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 parish]]es, with 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 area]]s. 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 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.

===Sub-divisions===
Some parishes were sub-divided into smaller territories known as [[Hamlet (place)#United Kingdom|hamlets]], [[tithing]]s or [[Township (England)|townships]].<ref>Youngs, Frederic A, Jr. (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol.I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. {{ISBN|0-901050-67-9}}. pxvi</ref>

===Revival===
Nowadays the creation of town and [[Parish councils in England|parish council]]s is encouraged in [[unparished area]]s. 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.<ref>[http://www.nalc.gov.uk/About_NALC/What_is_a_parish_or_town_council/All_about_local_councils.aspx ''What is a parish or town council'', National Association of Local Councils website, accessed 14 August 2010] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100903020139/http://www.nalc.gov.uk/About_NALC/What_is_a_parish_or_town_council/All_about_local_councils.aspx |date=3 September 2010 }}</ref> This right was extended to [[London borough]]s by the [[Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Sections 58-77 of the Act, which received Royal Assent on 30 October 2007 |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/pabills/200607/local_government_and_public_involvement_in_health.htm |publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom |access-date=20 July 2022}}</ref> – with this, the [[City of London]] 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.<ref name=reviews/>

Since the beginning of the 21st century, numerous parish councils have been created, including some relatively large urban ones. The main driver has been 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 in England|unitary authorities]] has been 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, Dorset|Weymouth]] (2019).<ref name="UAparishHOCL"/> 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 is evidence that this is in response to "justified, clear and sustained local support" from the area's inhabitants.<ref name=reviews/> Examples are [[Birtley, Tyne and Wear|Birtley]], which was abolished in 2006, and [[Southsea]], abolished in 2010.<ref>{{citation |title=Birtley Town Council – Annual Return 2005/2006 |date=29 September 2006 |publisher=Gateshead Council }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.portsmouth.co.uk/pdfs/publicnotices/2010/160410.pdf|title=The Portsmouth City Council (Reorganisation of Community Governance) Order 2010|access-date=11 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111101080618/http://www2.portsmouth.co.uk/pdfs/publicnotices/2010/160410.pdf|archive-date=1 November 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==Governance==
{{Main|Parish council (England)|Parish meeting}}
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 councils in England|parish council]] which exercises various local responsibilities prescribed by statute. Parishes with fewer than 200 electors are usually deemed too small to have 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 a city council.<ref>Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007</ref> According to the [[Department for Communities and Local Government]], in England in 2011 there were 9,946 parishes.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/parishes201112 |title=Parishes and Charter Trustees in England 2011-12 |access-date=11 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110506092449/http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/parishes201112 |archive-date=6 May 2011 }}</ref> 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.

===Powers and functions===
Parish or town councils have very few statutory duties (things they are required to do by law) but have 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:<ref name="calc">{{cite web |title=Powers and Duties of Local Councils |url=http://www.calc.org.uk/about/powers.asp |publisher=Cumbria Association of Local Councils |access-date=21 October 2018}}</ref><ref name="localgov">{{cite web |title=Parish council responsibilities |date=5 November 2013 |url=https://www.localgov.co.uk/Parish-council-responsibilities/29135 |publisher=LocalGov.uk |access-date=21 October 2018}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070715034316/http://www.nalc.gov.uk/Document/Download.aspx?uid=079806d3-0e69-4588-9a32-ef02c91598df Full list of powers of parish councils (archived since 15 July 2007)] nalc.gov.uk - Downloadable Microsoft Word Document</ref>
[[File:Ackworth_Parish_Council_Community_Centre_-_geograph.org.uk_-_339252.jpg|thumb|Parish council community centre, in [[Ackworth, West Yorkshire]]]]
Parish councils have powers to provide and manage various local facilities; these can include [[allotment (gardening)|allotment]]s, cemeteries, parks, playgrounds, playing fields and [[village green]]s, [[village hall]]s or [[community centre]]s, bus shelters, street lighting, roadside verges, car parks, footpaths, litter bins and war memorials. Larger parish councils may also be involved in running [[Marketplace|markets]], public toilets and public clocks, museums and [[leisure centre]]s.<ref name="UAparishHOCL"/><ref name="calc"/><ref name="localgov"/>

Parish councils may spend money on various things they deem to be beneficial to their communities, such as providing [[grant (money)|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.<ref name="UAparishHOCL"/><ref name="calc"/><ref name="localgov"/>

