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90-738: Borough Green is situated in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent , England. The central area is situated on the A25 road between Maidstone and Sevenoaks , with the M26 motorway running through the centre dividing Wrotham and Borough Green. Two Paleolithic rock shelters were found at Oldbury Hill some two miles west of Borough Green with flint tools from about 50,000 years BCE. Roman cinerary urns were first found in Barrow Field off Staley's Road in 1839 but were reburied and lost to history. In

180-522: 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

270-515: 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

360-576: 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

450-477: 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

540-462: 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

630-559: 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

720-440: A civil parish is usually an elected parish council (which can decide to call itself a town, village, community or neighbourhood council, or a city council if the parish has city status). Alternatively, in parishes with small populations (typically fewer than 150 electors) governance may be by a parish meeting which all electors may attend; alternatively, parishes with small populations may be grouped with one or more neighbours under

810-481: 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

900-586: A common parish council. Wales was also divided into civil parishes until 1974, when they were replaced by communities , which are similar to English parishes in the way they operate. Civil parishes in Scotland were abolished for local government purposes by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 ; the Scottish equivalent of English civil parishes are the community council areas established by

990-529: 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

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1080-431: 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

1170-416: 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

1260-503: 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

1350-1079: 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

1440-409: 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

1530-598: 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

1620-943: 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

1710-521: 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

1800-439: 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 the 19th century and are now entirely separate. Civil parishes in their modern form came into being through

1890-455: Is also a view that "borough", which predates any borough council in the area, relates to the word barrow, possibly referring to the Roman remains near the station site. Its location at a crossroads with the old route from Gravesend to Hastings meant that inns were gradually opened. The Red Lion , originally the "White Bear", first mentioned in 1586, is now closed. The 1592 Black Bull became

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1980-678: Is also located in the village. Several denominations have places of worship in Borough Green: The village and nearby communities are served by Borough Green Primary School. The Medical Centre on Quarry Hill Road, opened in 1993 provides GP care. The first recorded practitioners in Borough Green were Dr AA Lipscomb and the Walker family. The library was started in 1922 at the council school. it moved several times and finally to its purpose built building in 1977. The Fire Brigade

2070-507: 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

2160-539: 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

2250-457: Is no parking area. The old mill pond is a key point of interest. There are two meadows and woodland with picnic areas and woodland walks. The site of Basted Paper Mill, a local employer. The mill records go back to 1438 when it was probably a water mill for grinding corn. Walter Monckton bought the mill in 1857, a grandfather of Viscount Monckton of Brenchley . The Monckton family lived in Kent since

2340-405: 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

2430-424: Is now a Sainsbury's Local food store. In Borough Green there were 360 residents in 1841, 241 in 1861, 232 in 1871. The village expanded after the railway opened and in 1891 there were 682 inhabitants. The London, Chatham and Dover Railway opened a line to Maidstone on 1 June 1874, and a station named Wrotham and Borough Green was built. Later the names were reversed to Borough Green and Wrotham , in line with

2520-502: Is the Upper Greensand Ridge , used in church building in Kent. The land included is mainly agricultural – orchards, and livestock in the main – although major business parks and buildings within 30 miles (50 km) coupled with the railways and the motorway means a majority of working residents commute to work in the more built-up villages and Tonbridge. The new settlement of Kings Hill can be regarded as tied in with

2610-504: 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

2700-643: The Black Horse , then The Black Horse and Hooden , and recently The Black Horse again. The Bull of 1753 survives, but the "Red Lion", Fox and Hounds (1837) and The Rock (1860) have been turned into private housing. The Red Lion building still exists as part of the Red Lion Square housing development. The Fox and Hounds and the Rock were demolished to make way for Foxlea and Tavern Close respectively. The 1878 Railway Hotel , later The Henry Simmonds ,

2790-782: The Coldrum Stones at Trottiscliffe ; and the Long barrows at Addington being examples. Bronze and Iron Age finds are also plentiful. There is evidence of the Romano-British civilisation along the Medway Valley. The immediate district of Tonbridge is omitted from the Domesday Book ; however most other settlements in the Borough are included. Castles were built at Tonbridge, Allington and West Malling in

