107-638: Ansley is a civil parish in Warwickshire consisting of Ansley, Ansley Common, Church End, Birchley Heath and, previously, Ansley Hall Colliery. Ansley is on the River Bourne , a tributary of the River Tame . The parish is 526 ft above sea level. The Arley Tunnel runs underneath Ansley village. Built in 1864 it forms part of the Birmingham to Leicester railway line. Some suggest that
214-522: 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
321-529: A Woolliscroft Commemorative Window (2015) by Claire Williamson. In 1931 a window designed by Karl Parsons , Christ in Majesty , together with a new screen, choir stalls and electric lights, were dedicated to the memory of William Garside Phillips, who had been the managing director of Ansley Hall Colliery since 1879, and his wife. Over the years, Ansley has had the following additional places of worship, all now closed: The Ansley Village Soldiers’ Relief Fund
428-417: A civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government . It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes , which for centuries were the principal unit of secular and religious administration in most of England and Wales. Civil and religious parishes were formally split into two types in
535-471: A London dyer, in 1592. Sir Thomas Glover sold it in 1609 and it was purchased by George Ludford in 1613 (or possibly 1611). From this time, the inhabitants of hall were as follows: Ansley Hall was described in The Beauties of England and Wales (1814) as "a large and rather confusing mansion, irregular but very respectable." It was part Elizabethan, part Georgian with gothic sash windows. Most of
642-515: 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
749-576: 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
856-477: 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
963-462: 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
1070-559: 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
1177-481: 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
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#17327906650321284-619: A hermitage (cell) which is attributed to Capability Brown (c.1715-1783) who built a similar hermitage at Weston Park . The park’s Chinese temple was designed by Sir William Chambers (1723-1796), architect to George III and author of Designs of Chinese Buildings, Furniture, Dresses, Machines and Utensils (1757). Chambers had travelled to China in the 1740s and was regarded as an expert in his field, "unrivalled by others in his profession". He built Ansley Hall’s temple in 1767, and designed similar structures in Kew , Blackheath and Amesbury . Beneath
1391-529: 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
1498-431: 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
1605-682: 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. Ford (crossing) A ford
1712-416: 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
1819-431: 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
1926-678: A population of 6.5 households and 13 villagers. The settlement was part of the Hemlingford Hundred of Coleshill, Warwickshire , in the subdivision of Atherstone . After Leofric’s death in 1057 the title of Lord and tenant-in-chief passed to his wife, Lady Godiva . The Lord of the Manor was Nicholas the Bowman , a Norman soldier rewarded for his service during the conquest. It was probably William II (c.1057-1100) who gave Ansley to Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester , (c.1047-1101). In
2033-503: 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
2140-545: A private home. Hoar Park , located on the B4114, was established in 1430. The current building dates from the 1730s. Hoar Park Wood was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1987. Other woodlands in the parish are Lady Wood, Seven Foot Wood and New Park Spinney. Ansley Hall and its estate was home to the Ludford family for the best part of 450 years, from 1410 when Sir Thomas Colepeper leased 50 acres of
2247-1079: 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
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#17327906650322354-655: A river can be crossed". Although today brod in the Serbo-Croatian means 'ship', Slavonski Brod in Croatia, as well as Makedonski Brod in North Macedonia and other place names containing Brod in Slavic countries, where brod is still the word for 'ford', are named after fords. In historic times, positioning an army in large units close to a river was thought best for direct defense as well as to attack
2461-409: 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
2568-552: A separate Norman castle built by Hugh Hardreshulle in 1125 are still visible. When the Black Death reached Warwickshire in the mid-14th century, the people of Ansley abandoned the village and moved approximately a mile to the village’s current location. The parish church of St Laurence, however, remains in its original position. Traces of the original village can still be seen from the air, as can signs of medieval and post-medieval " ridge and furrow cultivation". By 1482, Ansley
2675-598: 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
2782-943: 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
2889-521: 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
2996-478: A workable quality potentially providing over 100 million tons of gettable coal." The deepest point was 540 feet below ground. William Garside Phillips (1849-1929) became the managing director in 1879 and was "instrumental in improving the colliery’s productivity and economic fortunes". Ansley Hall Coal and Iron Company’s largest stakeholder was Sir James Barlow (1821-1887), a cotton magnate from Bolton, Lancashire. His son, Sir Thomas Barlow, 1st Baronet (1845-1945),
