86-611: 51°37′41″N 0°25′06″E / 51.628°N 0.4184°E / 51.628; 0.4184 Billericay ( / b ɪ l ə ˈ r ɪ k iː / BIL -ə- RIK -ee ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon in Essex , England. It lies within the London Basin , 23 miles (37 km) east of the City of London . The town was founded in the 13th century by
172-522: 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
258-417: 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
344-523: A rural sanitary district in 1872 which in turn became the Billericay Rural District in 1894, when a Great Burstead Parish Council was also created covering the parish which included the town. The rural district covered a large area stretching as far as Brentwood and Pitsea . In 1934 most of the rural district was reconstituted as Billericay Urban District and the parish councils within the area were abolished. Three years later all
430-753: A Romano-British place name was reused by the Anglo-Saxons following the end of Roman rule in Britain . Some of the earliest records of human occupation of Billericay are the burial mounds in Norsey Wood , showing evidence of occupation in the Bronze and Iron Ages . Evidence of a Roman town, subsequently abandoned, were found on the high ground at Billericay School, just south of the High Street during excavations in 1970–71. There may also have been
516-515: 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
602-576: 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
688-477: 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
774-462: 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
860-509: 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
946-481: 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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#17327830934521032-661: A community radio station which is based in Brentwood. Local TV coverage is provided by BBC London and ITV London which is received from the Crystal Palace TV transmitter. Some areas of town can also receive BBC East and ITV Anglia from the Sudbury TV transmitter. The town is served by the local newspaper, Southend Echo . The town was mentioned in the Ian Dury song " Billericay Dickie ". Billericay
1118-529: 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
1204-431: 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
1290-739: 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. St Mary Magdalene, Great Burstead Too Many Requests If you report this error to
1376-416: 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
1462-431: 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
1548-503: 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
1634-534: A pride in this connection, and many businesses and other organisations use the name Mayflower , with the Town Council and other local organisations using it as their emblem. The origin of the name Billericay is unclear. It was first recorded as "Byllyrica" in 1291. The urban settlement, which was within the manor and parish of Great Burstead , was one of many founded in the late 13th century in an already densely populated rural landscape. Several suggestions for
1720-1079: 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
1806-442: A result. Mill Meadows is a local nature reserve near the centre of Billericay. Centuries of grazing have created the ideal conditions for a wonderful diversity of wild flowers, fungi, insects and invertebrates, many of which are very rare. It contains an area of 16.63 acres (6.73 ha) that has been declared as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its unimproved neutral grassland. Neighbouring settlements include Stock to
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#17327830934521892-409: 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
1978-598: 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
2064-622: A small cavalry fort at Blunts Wall Farm. The town of Billericay was established in the 13th century in the Manor and Parish of Great Burstead. The Manor of Burgestede is first recorded in an Anglo-Saxon will of 975 AD. In the Domesday Book of 1086 it is recorded as Burghestada. Great Burstead is recorded in the early 13th century, showing that the division into Great and Little Burstead Manors and Parishes had happened by that time. The town of Billericay, first recorded as "Byllyrica" in 1291,
2150-943: 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
2236-521: 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
2322-464: Is Burghstead Lodge in High Street, which used to house the library. The Town Hall was built in 1830 at 94 High Street. The Billericay Poor Law Union was created in 1835 to serve the town and several surrounding parishes. It built a workhouse in 1840 on Norsey Road. Parts of this building were later incorporated into St Andrew's Hospital. The railway arrived in Billericay in 1889; the station
2408-507: 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
2494-539: 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
2580-405: 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
2666-545: Is situated on a branch line from the Great Eastern Main Line between Shenfield and Southend-on-Sea . In 1916, during the First World War, a German Zeppelin airship was shot down during an aerial battle over Billericay. During its fiery demise, it narrowly missed the High Street, crashing into a field off Greens Farm Lane. A plaque was erected at the site in 2016, to commemorate 100 years since
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2752-627: Is the setting of the BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey as the home of Gavin Shipman ( Mathew Horne ) and his parents; however, the actual filming took place in Wales. The Cater Museum , a charity, is a local history museum containing artefacts recording the lives of people in the area. It is housed in an 18th and 19th-century Grade II listed building on the High Street. The Billericay Community Archive strives to record photos, memories and history relating to