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2880-761: The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , which have fewer powers than their English and Welsh counterparts. There are no equivalent units in Northern Ireland . The parish system in Europe was established between the 8th and 12th centuries, and an early form was long established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest . These areas were originally based on the territory of manors , which, in some cases, derived their bounds from Roman or Iron Age estates; some large manors were sub-divided into several parishes. Initially, churches and their priests were

2970-1010: 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

3060-411: 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 a population in excess of 100,000 . This scope is similar to that of municipalities in continental Europe, such as

3150-877: The M2 , M20 and the M26 ; three west-east roads ( A20 ; A21 and the A26 road ). Three other roads of similar stature are the A227 , A228 and A229 . In addition there are long distance footpaths , among them the Greensand Way , the Medway Valley Walk , the Wealdway and the Eden Valley Walk. In terms of television, the area is served by BBC South East and ITV Meridian . Television signals are received from

3240-908: The North Kent Line at Strood with the South Eastern Main Line at Paddock Wood railway station . Stations are at Snodland , New Hythe , and Aylesford on the Strood – Maidstone West section of the line in the north of the borough and Wateringbury on the Maidstone West – Paddock Wood section of the line in the south of the borough. Beltring and Brandbridges Halt is close to the borough boundary. Trains on this line now run through from Paddock Wood to Tonbridge, but through services from Maidstone West via Strood to London Bridge have been discontinued. The borough has road routes passing through it. There are three motorways:

3330-468: The Redhill to Tonbridge Line services run to Redhill: through services on that line to Guildford have been discontinued. The High Speed 1 line with Eurostar services crosses the north of the borough, but there are no stations here, although southeastern high speed commuter services to / from London St Pancras call at Snodland during the morning and evening peak periods. The Medway Valley Line links

3420-472: 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

3510-692: 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 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

3600-470: 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

3690-477: The 13th century. Religious houses: Malling, Aylesford and Tonbridge were built: one such was St Mary's Abbey dating from 1092. Aylesford Priory on the banks of the Medway, was built in the 13th century. There are surviving medieval manor houses including Ightham Mote and Old Soar Manor . Tonbridge district can be divided in two distinct areas, which were divided at the beginning of the nineteenth century by

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3780-527: The 1880s there was a much more important find on location north of the railway station where sand was being excavated. In 1898 a local archaeologist Benjamin Harrison of Ightham persuaded the owners to stop destroying them. He called in George Payne who identified them as Roman. There was a Roman cemetery consisting of rows of cinerary urns six feet apart and two feet deep. The burials date from around

3870-564: 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

3960-591: 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

4050-511: 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

4140-689: The High Street is located in Nisa. There are several independent retailers and teashops. Tonbridge and Malling Tonbridge and Malling is a local government district with borough status in Kent , England. The council is based at Kings Hill . The borough also includes the towns of Tonbridge and Snodland along with numerous villages including Aylesford , West Malling and surrounding rural areas. The neighbouring districts are Maidstone , Tunbridge Wells , Sevenoaks , Gravesham and Medway . Tonbridge and Malling Borough covers an area from

4230-684: The Late 16th Century. There has been a paper mill on the site for 200 years. Ightham men and women worked there. Monckton rebuilt the mill in 1875. The mill was rebuilt following a fire in 1917 and worked on steam power until 1960, and closed after damage in floods in 1968. The mill supplied paper for postage stamps. A small housing area was built on the site at the end of the 20th Century. There are three tiers of local government covering Borough Green, at parish , district and county level: Borough Green Parish Council, Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council and Kent County Council . The parish council meets at

4320-631: The North Downs at Burham and Snodland in the north to the town of Tonbridge in the south. The River Medway meanders north-east through the borough towards the Medway Gap , having in the west of the area received the River Eden . The Eden Valley Walk is also mostly in this borough. The area has been occupied for thousands of years. The Neolithic people left behind much evidence: megaliths such as Kit's Coty House at Aylesford and