3103-652: A year to the King. Towards the end of the century, the land passed by marriage to the Colepeper family (also spelt Culpeper). Ansley Castle belonged to the Hastings family during the reign of Henry I (1100-1135). It was licensed to be crenellated by Johannes de Hastings in 1300 but was deserted soon after. By the turn of the 17th century, the antiquarian William Camden (1551-1623) wrote of "mouldering towers covered with ivy". The castle no longer stands. A few traces of
3210-425: Is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading, or inside a vehicle getting its wheels wet. A ford may occur naturally or be constructed. Fords may be impassable during high water. A low-water crossing is a low bridge that allows crossing over a river or stream when water is low but may be treated as a ford when the river is high and water covers the crossing. The word ford
3317-507: 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
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3424-752: Is both a noun (describing the water crossing itself) and a verb (describing the act of crossing a ford). A ford is a much cheaper form of river crossing than a bridge , and it can transport much more weight than a bridge, but it may become impassable after heavy rain or during flood conditions. A ford is therefore normally only suitable for very minor roads (and for paths intended for walkers and horse riders etc.). Most modern fords are usually shallow enough to be crossed by cars and other wheeled or tracked vehicles (a process known as "fording"). Fords may be accompanied by stepping stones for pedestrians. The United Kingdom has more than 2,000 fords, and most of them do not have any way of stopping vehicles from crossing when
3531-519: Is currently spelt with a ‘u’. In 1206 William de Hardreshulle, Lord of Hartshill (d.1261) bestowed the church to the nuns of Polesworth Abbey . It stayed in the possession of the Abbey until the Dissolution of the monasteries in the mid 16th century. It then became the property of the crown. The church’s tower and clerestory were added in the late 15th century. The chancel was doubled in length in
3638-558: Is derived from Ansley. The earliest evidence of human settlement in the area consists of a round barrow – an artificial mound concealing a grave – dating from the Bronze Age . Located near where Ansley Hall stands, the mound was excavated and lowered in the mid-twentieth century. Before the Norman Conquest, the principal landowners of the region were Leofric, Earl of Mercia and his family. Ansley’s Domesday Book entry lists
3745-539: 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
3852-405: 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
3959-508: Is one of those places which is just on the edge of things, yet possesses little in the way of modern conveniences. It has neither electric or gas lighting, is without an adequate water supply and has no sewerage system. A resident [said] that owing to the lack of a sewerage system the district was infested with rats… and if a fire were to break out in a block of houses it would be impossible to get under control, there being no water to cope with it." In 1931, cast iron water mains were finally laid to
4066-504: 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
4173-627: The Ansley Common Forces Fund was established, to "provide comforts for members of His Majesty’s forces who have gone from Ansley Common." The administrative centre, for when the men were demobilised, was situated at 173 Ansley Common. In 1947 the fund paid for an oak reredos to be installed at the Mission Church of St John, dedicated to two local men who died in WWII. Ansley has played host to many clubs and societies since
4280-757: The Dutch voorde (as in Vilvoorde , Coevorden , Zandvoort , or Amersfoort ) are cognates with the same meaning, all deriving from Proto-Indo-European *pértus 'crossing'. This is the source of Brythonic and Gaulish ritus (modern Welsh rhyd ; the Welsh name of Oxford is Rhydychen "ford of oxen"), which underlies such names as Chambord (from Gaulish *Camboritum "ford at the bend") and Niort ( Novioritum "new ford"). Towns such as Maastricht , Dordrecht , and Utrecht also formed at fords. The endings tricht , drecht , and trecht are derived from
4387-587: The Latin word traiectum , meaning "crossing". Thus the name Utrecht, originally the Roman fort of Traiectum , is derived from "Uut Trecht", meaning "downstream crossing". The Afrikaans form was taken into South African English as drift and led to place names like Rorke's Drift and Velddrift . Similarly, in Slavic languages , the word brod comes from the linguistic root that means "river-crossing" or "place where
Ansley, Warwickshire - Misplaced Pages Continue
4494-1010: 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
4601-654: The River Amman ); Stafford , the county town of Staffordshire ('ford by a staithe ', or 'ford by the landing place'), Staffort crossing the river Pfinz ; and Stratford (a ford on a Roman street ). Similarly, the German word Furt (as in Frankfurt , the ford of the Franks ; Ochsenfurt , synonymous to Oxford; Schweinfurt , a ford where swine crossed the river; and Klagenfurt , literally "ford of complaints") and
4708-910: The United Kingdom . Examples are at Brockenhurst in Hampshire , Wookey in Somerset , and Swinbrook in Oxfordshire . Some of these are being replaced by bridges as these are a more reliable form of crossing in adverse weather conditions. Some very spectacular watersplashes can be found in diverse locations. Australia has the Gulf Savannah , and others may be found in Canada , Italy , South Africa , and Finland . They are also found on some Tennessee backroads, where they are referred to as "underwater bridges". In Israel and part of