2838-597: Is the village of Stock and an interchange to the A12. The A129 links the town to nearby areas such as Brentwood to the west and Wickford to the east. The nearest primary routes are the A12 to the north and the A127 in the south. Billericay contains Billericay School , Mayflower High School and St John's School . Billericay's local radio stations are BBC Essex on 95.3 FM, Heart Essex on 96.3 FM and Phoenix FM on 98 FM,
2924-582: Is understood to have been founded in the 13th century by the Abbot of West Ham, head of the Cistercian community of Stratford Langthorne Abbey , twenty miles away on the Lower Lea , in what is now inner London. The Abbey held the Manor of Great Burstead at the time. The town was established at the High Street. Like the abandoned Roman settlement just to the south, it benefitted from a prominent position on
3010-504: 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
3096-737: The Abbot of West Ham , in his Manor of Great Burstead . During the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, the Essex rebels were defeated in a battle with Richard II's forces in the Battle of Billericay. In 1620 four local people were on board the Mayflower as it sailed to Massachusetts , to establish the first English settlement in what would become the north of the United States. The town has long taken
3182-671: The Cole Hill Burial ground in Plymouth . The unfortunate fate of the would-be pioneers did not deter other inhabitants of Billericay from setting sail for the New World. The town of Billerica, Massachusetts , was established in 1655 by colonists from Billericay and named after their hometown in England. In the Georgian period many excellent examples of the period's houses were built in Billericay. One of those remaining today
3268-992: The Conservative Party . Billericay is a part of the London commuter belt , with a high proportion of people working in the City and other central parts of London. The town is served by Billericay railway station , which is on the Shenfield to Southend Line . Services between London Liverpool Street , Shenfield and Southend Victoria are operated by Greater Anglia ; some trains in peak hours run to Southminster . Local bus services are operated by First Essex , which connect Billericay with Chelmsford, Basildon, Brentwood and Wickford. The railway station bus stop connects to many routes, including service 300 which operates regularly between Basildon and Chelmsford. School services are provided by First Essex and NIBS Buses . The town
3354-1010: 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
3440-636: The River Thames at Tilbury . This may account for the large number of inns in the town. Billericay's most notable historical episode was the Battle of Billericay during the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. The Wycliffe preachers influenced the town. Four local people (Thomas Watts, Joan Hornes, Elizabeth Thackwell and Margaret Ellis) were burnt at the stake . Two other residents (Joan Potter and James Harris) were tortured for their Protestant faith during
3526-809: The Speedwell developed leaks and so the ships headed for the Devon coast to repair her, but this proved impossible; the Mayflower eventually sailed from Plymouth without her. Four people from Billericay were on board, including Christopher Martin, his wife Mary Prowe, along with Solomon Prowe - her son from her first marriage - and John Langemore - the Martins' servant. All four pilgrims perished after their arrival at Cape Cod , Massachusetts . Christopher Martin died of fever on 8 January 1621. His wife perished in Plymouth in 1621. Both Christopher and Mary are buried in
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3612-472: 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
3698-595: 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
3784-403: 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
3870-614: The urban parishes within the district were united into a civil parish of Billericay. The urban district, but not the parish, was renamed Basildon in 1955, although the council continued to be based at the Town Hall and adjoining offices in Billericay until the early 1960s when it moved into new premises in Basildon itself. In 1974 the Basildon Urban District was reconstituted as the modern Basildon district and
3956-470: 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
4042-462: The 14th century a chantry chapel had been built on the High Street in Billericay, which became a chapel of ease to Great Burstead following the Reformation , eventually becoming a parish church in 1844, also dedicated to St Mary Magdalen. In the 13th and 14th centuries, some pilgrims to Canterbury journeyed via Billericay. Some of them may have spent the night in Billericay before crossing
4128-403: 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
4214-564: 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
4300-591: 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
4386-511: 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
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#17327830934524472-472: The Chantry Centre on Chantry Drive, which was purpose-built for the council in 2020 and also serves as a community centre. The town council has run a youth town council scheme since 1998, elected in schools around the town. Billericay was historically a chapelry in the ancient parish of Great Burstead. The Billericay Poor Law Union created in 1835 gradually took on local government powers, becoming
4558-570: 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
4644-738: 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
4730-399: 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
4816-470: The civil parish of Billericay was abolished, becoming an unparished area . A new civil parish of Billericay was established in 1996, this time just covering the town itself rather than the whole Basildon district. Since major boundary changes in Essex for the 2010 general election, Billericay has been part of the parliamentary constituency of Basildon and Billericay . Since 2024 the MP has been Richard Holden of