Parish councils have a role in the [[Town and country planning|planning]] system; they have a statutory right to be consulted on any [[Planning permission in the United Kingdom|planning applications]] in their areas. They may also produce a [[neighborhood planning#Neighbourhood Planning in England|neighbourhood plan]] to influence local development.<ref name="UAparishHOCL"/><ref name="calc"/>

The [[Localism Act 2011]] allowed eligible parish councils to be granted a "[[Everything which is not forbidden is allowed|general power of competence]]" which allows them within certain limits the freedom to do anything an individual can do provided it is not prohibited by other legislation, as opposed to being limited to the powers explicitly granted to them by law.<ref>{{cite web |title=The General Power of Competence |url=https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/general-power-competence--0ac.pdf |publisher=Local government Association |access-date=10 November 2018}}</ref> To be eligible for this, a parish council must meet certain conditions such as having a clerk with suitable qualifications.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Parish Councils (General Power of Competence) (Prescribed Conditions) Order 2012 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/965/made |publisher=legislation.gov.uk |access-date=10 November 2018}}</ref>

=== Funding ===
Parish councils receive funding by levying a "[[Local government in England#Precepting authorities|precept]]" on the [[council tax]] paid by the residents of the parish (or parishes) served by the parish council. In 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 a Special Expense, to residents of the unparished area to fund those activities.<ref>[[Local Government Finance Act 1992]], section 35</ref>  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.

===Councillors and elections===
Parish councils comprise volunteer [[councillor]]s who are [[election|elected]] to serve for four years. Decisions of 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?LegType=All+Primary&PageNumber=1&NavFrom=2&parentActiveTextDocId=0&linkToSearchEnacted=0&linkToSearchDay=3&linkToLocale=E%2BW%2BS%2BN.I.&linkToMatchExactLocale=0&linkToSearchMonth=12&linkToSearchYear=2008&linkToATDocumentId=840810&filesize=133430|title=Local Government Act 2000 The Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003 Reg 30}}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The number of councillors varies roughly in proportion to the population of the parish.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}} 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 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 the [[Standards Board for England|'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 a new code. In either case the code must comply with the [[Nolan Principles of Public Life]].<ref>[http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/research/briefing-papers/SN05707/local-government-the-standards-regime-in-england Local government: the standards regime in England - Commons Library Standard Note], Accessed 1 May 2015</ref>

===Status and styles===
A parish can be granted [[City status in the United Kingdom|city status]] by [[British monarchy|the Crown]]. {{As of|2020|}}, eight parishes in England have city status, each having a long-established Anglican cathedral: [[Chichester]], [[Ely, Cambridgeshire|Ely]], [[Hereford]], [[Lichfield]], [[Ripon]], [[Salisbury]], [[Truro]] and [[Wells, Somerset|Wells]].

The council of an ungrouped parish may pass a resolution giving the parish the status of a town,<ref>"The council of a parish which is not grouped with any other parish may resolve that the parish shall have the status of a town"{{cite web |url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1972/cukpga_19720070_en_35#pt13-pb1-l1g255 |title=Local Government Act 1972 (c.70), Part XIII |year=1972 |work=Revised Statutes |publisher=[[Office of Public Sector Information]] |access-date=11 September 2010}}</ref> at which point the council becomes a [[town council]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Local government in England and Wales: A Guide to the New System |year=1974 |publisher=[[HMSO]] |location=London |isbn=0-11-750847-0 |page=158 }}</ref> Around 400 parish councils are called town councils.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}}

Under the [[Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007]], a civil parish may be given one of the following alternative styles:

*community
*neighbourhood
*village

As a result, a parish council can be called a town council, a community council, a village council or occasionally a city council (though most cities are not parishes but principal areas, or in England specifically [[metropolitan borough]]s or [[non-metropolitan district]]s).<ref>[http://www.nalc.gov.uk/About_NALC/What_is_a_parish_or_town_council/What_is_a_council.aspx NALC -  National Association  of Local Councils] {{webarchive|url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110926170042/http://www.nalc.gov.uk/About_NALC/What_is_a_parish_or_town_council/What_is_a_council.aspx |date=26 September 2011 }} Retrieved 26 December 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/communitygovernancereviews Guidance on Community Governance Reviews] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090517030600/http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/communitygovernancereviews |date=17 May 2009 }} (April 2008), London: Department for Communities and Local Government. {{ISBN|978-1-8511-2917-1}}. Retrieved 26 December 2009.</ref>

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 [[Mayors in England|mayor]].

===Charter trustees===
When a city or town has been abolished as a borough, and it is considered desirable to maintain continuity of 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 trustee]]s 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 [[Mayors in the United Kingdom|mayoralty]]. An example of such 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.