4815-780: The Wolfson Foundation in 2008 was used to clean, repair and repoint the joints of the Hollington sandstone. In 1940, women from Ansley made 1,263 articles for the Warwickshire War Supply Services scheme, which were distributed to, amongst others, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France and to Ansley’s Air Raid Precaution Point No. 8. In 1941, Ansley Women’s Voluntary Services (WVS), overseen by Mrs J H Phillips,
4922-472: 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
5029-595: 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
5136-403: 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
5243-470: 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
5350-439: The 18th century. The porch was added the late 19th century and the north aisle in 1913. The church was restored in 1894 and 1902. A west gallery was removed in 1931. On one column there is a "grotesque carving of two monsters striving for possession of a man". There are the remains of Norman hinges on a door, dating from around 1150. In the churchyard is a Parish Room, an on-site function room, by Kenneth Holmes Associates (2003), and
5457-403: 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
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#17327906650325564-564: 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
5671-880: The 19th century: The following clubs and societies are no longer in operation: In recent history Ansley has been the recipient of several community grants: Ansley has successfully applied for the following grants from the National Lottery Community Fund : In 2008, Ansley became part of the North Arden Heritage Trail, a circular walk around North Warwickshire, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The 25-mile trail passes through Atherstone, Mancetter , Hartshill, Ansley, Arley, Fillongley, Maxstoke , Shustoke , Nether Whitacre , Kingsbury , Dordon , Baddesley Ensor and Merevale . Civil parish In England,
5778-591: 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
5885-511: 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
5992-677: The British areas under the mandate a low water crossing or watersplash had been known as the "Irish bridge" in reference to the Anglo–Irish war . The names of many towns and villages are derived from the word 'ford'. Examples include Oxford (a ford where oxen crossed the river: see the Coat of arms of Oxford ); Hertford , the county town of Hertfordshire (the ford where harts cross or "deer crossing"); Brantford , (the ford where Joseph Brant Forded The Grand River ); Ammanford (a ford on
6099-603: The Cartwright family of Ansley. In the early 20th century, St Laurence took part in the Warwickshire tradition of bell ringing on Bonfire Night , Restoration Day (29 May) and the Sovereign’s birthday . The north window in the chancel contains fragments of 15th century glass from Coventry. There are also windows by Jones and Willis (1872), Clayton and Bell (1897), two by William Morris & Co (1921 and 1928) and
6206-570: 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
6313-641: The Forest of Arden) that originally covered the area, and the gradual creation of new settlements preceding and following the Norman Conquest . Others believe the name to come from ãnstiga , with ‘ãn’ meaning one and ‘stig’ meaning path. Ansley appeared as Hanslei in the Domesday Book (1086). Other later derivations have included Anesteleye (1235), Anstle (1316), Ansteley (1416), Anceley (1658), Anestelay and Anseley . The name Ainsley
6420-590: The Nuneaton Fire Brigade, owing to "there being no public water supply, and very little other sources of supply in the Ansley village." In 1929 Atherstone ’s Medical Officer of Health called Ansley "the one black spot of my district" in terms of water supply. He went on to say that "they would always have trouble at Ansley Village, as there was no water scheme. The water from the wells had been condemned." An article published in 1929 read, "Ansley village
6527-738: 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
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#17327906650326634-470: The building dated from 1720 to 1730. It had in its art collection "the celebrated drawing made by Beighton in 1716 from the curious fresco painting of Kenilworth Castle " from a wall at Newnham Paddox . Nearby Bretts Hall , named for the Brett (or Bret) family, who lived there during the time of Henry III was pulled down in 1750 to create Ansley Park , which included a formal avenue, a Chinese temple and
6741-399: 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
6848-537: 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
6955-464: 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
7062-466: 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
7169-525: 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
7276-463: 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
7383-521: The early 12th century Ansley passed, through marriage, to the Earl of Arundel , however the manor and its land was given to his tenant, William de Hardreshulle (Hartshill), Lord of Hartshill . When Hardreshulle died, his eldest son, Robert, inherited Ansley. In the 13th century, Ansley and neighbouring Hartshill were granted by the Hardreshulle family to an unknown knight in exchange for 40 days’ service
