97-606: Earley ( / ˈ ɜːr l i / UR -lee ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Wokingham , Berkshire , England. Along with the neighbouring town of Woodley , the Office for National Statistics places Earley within the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area ; for the purposes of local government it falls within the Borough of Wokingham , outside the area of Reading Borough Council . Its name
194-522: 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
291-417: 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
388-515: 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
485-576: 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
582-477: 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
679-462: 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
776-559: 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
873-481: 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
970-650: A coeducational secondary school. In addition, the following schools all have children from Earley and Lower Earley within their designated catchment areas, as defined by Wokingham Borough Council : The Emmbrook School , Forest School , The Holt School and The Piggott School . The parish church is Earley St Peter's in Church Road. Trinity church in Chalfont Close is a partnership between the Methodist , United Reformed and Anglican churches. St Nicholas
1067-524: A development at the southern end of the town. The name Lower Earley is however very old, having originally been applied to the low-lying land between the old Maiden Erlegh Estate and the River Loddon which runs along the eastern edge of the borough. As of 2024, Earley is in the new parliamentary constituency of Earley and Woodley . It was previously part of the Wokingham constituency, except for
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#17327649840181164-651: A five-time leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland who sired Pommern , the 1915 English Triple Crown champion. He also established a stud at New Farm, which was renamed Home Stud Farm located near his own estate. The Joel Stakes at Newmarket Racecourse is named in his honor. In 1903 Joel purchased the Maiden Erlegh Estate in Earley , near Reading in Berkshire . In 1922 he purchased
1261-605: A generous man who purchased the first motorised ambulance for the Royal Berkshire Hospital . Another illustration of his generosity was exhibited when he gave Sol Joel Park close to his estate was given to the Corporation of Reading in 1927. The official opening was undertaken by the then Duke of York , who later became King George VI and was again an extravagant event. Joel had success in thoroughbred horse racing and breeding . He owned Polymelus ,
1358-529: 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
1455-431: 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
1552-722: 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. Solomon Joel Solomon Barnato Joel (23 May 1865 – 22 May 1931)
1649-416: 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
1746-431: 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
1843-503: 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
1940-1079: 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
2037-409: 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
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#17327649840182134-598: 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
2231-943: 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
2328-521: 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
2425-402: Is 1 slave, and 2 fisheries rendering 68d, 20 acres of meadow [and] woodland for 30 pigs. The value was 100 shillings , later 60 shillings, now £4" The Erleghs, a family of knightly rank who took their name from the manors, held the manors of St Bartholemew and St Nicolas in the latter part of the 12th century through the 13th century and part of the 14th century. John de Erlegh (or John of Earley)
2522-553: Is also near Earley. Earley is served by Reading Buses who provide a number of bus services to and from the centre of Reading , namely the 4, X4, 19a, 19b, 19c; and the 21, a 24-hour service. The 17 bus runs 24 hours a day from the junction at the Three Tuns, through Reading town centre, towards Tilehurst . Wokingham can be reached by bus on the Wokingham Road or by train from Earley or Winnersh Triangle stations. Earley
2619-766: Is another Anglican church in Sutcliffe Avenue. The Baptist church is in Maiden Place in Lower Earley. The Roman Catholic church of Our Lady of Peace & Blessed Dominic Barberi is on the Wokingham Road. The Aisha Masjid mosque & Islamic Centre is on London Road, the Jamia Masjid mosque is on Alexandra Road and the Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith and Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara are on Cumberland Road. Civil parish In England,
2716-507: 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
2813-803: Is bordered by the B3270, Lower Earley] Way, to the south and south-east; the boundary then follows the Reading - Waterloo railway line until it turns north to run to the east of the B3350 (Church Road and Pitts Lane) as far as the gyratory system where the B3350 joins the A4 ; the boundary then runs north to the River Thames . The boundary then runs upstream along the Thames as far as the River Kennet , then follows
2910-539: 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
3007-591: Is mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Herlei", with two main manors : Erleigh St Bartholomew, later known as Erleigh Court; and Erleigh St Nicolas, later Erleigh White Knights. In Domesday Herlei is said to be "held by Osbern Giffard from the King, previously Dunn held it in alod of King Edward . [It was] then [assessed] at 5 hides ; now at 2 hides. There is land for 7 ploughs . In demesne are 1 ½ ploughs; and 4 Villeins and 7 bordars with 2 ½ ploughs. There