4410-638: The Tunbridge Wells and Bluebell Hill TV transmitters, BBC London and ITV London can also be received from the Crystal Palace TV transmitters. Radio stations for the area are: Local newspapers are Kent and Sussex Courier and Kent Messenger , which is published by the KM Group . Tonbridge and Malling has youth projects and organisations including Cupid FM , the first ever youth radio station or project of its kind within

4500-738: 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

4590-469: The area. The project received funding and support from Kent County Council and Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council, and during 2006 set up a studio and online broadcast which came to a close in November of that year. The station was run by local teens and music was populated by the latest chart hits. The councillor presiding at council meetings was initially called the chairman until December 1983 when

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4680-596: The borough is also covered by civil parishes , which form a third tier of local government. Since the 2023 election the council has been under no overall control , being led by a coalition of the Conservatives and the Independent Alliance. The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of

4770-521: The borough with stations at Hildenborough and Tonbridge . The Maidstone East Line on the route Victoria – Maidstone East – Ashford International – Canterbury – Thanet with its stations at Borough Green & Wrotham , West Malling for Kings Hill , East Malling and Barming crosses the north of the borough. From Tonbridge , the Hastings line services run to Tunbridge Wells and Hastings , with some through services from Hastings to London, and

4860-399: 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

4950-537: 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

5040-464: 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

5130-640: The council since 1974 has been as follows: The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Tonbridge and Malling. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council . The leaders since 1985 have been: Following the 2023 election , the composition of the council was: The next election is due in 2027. Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council's main offices are at the Gibson Building in Kings Hill , which had been built in 1939 as

5220-496: The council was awarded borough status and the role was renamed mayor. The existing chairman at that point, Barry Hughes, became the first mayor. The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Tonbridge and Malling. Kent History Illustrated Frank W Jessup (KCC, 1966) Civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government . It

5310-466: 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

5400-459: 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

5490-463: 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

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5580-456: The district is covered by civil parishes , with the exception being the former Tonbridge Urban District, covering the town of Tonbridge, which is an unparished area . The parish council for Snodland takes the style "town council". Six railway routes operate through the borough. The South Eastern Main Line on the route London – Tonbridge – Ashford International – Dover crosses the west of

5670-439: 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

5760-634: The economy of Maidstone equally with that of parts of Kent further to the western extremity. A remnant of the once flourishing hop-growing industry is provided by a tourist attraction at Beltring : once the Whitbread Hop Farm , it puts on weekend exhibitions and shows. Tonbridge and Malling has 27 listed buildings in the highest category of the national system, Grade I. This includes eight churches, five reduced structures left over from St Mary's Abbey or Malling Abbey , West Malling and four manor houses , mostly built by lower social ranks than

5850-534: 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

5940-442: The former districts. The district received borough status on 16 December 1983, changing the name of the council from Tonbridge and Malling District Council to Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council and allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor . Other parties (22) Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Kent County Council . Much of

6030-645: The gift and continued patronage (benefaction) of the lord of the manor , but not all were willing and able to provide, so residents would be expected to attend the church of the nearest manor with a church. Later, the churches and priests became to a greater extent the responsibility of the Catholic Church thus this was formalised; the grouping of manors into one parish was recorded, as was a manor-parish existing in its own right. Boundaries changed little, and for centuries after 1180 'froze', despite changes to manors' extents. However, by subinfeudation , making

6120-455: 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

6210-476: 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

6300-465: 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

6390-465: 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

6480-507: The officers' mess building of RAF West Malling . The building is named after Wing Commander Guy Gibson , known for leading the Dambusters Raid , who had been based at RAF West Malling in 1941–1942. The council moved to the Gibson Building in November 1974, just a few months after the council's creation. A large extension to the Gibson Building was added in 2000. The council also has an office at Tonbridge Castle , which had been

6570-587: The offices of the former Tonbridge Urban District Council. Since the last boundary changes in 2023, the council has comprised 44 councillors elected from 19 wards , with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. In the Parliament of the United Kingdom , the area is covered by the larger Tonbridge and Malling Parliamentary Constituency and part of Chatham and Aylesford Parliament constituency . Much of