7490-522: The early 20th century the principal crops were wheat, oats, peas and beans. Coal was worked on a small scale. The Ansley Hall Coal and Iron Company established the Ansley Hall Colliery in 1872. A pit was sunk between 1873 and 1874 with three shafts, one for ventilation. The mine was described as covering "approximately 3,000 acres and encompassed no less than eleven seams of coals, giving a total thickness of eighty feet and with six seams of
7597-439: 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
7704-534: 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
7811-482: The etymology of the name Ansley is a derivation of the Old English ansetleah , with ‘anset’ meaning isolated hermitage and ‘leah’ (ley) meaning wooded pasture. Many place names in the area end with ‘ley’, including Arley , Fillongley , Astley , Hurley , Baxterley , Witherley , Corley , Binley , Allesley , Hinckley and Keresley . This is likely a result of the "sporadic clearing of the woods" (specifically
7918-826: The funeral of Phillips’ grandmother, Mrs Dorothea Phillips . When the couple married, the parishioners of Ansley gave them "an inscribed telephone notepad". St John’s Church in Ansley Common, built in 1927, is now twinned with St Laurence Church. There are six bells in the tower: Bell 1: Made by Thomas Newcombe (c.1580) named ‘Margareta’ and is marked with their shield and a cross Bell 2: Made by Robert, Thomas and William Newcombe (1609) Bell 3: Made by George Oldfield (1669) stamped with Feare God Honour The King 1669 Bells 4-6: Three trebles made by John Taylor & Co (1976). These modern bells were funded by Ansley parishioners, from fund-raising barbeques held at Red House Farm and by Frederick and Daisy Cartwright in memory of
8025-406: The gas, which had been rotten." In 1932, St Laurence Church was "fitted out and made ready for lighting by means of electricity" for which, in the words of the vicar, Rev. R P Rowan, "we have waited long and patiently." In 1934, despite "the large volume of traffic which use the road", there was still no street lighting in Ansley village, although later that year cabling to Ansley Road via Arbury Hall
8132-455: 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
8239-467: The hall was derelict by the 1960s. Between 1998 and 2001 it was developed into 16 private homes. Until coalmining came to Ansley in the 1870s, its principal industry was agricultural (barley, rye, pasture and meadow land), with some silk ribbon weaving and brick making. In the early 19th century John Newdigate Ludford of Ansley Hall had been a "noted cheese-maker", selling to the Leicester market. By
8346-574: The land to Henry Ludford. Colepeper’s grandson increased this to 300 acres, but not the hall itself. This gave rise to the situation where the Ludfords claimed for rightful ownership, taking legal action against the Colepepers in 1535 and 1544, both times unsuccessfully. In 1551, the Colepepers sold Ansley Hall and its estate. It passed through several hands, including George Wightman of Elmesthorpe , Leicester in 1558, who sold it to William Glover,
8453-476: 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
8560-493: The memorial was given to the parish by the Ansley Hall Coal and Iron Company on 21 August 1920 and the memorial was dedicated by Dr Charles Lisle Carr (1871-1942), Bishop of Coventry , on 21 August 1921. The memorial originally featured two artillery guns, but these were removed in 1939 to be melted down for the war effort. The concrete bases on which the guns stood remain. A grant of £1,300 from English Heritage and
8667-465: 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
8774-465: 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
8881-437: The north aisle of St Laurence Church. Production ceased in 1959. Ansley was the last parish in Warwickshire to get a "more or less efficient supply of good water", and remained dependent on shallow wells until 1913. As late as 1927 there were still "no water closets in the village, and some of the sanitary arrangements were distinctly objectionable." In 1928 Ansley Parish Council cancelled the retaining fee they had been paying to
8988-442: The octagonal base of a Medieval cross. The church’s financial situation has varied considerably through the centuries, but was particularly parlous in 1837, when the vicar of St Laurence, whose annual salary was £116 – far below the national average of £285 – appealed to the bishop to be ‘non-resident’ in Ansley, citing an "unfit residence". By 1884, the vicar’s annual income was £236, but had fallen again to £160 by 1904. The church
9095-488: 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
9202-448: 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
9309-401: 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
9416-404: 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
9523-562: 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
9630-512: The park was described as "well stocked with deer". Ansley Hall and its land was leased to the Ansley Hall Coal and Iron Company by the Ludford family in 1872 after which the hall was used as a club and institute for colliery officials and estate tenants. After the UK coal industry was nationalised in 1947, the Hall became a social club for miners and their families. With the collapse of the mining industry,
9737-499: 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
9844-405: The pit became fully electric, the first colliery in Warwickshire to adopt this "pioneer movement". In 1904 it could produce 1,200 tonnes of coal a day. At its peak, in 1940, it employed 670 people. The pit merged with Haunchwood colliery in 1959 which in turn closed in 1967. The company also owned a brickworks capable of producing 3 million hard red bricks per year. Some of the bricks were used in