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3104-405: 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
3201-523: Is sometimes spelt Erleigh or Erlegh and consists of a number of smaller areas, including Maiden Erlegh and Lower Earley , and lies some 3 miles (5 km) south and east of the centre of Reading , and some 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Wokingham . It had a population of 32,036 at the 2011 Census. The main campus of the University of Reading , Whiteknights Park , lies partly in Earley and partly in
3298-941: Is to the north of the M4 motorway which connects London with Bristol . Earley is home to the Thames Valley Park which is alongside the Thames to the east of the A329(M) motorway. The park houses offices of many major companies including the UK headquarters of BG Group , Microsoft , ING Direct and SGI together with offices of Oracle Corporation , Computacenter , David Lloyd Leisure , Cybersource , JP Executive Recruitment, Open Text , Regus , Websense and Worktube CV. The neighbouring Suttons Business Park houses more service and high tech companies such as Rentokil Initial , Service Point, HP Invent , MOOG, FPS and Royal Mail . One of
3395-504: 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
3492-665: The BMX track near Paddick Drive which was opened in 2011, two community centres and Maiden Erlegh Lakes , which was declared a local nature reserve in 1997. The council has a large allotment at Culver Lane and a lawn cemetery at Mays Lane. The council also provides the bus shelters at the main Reading bound stops. Within Earley, the council operates the Waterside Centre, a canoe centre in Thames Valley Park , and
3589-530: The First World War and the grandstand was re-erected at Newbury Racecourse . Joel donated a piece of his land to the village to be used for sporting purposes: the park and pavilion were opened by the Duke of York , later George VI , as Sol Joel Park in 1927. Earley's boundaries historically extended further north-west towards Reading along the Wokingham Road as far as Cemetery Junction , and included
3686-1010: 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
3783-554: The Newtown area between London Road and the River Kennet . In September 1887 the part of Earley north-west of a new boundary drawn along Whiteknights Road, Wilderness Road, Church Road and the South Eastern Railway was incorporated into the borough of Reading. This area included much of the then main village of Earley around the Three Tuns crossroads, but excluded the village school and the parish church of St Peter on
3880-472: 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
3977-595: 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
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4074-403: 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
4171-470: 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
4268-403: 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
4365-564: 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
4462-591: 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
4559-511: 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
4656-591: The British jury was unconvinced and found him guilty. He was sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment. Joel's interests were wide and varied and included many business concerns. He was also kept busy with his enlarged family's diamond and gold mining interests, activities in brewing, the theatre (the Drury Lane Theatre in London) and railways (the City and South London Railway ). He was renowned for being
4753-570: 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
4850-855: The Hillside Borough Ward; Redhatch, St Nicolas and Maiden Erlegh the Maiden Erlegh Borough ward; and Whitegates together with the Woodley Town Ward of Bulmershe make up the Bulmershe and Whitegates Borough Ward. Town Council elections are held every four years; the last one was in 2023. Borough Elections are held by thirds with one in 3 years out of every 4 for the three member wards and one year with no election. Earley town council runs Sol Joel Park, leased from Reading Borough Council for 50 years, Meadow Park off Meadow Road, Bulmershe Park (jointly with Woodley ),
4947-506: The Loddon Valley Leisure Centre. They also own Chalfont Park and Laurel Park in Earley, both of which include football pitches. Even after its recent development, Earley has some remnants of ancient woodland within its boundaries, including Pearman's Copse and Redhatch Copse. Earley railway station is on the line from Reading to London Waterloo . Winnersh Triangle railway station, which opened in 1986,
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#17327649840185044-582: The Reading-Waterloo railway line again, until it meets the B3350; it then runs north-west along Whiteknights Road, cuts irregularly across the University of Reading Whiteknights Campus, and then runs to the east of the A327 ( Shinfield Road) until it meets up again with the B3270. The extension of the Reading borough boundaries in 1888 had the result that the section of Earley lying to the north of
5141-483: The South Berks Hunt, who created a course where hunt and yeomanry races, similar to modern hunter chases, were run. The course extended over an area now covered by Sutcliffe Avenue, Hillside Road and Mill Lane. The grandstand stood on an area opposite Loddon Infant School. The estate was purchased in 1903 by the millionaire Solly Joel who had a racecourse on the estate. The racecourse was demolished during