6660-601: The opening of the railway station in 1874. The council met at the Railway Hotel on Wrotham Road (now Sainsbury's) until 1902, then at a converted house it leased at 2 Sevenoaks Road from 1902 until 1924, before building its own headquarters at 16–18 Maidstone Road in 1924. Wrotham Urban District was abolished in 1934, with the area being absorbed into Malling Rural District and divided into the parishes of Borough Green (which also took some territory from Ightham ), Platt , Plaxtol and Wrotham. Malling Rural District in turn

6750-488: 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

6840-401: 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

6930-404: 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

7020-562: 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

7110-499: 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

7200-411: 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

7290-548: The position of the station within Borough Green, and the fact that Borough Green had outgrown Wrotham. An infant school was built on the direction of the local school board in 1875 to the design of architect Robert Wheeler. Western Road was planned in 1877 after the sale of 56 acres of land by the Tomlyn family between the High Street and Fairfield. Town gas was provided by the Wrotham and Borough Green Gas Co from 1880 and in 1904

7380-438: The right to create civil parishes was extended to London boroughs , although only one, Queen's Park , has so far been created. Eight parishes also have city status (a status granted by the monarch ). A civil parish may be equally known as and confirmed as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council, a right not conferred on other units of English local government. The governing body of

7470-457: The titled nobility. A diverse materials and appearance construction is Ightham Mote which is recognised in the highest category of the UK's architecture listing system, Grade I, though no longer in private hands. East Malling Research Station disseminates results of research into matters affecting horticultural crops, with particular emphasis on the fruit, hop and nursery stock industries. Many of

7560-416: The village hall on High Street. Borough Green was historically part of the parish of Wrotham . In 1863 the parish was made a local government district , governed by a local board. Such districts were reconstituted as urban districts in 1894. Although named after Wrotham, the urban district council was always based in Borough Green, which was growing to become the largest settlement in the parish following

7650-399: The villages are beside long-distance walks with tourist accommodation, enabling tours of the orchards and bluebell woods . The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 . It covered the whole area of two former districts and part of a third, all of which were abolished at the same time: The new district was named Tonbridge and Malling, combining the names of

7740-515: The woods and heaths of the ragstone (1) ridge from Great Comp to East Malling . Northwards lies the well peopled Vale of Holmesdale with the market town of West Malling as the principal centre of population, an area crossed lengthways by the railway and motorway ( M20 ); southwards of the ridge is the heavy clay of the Weald and valley of the Medway Kentish ragstone geologically speaking

7830-400: The year 100 CE. The first record of this name was in 1575, when it appears as Borrowe Grene. Middle English grene means village green The name itself is much older. It is not known if this from Old English burh 'manor, borough' or from beorg 'hill, mound'. The name of the community describes what it originally was – a green to which the people of the area went for sports and games. There

7920-526: Was abolished in 1974 to become part of Tonbridge and Malling. Borough Green is home to the British Racing and Sports Car Club , one of the major organisers of motorsports events in the United Kingdom. The village's main football team is Potters Football Club of the Sevenoaks & District Premier Division, which fields one men's team. It has close ties with Borough Green Junior Football Club, which

8010-536: Was founded in 1934. The modern Fire Station in Western Road was opened in 1964. The Village Hall was built in 1964-65. It serves as a polling station during elections. Borough Green had branches of two nationwide retail banks, both of which closed in 2017. The former NatWest building on High Street is now Costa Coffee . There are branches of the Co-op , Sainsbury's Local and Nisa . Borough Green Post Office on

8100-568: Was taken over by the Mid Kent Gas Light and Coke Company. The River Bourne flows through the southern part of the parish. It once powered a paper mill at Basted. Piped water came from the Mid Kent Water Co. in 1900. Kent Electric Power Co. brought electricity in 1930. This area of 18.33 acres is a mile south from the centre of the town and is on the border of 4 parishes: Borough Green, Ightham, Platt and Plaxtol. There

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