9951-411: 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
10058-501: The temple was a cell containing a monument relating to the Purefoy family, Parliamentarians who had had their estates confiscated because of their involvement in the death of Charles I . In 1758 Ansley Hall was visited by the poet Thomas Warton , who would later become poet laureate . He wrote the poem An Inscription about Ansley’s hermitage which begins "Beneath the stony roof reclin’d / I sooth to peace my pensive mind . In 1814
10165-464: The village. The following year a sewage scheme for Ansley Common and Chapel End was put in place. The possibility of Ansley’s being added to Nuneaton’s electricity supply from the Leicestershire and Warwickshire Electric Power Company Limited was first raised in 1923, when the supply to neighbouring Chapel End and Hartshill was imminent, Hartstill having "suffered for years from the quality of
10272-432: The water is shallow enough, but the material on the riverbed will not support heavy vehicles, fords are sometimes improved by building a submerged concrete floor. In such cases, a curb (kerb) is often placed on the downstream side to prevent vehicles from slipping off, as the growth of algae will often make the slab very slippery. Fords may be also equipped with a post indicating the water depth, so that users may know if
10379-615: The water is too deep to attempt to cross. Some have an adjacent footbridge so that pedestrians may cross dryshod. Fords were sometimes the only way to cross, such as at the Milkhouse at Rock Creek in Washington, DC, but the regular use of this ford has been superseded by bridges. The crossing remained for "adventurous" drivers until 1996 when the National Park Service closed the ford to cars. A road running below
10486-459: The water level of a stream or river is often known as a "watersplash". It is a common name for a ford or stretch of wet road in some areas, and is sometimes also used to describe tidal crossings. They have become a common feature in rallying courses. Some enthusiasts seek out and drive through these water features, recording details (such as wave created, position, and access) on dedicated websites. There are many old fords known as watersplashes in
10593-531: The water makes them impassable. According to The AA , many flood-related vehicle breakdowns are at fords. In New Zealand , fords are a normal part of roads, including, until 2010, along State Highway 1 on the South Island 's east coast. In dry weather, drivers become aware of a ford by crunching across outwash detritus on the roadway. A Bailey bridge may be built off the mainline of the road to carry emergency traffic during high water. At places where
10700-666: 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
10807-550: The wife of Ansley Hall Colliery’s managing director, contributed 1,344 articles to the war effort, including 50 theatre gowns,180 pairs of pyjamas and 650 bandages, putting them first in the North Warwickshire WVS collection drive. There was also a Soldiers’ Comforts and Parcels Fund based at the Boot Inn, meaning "every soldier, sailor or airman in the village received several gifts from the fund." In April 1945
10914-589: Was chairman of the company for some time (he was also the royal physician and known for his research into infantile scurvy). His son in turn, Sir James Alan Barlow, 2nd Baronet (1881-1964) was a director. The company bought the entire estate in 1899. The colliery became significant enough to have its own railway line, and the Ansley Hall Colliery Branch Line opened in 1876. It remained in operation until 1959. In 1888, instead of relying on pit ponies for transporting coal and coal refuse
11021-512: Was created during WWI. The parish’s Grade II listed war memorial, a Latin cross built of Portland stone and Hollington sandstone, stands on the corner of Birmingham Road and Nuneaton Road. A plaque reads "To the honour of the Ansley men who served their country in his Majesty’s forces during the Great Wars" and lists the names of the 32 men of Ansley who died in WWI and nine in WWII. The land for
11128-434: 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
11235-444: Was laid. St. Laurence Church is located at Church End. It is a Grade II listed building with mid to late-12th century foundations. It is possible that it was originally built for Lady Godiva, as she had "several churches built in the area at this time that were dedicated to St Laurence , after Abbot Laurence, a trusted friend." Whether the name should be spelt Laurence or Lawrence has been a "bone of contention for many centuries". It
11342-466: Was owned by the Prior of St Mary’s, Coventry. Bourne Brook, running north-east to south-west through the parish, has had an Irish bridge ford at Ansley Mill since the 12th century. The mill was sold by John Colepeper to Ralph Pickering and John Dyson in 1550. The building that currently stands was built in 1768. The last known miller was Isaac Thurn, in 1896. The mill has subsequently been converted into
11449-708: Was submitted to the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings to be considered for inclusion in their list of historic buildings in 1898, 1908 and 1913. It received its Grade II* status in 1968. Temporary girders were added to the church interior by the National Coal Board for the period between 1960 and 1968, to prevent subsidence from coal mining directly underneath. In 1973, seven weeks before their wedding, and amid much secrecy, Mark Phillips and Princess Anne visited St Laurence Church to attend
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