5238-690: The Town Council and 12 Borough Councillors (out of 54 on the Borough Council) representing four Earley wards (Hillside; Hawkedon; Maiden Erlegh; and Bulmershe and Whitegates). The Bulmershe and Whitegates ward also includes the Bulmershe ward of Woodley Town Council. The Town Wards do not coincide with the Borough Wards: Cutbush and Hawkedon Town Wards make up the Hawkedon Borough Ward; Hillside and Radstock
5335-857: The Van Ryn Deep Mine in 1902; the Government Gold Mining Areas (Modderfontein) Consolidated Limited, in 1910; and the New State Areas Ltd. in 1918. He acquired control of Langlaagte Estate and Gold Mining Company and Randfontein Estates Gold Mining Company from J.B. Robinson , and became a director of the Diamond Syndicate. Early in his business career he supported the Uitlanders against Paul Kruger 's government, and
5432-811: The Whitegates Town Ward, comprising the part of Earley lying north of the Reading - Waterloo railway line, which was in Reading East . Earley was originally a liberty in the parish of Sonning . It became an independent ecclesiastical parish in 1854 and later a civil parish . Earley has two levels of local government: Earley Town Council , created from the former Parish Council in 1974, based at Radstock House in Radstock Lane, and Wokingham Borough Council based at Shute End in Wokingham. There are 25 councillors representing eight wards on
5529-715: The Wilderness 1873). Waterhouse also designed Reading School (1865–71) in Erleigh Road, in the borough of Reading, extended Pepper Manor, now 'Old School' in Leighton Park School , on Shinfield Road, in 1890, and built Grove House on the north of the school site (1892–94). Earley established its own branch of the Women's Institute, Earley WI , in 1938 to enable women in the local area to come together and develop skills, further their education, and improve
5626-738: 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
5723-605: The borough of Reading. Evidence of prehistoric man has been found in locations around Earley. For example, a hand axe was found in the railway cutting; flint implements in a garden in Elm Lane; and hand axes in the gardens in Fowler Close and Silverdale Road. Most of these finds are thought to date from the late Paleolithic period, around 35,000 years ago. Traces of flimsy shelters from the Mesolithic were discovered at
5820-399: 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
5917-537: 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
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#17327649840186014-464: 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
6111-466: 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
6208-406: The country and play matches against the national and provincial teams. The team was known as S. B. Joel's XI and included leading players Ewart Astill , George Geary , Percy Holmes , Alec Kennedy , Charlie Parker , Jack Russell , Lionel Tennyson and Ernest Tyldesley . Joel died in 1931 at Moulton Paddocks and immediately his estate and possessions were sold at auction. The Home Stud Farm
6305-525: 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
6402-463: 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
6499-545: The ecclesiastical parish of Earley St Peter, which today extends as far as, but does not include, Palmer Park. The University of Reading began as the University College, Reading, an extension of Oxford University in 1892; it became a university in its own right in 1926 and acquired its new site, which straddles the boundary between Earley and Reading, in 1947. Of the six large villas on the estate four were designed by Alfred Waterhouse (Erleigh Park 1859, Whiteknights 1868 (now called Old Whiteknights House), Foxhill 1868 and
6596-439: 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
6693-409: 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
6790-404: The first woman jockey to win an open race when she rode Hogier to victory in the Town Plate at Newmarket . His son Dudley Joel was elected the Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Dudley but was killed in action during World War II . Joel's brother Woolf Joel was murdered in Johannesburg in 1898, probably by a blackmailing con-man named Karl Frederic Moritz Kurtze going under
6887-455: 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
6984-476: 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
7081-459: The local community. Earley grew rapidly both before and after World War II , and was designated a town in 1974. From 1977, the Lower Earley housing estate was constructed by private companies, almost doubling Earley's population to the current level. Two new primary schools were built, together with a large supermarket complex, which opened in 1979, and a sports centre. In 1988 a second shopping area, Maiden Place, opened. An additional secondary school
7178-804: The main industries located in Earley was Sutton Seeds, whose headquarters were in London Road, at the northern end of what was once the A329(M) motorway spur (now the A3290). The building was partly taken over by the civil engineering consultancy Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners in June 1974, when it relocated from London. Sutton Seeds finally departed in 1975 to its new base in Torquay . Earley has 6 primary schools, Aldryngton, Earley St Peters, Hillside, Radstock, Whiteknights and Hawkedon, and Maiden Erlegh School ,
7275-465: 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
7372-465: 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
7469-496: The opposite side of Church Road. The civil parish boundary was adjusted to match the new borough boundary eighteen months later in March 1889, with the part of Earley in the borough of Reading being transferred to the civil parish of Reading St Giles . Ecclesiastical parish boundaries were unaffected by the civil parish and borough boundary changes, and much of the area transferred to the borough of Reading in 1887 still forms part of