4902-537: 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
4988-464: 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
5074-466: 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
5160-525: 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
5246-463: 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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#17327830934525332-439: 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
5418-534: 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
5504-455: 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
5590-659: The high ground forming the watershed of the River Crouch and River Wid catchment areas. It was also on the crossroads (at Sun Corner) of the road from the Thames to Chelmsford (the modern B1007) and the road linking Hutton to Wickford ( the A129 ); it is believed that the Crouch may have been navigable as far as Wickford at that time. At this time, the parish church for Billericay was at St Mary Magdalene, Great Burstead . By
5676-560: The incident. Parts of the aluminium frame can be seen at the Cater Museum in Billericay High Street. Recent research has indicated that this may be identified with the 'ghost Zeppelin' of Tonbridge which was allegedly seen floating over that town earlier in the day. The former workhouse became St Andrew's Hospital, which housed the internationally renowned Regional Plastic Surgery and Burns unit from 1973 until this
5762-476: 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
5848-465: 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
5934-465: 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
6020-612: The north, Ramsden Heath and Ramsden Bellhouse to the east, Basildon to the south, Little Burstead to the south-west and Havering's Grove to the west. Billericay is within the London Basin and lies on a mixture of London clay , Claygate Beds and Bagshot Beds on the higher ground. The point where the soils change from sandy to impermeable clay creates springs. There are three tiers of local government covering Billericay, at parish (town), district and county level: Billericay Town Council, Basildon Borough Council and Essex County Council . The town council has its headquarters at
6106-514: The origin of the place name include: Although the precise etymology of the name is not known, England has other places named Billerica: The Tudor antiquarian John Leland believed the already-abandoned Billerica in Kent was a variant of Bellocastrum , ‘fair castle’ in Latin. In Billericay there is a Roman fort at Blunt's Wall Farm; likewise ‘ Burh ’ gives its name to Great Burstead. This suggests that
6192-488: 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
6278-448: 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
6364-401: 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
6450-404: 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
6536-562: 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
6622-499: 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
6708-411: 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
6794-542: The reign of Queen Mary . A meeting of the Pilgrim Fathers , prior to their sailing in the Mayflower , is said to have taken place in Billericay high street; many local names and much historical imagery reflect this, such as Mayflower House, Mayflower Morris Men, Mayflower Taxis, Mayflower School and Mayflower Hall. Sunnymede School's houses were called Mayflower, Pilgrim, Chantry . Christopher Martin , who
6880-562: The town and surrounding areas on their website. Billericay's commercial cinema "The Ritz" closed its doors in 1971. However, in 2015, the Billericay Community Cinema was established. Less than a year after it started, the not-for-profit, volunteer-based group won a national award: the "Best New Film Society" at the Cinema for All Community Cinema Awards. Billericay is twinned with: Civil parish In England,
6966-562: The urban edge; the mixed use park at Hannakins Farm to the north-west includes a number of playing fields, Queens Park Country Park , also to the north-west, is managed as a nature reserve, as is Norsey Wood and Mill Meadows on the eastern side of the town. Norsey Wood and Mill Meadows act as ' green wedges ' in that they extend from the open countryside to the centre of town. Both Mill Meadows and Norsey Wood are environmentally valuable and sensitive, and have, in part or whole, been designated as Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) as
7052-666: 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
7138-670: Was born in Great Burstead and later became a Billericay goods merchant and property owner, travelled on the Mayflower in 1620 as the official Ship's Governor and purchasing agent, procuring ships supplies for the voyage. The Mayflower ship set sail once the Pilgrim Fathers had all boarded and set to meet the Speedwell in the English Channel; the Speedwell was sailing from the Netherlands. Unfortunately
7224-679: Was established at the crossroads (at Sun Corner) of the roads now known as the B1007 (higher grade parts of which are designated the A176) and A129. The B1007 provides a road link to Basildon to the south of Billericay, as well as to the A127. The road passes from just south of the town centre as Laindon Road, then the A129 junction at Sun Corner, continues northwards as Billericay's High Street and then Stock Road. It continues north to Chelmsford. Along its route
7310-498: 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
7396-536: Was relocated to Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford in April 1998. After the relocation, most of the hospital was redeveloped into housing, with the listed old workhouse buildings being converted to residential use. Billericay has two main parks, Lake Meadows and the Queen Elizabeth 2nd Playing Field (usually known as Sun Corner ). The other urban open spaces are much smaller. There are several open spaces on
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