==Geography==
{{Update|section|date=March 2017}}
Civil parishes cover 35% of England's population, with one in [[Greater London]] and few in the other conurbations. Civil parishes vary greatly in population: some have populations below 100 and have no settlement larger than a [[Hamlet (place)|hamlet]], while others cover towns with populations of tens of thousands. [[Weston-super-Mare]], with a population of 71,758,{{When|date=July 2022}} is the most populous civil parish. In many cases small settlements, today popularly termed [[village]]s, localities or suburbs, are in a single parish which originally had one church.

Large urban areas are mostly unparished, as 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 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<ref>{{Cite web |last=Statistics |first=Office for National |date=2024-01-04 |title=Parishes and Non Civil Parished Areas (December 2023) Boundaries EW BFE |url=https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/9ab2f87b-5d21-4c39-bd35-edeff7017ca2/parishes-and-non-civil-parished-areas-december-2023-boundaries-ew-bfe |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=www.data.gov.uk |language=en}}</ref> are [[Stanhope, County Durham|Stanhope]] (County Durham) at {{Convert|98.6|sqmi|km2}}, and [[Dartmoor Forest]] (Devon) at {{Convert|79.07|sqmi|km2}}. The two smallest are parcels of shared rural land: [[Lands common to Axminster and Kilmington|Lands Common to Axminster and Kilmington]] (Devon) at {{Convert|0.012|sqmi|km2 ha acre}}, and Lands Common to [[Brancepeth, County Durham|Brancepeth]] and [[Brandon and Byshottles]] (County Durham) at {{Convert|0.0165|sqmi|km2 ha acre|abbr=out}}. The next two smallest are parishes in built up areas: [[Chester Castle (parish)|Chester Castle]] (Cheshire) at {{Convert|0.0168|sqmi|km2 ha acre}} (no recorded population) and [[Hamilton Lea]] (Leicestershire) at {{Convert|0.07|sqmi|km2 ha acre}} (1,021 residents at the 2021 census).

===Deserted parishes===
The 2001 census recorded several parishes with no inhabitants. These were [[Chester Castle (parish)|Chester Castle]] (in the middle of [[Chester]] city centre), [[Newland with Woodhouse Moor]], [[Beaumont Chase]], [[Martinsthorpe]], [[Meering]], [[Stanground North]] (subsequently abolished), [[Sturston, Norfolk|Sturston]], [[Tottington, Norfolk|Tottington]], and [[Tyneham]] (subsequently merged). The lands of the last three were taken over by the [[British Armed Forces|Armed Forces]] during [[World War II]] and remain deserted.

In the 2011 census, Newland with Woodhouse Moor and Beaumont Chase reported inhabitants, and there were no new deserted parishes recorded.<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 June 2020 |title=Unpopulated civil parishes and communities from the 2011 Census |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/freedomofinformationfoi/unpopulatedcivilparishesandcommunitiesfromthe2011census |access-date=28 July 2022 |website=Office for National Statistics}}</ref>

=== General abolition of anomalies===
{{See also|List of UK civil parish enclaves and exclaves|Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844}} 

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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Detached parishes and wards in England - Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/freedomofinformationfoi/detachedparishesandwardsinengland |access-date=2024-01-29 |website=www.ons.gov.uk}}</ref>

Direct predecessors of civil parishes are most often known as "ancient parishes", although many date only from 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 [[enclave and exclave|exclaves]], which could be:
* an enclave within another parish,
* surrounded by more than one other parish, or
* a [[enclave and exclave|pene-enclave]], partly surrounded by sea.

In some cases an exclave of a parish (a "detached part") was in a different [[counties of England|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 [[Knight of the shire|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.<ref>[http://www.todmorden.org.uk Todmorden] Civil Parish Council and Community website. Retrieved 27 November 2014</ref>

Such anomalies mostly arose in the height of the [[feudal system]], when parishes evolved. Major land interests ([[Manorialism|manor]] proper or [[Catholic Church|church]] lands) may have acquired non-contiguous parcels of land i.e. beyond the original parish/county bounds or what would become the boundaries of a new parish. Those extraterritorial land parcels influenced the formation of parish boundaries where the parcels were significant to the parish. Thus secular land in an exclave, almost always manor, may have been the site of a prosperous farmstead, or remained part of the manor for generations, or the [[lord of the manor|lord/lady of the manor]] may have held the right to appoint the parish priest ([[advowson]]) or co-founded the church as its patron. The scenario may also have arisen originally as an attempt to [[Agricultural diversification|diversify]] the lord's (or overlord's) interests, or from a large burial ground in an urban setting.  It could also arise from a chance inheritance. It caused inconvenience to the residents of most exclaves/enclaves (where not numerous or economically significant enough to have their own [[chapel of ease]] as to religious matters and a vestry as to civil matters).  They had to attend a distant church and/or the  [[manorial court]] for certain [[tithe]]s, rates, baptisms, marriages, funerals, or to obtain regular poor relief and most forms of education, charitable alms and hospitalry.