7566-488: 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
7663-448: 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
7760-401: 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
7857-404: 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
7954-562: 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
8051-499: 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
8148-411: 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
8245-457: The pseudonym of Ludwig von Veltheim. Although there was plenty of evidence that Veltheim had been threatening Woolf Joel, the defense was that Veltheim had not been properly compensated for planning a kidnap scheme against the Boer leader Paul Kruger . That, the all Boer jury, and the mixture of anti-British and anti-Semitic feelings towards the deceased enabled Veltheim to avoid conviction. Freed, he
8342-420: The racing establishment at Moulton Paddocks , Newmarket, after the death of its then owner, Sir Ernest Cassel . He and his brother Jack Barnato Joel had a long running rivalry on the turf as owners, with Jack having the greater success over the years including 2 Epsom Derby winners, Sunstar and Humorist . In the 1924–25 South African cricket season, Joel organised a team of mostly English players to tour
8439-467: The railway line (sometimes referred to as Old Earley or North Earley) is connected to the larger part to the south by only a narrow corridor of land. The Borough of Reading lies to the west, the River Thames to the north-west, Woodley to the north-east, Winnersh to the east, and Arborfield and Shinfield to the south. Lower Earley is often spoken of as a town in its own right, but it is just
8536-531: The site of the old power station at Thames Valley Park in north Earley. Tools from that time have also been found, including a flint blade found in a garden in Silverdale Road. Archaeological evidence for continued human presence during the Bronze Age and Iron Age was also discovered on the site of the Thames Valley Park , and Roman remains were found on a building site off Meadow Road. Earley
8633-666: 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
8730-508: Was a British-South African business magnate. He moved to Cape Colony in the 1880s where he made his fortune in connection with diamonds, later becoming a financier with interests in mining , brewing and railways . Known as "Solly", he was born into a Jewish family, one of three sons of Joel Joel, a London publican , and keeper of the King of Prussia tavern, and Kate Isaacs, who was a sister of Barnett Isaacs, later to be called Barney Barnato . Along with his brothers, Jack and Woolf, he
8827-713: Was a prominent member of the Reform Committee. Having been found guilty of high treason for his part in the Jameson Raid , Joel never dabbled in politics again. Joel married a beautiful young actress named Ellen "Nellie" Ridley. While highly successful in business, in his personal life familial relationships were not always cordial. His dislike of his daughter Doris' choice of spouse continued until she divorced after four years, at which point he resumed normal relations. Joel also disapproved of one of his sons, Stanhope's, marriage for two years. His daughter Eileen became
8924-498: 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
9021-460: Was immediately deported from the Boer territories. For the next decade, Veltheim was following a series of con-games in Europe, but in 1907, he turned up in London, and started making threatening demands against Joel, who reported him to Scotland Yard, and the police arrested Veltheim. There was a trial for extortion, and Veltheim used the same defense he had previously used in Johannesburg, but
9118-577: Was known as the White Knight, hence the renaming of the manor of Erleigh St Nicolas to Whiteknights . The Whiteknights estate was later owned by the Englefields, from 1606 to 1798, and then by the Marquis of Blandford , later the 5th Duke of Marlborough . The manor of Maiden Erleigh was formed out of the manor of Erlegh, as a gift of land by John de Erlegh to Robert de Erlegh in 1368. Later it
9215-556: Was mentored by Barney Barnato and made a fortune from the Barnato Diamond Mining Company. Within 10 years, he had become a millionaire, primarily by buying seemingly worked-out diamond mines in South Africa . On Barney Barnato's death, in 1897, Joel became head of the family business, Barnato Brothers. Despite having a keen interest in diamonds, he played a greater role in the gold industry. He established
9312-698: Was planned roughly opposite the sports centre next to Rushey Way, possibly on the site next to the police station. However, the school never materialised, and the land was built on. Despite its generally 19th- and 20th-century appearance, Earley has some remnants of its older past hidden in amongst the newer development. The following buildings in Earley Town are currently listed by English Heritage as being of special architectural or historic interest (all are listed as Grade II except for Foxhill House): On Whiteknights Campus Elsewhere in Earley Earley
9409-593: Was transferred to Charles Hide of Abingdon . In 1673 the estate was sold to Valentine Crome, and after many changes of ownership at the end of the 18th century, it belonged to William Matthew Birt, who was Governor General of the Leeward Islands . In 1818 the property passed to the Rt Hon Edward Golding , MP for Downton in Wiltshire . In 1878 it was purchased by John Hargreaves, Master of
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