The end of [[manorial court]]s coincided with growing agricultural innovation, fragmentation of land ownership and housing growth. The church and vestries were reluctant to bring boundaries up to date. This meant such anomalies were irrelevant [[mischief rule|nuisance]]s with a real economic cost in distance of administration and confusion. They began to be remedied nationally in [[statute]] by Parliament in the early 19th century in the [[Poor Law Amendment Act 1834|Poor Law Reform]]s of 1834, and was more widely in 1844 when the [[Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844]] moved most parishes which were partly or wholly in an alien county. The [[List of county exclaves in England and Wales 1844–1974|remaining exclaves of counties]] were transferred in the 1890s and in 1931, with one exception: an exclave of [[Tetworth]], surrounded by [[Cambridgeshire]], was removed in 1965 from [[Huntingdonshire]].

Other acts, including the [[Divided Parishes and Poor Law Amendment Act 1882]] eliminated instances of civil parishes being split between counties, so that by 1901 [[Stanground, Peterborough|Stanground]] in [[Huntingdonshire]] and the [[Isle of Ely]] was the last example;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/text/chap_page.jsp?t_id=SRC_P&c_id=3&cpub_id=EW1901GEN|title= 1901 Census: General - Areas|website=A Vision of Britain |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230423044011/https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/text/chap_page.jsp?t_id=SRC_P&c_id=3&cpub_id=EW1901GEN |archive-date= 23 April 2023 |publisher=University of Portsmouth }}</ref> it was split into two parishes, one in each county, in 1905.<ref>Local Government Board Order No. 56410, made under the [[Local Government Act 1894]] ([[56 & 57 Vict.]] c. 73) s.36</ref>

The [[Church of England]] has only abolished these where locally incepted (under the Anglican and the Catholic principle of [[subsidiarity]]). This means it has essentially kept, often divided in urban areas, the original parishes. The Church's main website has an accessible map, showing parish boundaries church-by-church.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20141205104400/http://www.achurchnearyou.com/parishfinder.php?hascombe Ecclesiastical parish still with detached part (example): Hascombe] The [[Church of England]]. Retrieved 27 November 2014</ref>

<gallery>
File:Cowley_Civil_Parish_Map_1868.svg|Eight exclaves of highly anomalous [[Cowley, London|Cowley]], all in Hillingdon, then in Middlesex.
File:East_Barnet_Valley_Civil_Parish_Map_1863.svg|The two tiny exclaves of [[Municipal Borough of Enfield|Enfield]].
File:Westminster_Civil_Parish_Map_1870.png|Burial exclave of the 1724-created [[St George Hanover Square]] in Paddington. It remains only in the [[Church of England|C of E]].  Used for burials 1763–1852.<ref>It was sold in 1967 to the Utopian Housing Society who built 7 blocks, housing 300 flats and maisonettes, completed in 1973 having communal woodland gardens. Many of the site's mature trees, including a plane about 250 years old and a red oak, were retained; see http://londongardensonline.org.uk/gardens-online-record.php?ID=WST100 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142148/http://londongardensonline.org.uk/gardens-online-record.php?ID=WST100 |date=12 June 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/15772/|title = St George's Hanover Square| date=17 December 2023 }}</ref>
File:Middlesex_parishes.jpg|Map of the other main enclaves and exclaves in Middlesex.
</gallery>

== See also ==
*''[[Freguesia]]'', a similar administrative division found in Portugal
* [[List of civil parishes in England]]
* [[List of medieval parishes in Wales]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last1=Wright |first1=R S |last2=Hobhouse |first2=Henry |title=An Outline of Local Government and Local Taxation in England and Wales (Excluding the Metropolis) |year=1884 |publisher=W Maxwell & Son |location=London }}

== External links ==
* [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/may/16/in-praise-of-civil-parishes In praise of ... civil parishes] Editorial in ''The Guardian'', 16 May 2011.

{{Civil parishes in England}}
{{Civil parish}}
{{Administrative geography of the United Kingdom}}
{{Subdivisions of England}}

[[Category:Civil parishes in England| ]]
[[Category:Types of subdivision in the United Kingdom]]