84-478: Highlow is a civil parish within the Derbyshire Dales district, in the county of Derbyshire , England. Largely rural, Highlow's population is reported with the population of neighbouring parishes for a total of 585 residents in 2011. It is 140 miles (230 km) north-west of London , 28 miles (45 km) north-west of the county city of Derby , and 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (12.1 km) north of
168-522: 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
252-515: 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
336-576: 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
420-477: 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
504-462: 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
588-559: 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
672-481: 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
756-524: A fish farm. The only public house, The Plough Inn in Leadmill, was built in the 16th century. Leadmill Bridge over the River Derwent dates from the late 18th century where it replaced a ford , and was widened in 1928. Highlow Hall comprised a small manor house and various auxiliary agricultural buildings dating to the late 16th century with middle 17th century alterations. By the time of Edward II
840-529: 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
924-431: 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
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#17327723989061008-404: A notable settlement was established enough to be on Christopher Saxton 's 1579 Derbyshire map, approximately where Highlow Hall was located, although it appears to have become depopulated over time. An ancient route ran from Highlow known as the ‘corpse path’, possibly because of its use to transport coffins to the churchyard at Hathersage church. Halifax Gate was another old route which went over
1092-682: A parish (a "detached part") was in a different county . In other cases, counties surrounded a whole parish meaning it was in an unconnected, "alien" county. These anomalies resulted in a highly localised difference in applicable representatives on the national level , justices of the peace , sheriffs, bailiffs with inconvenience to the inhabitants. If a parish was split then churchwardens, highway wardens and constables would also spend more time or money travelling large distances. Some parishes straddled two or more counties, such as Todmorden in Lancashire and Yorkshire. Ford (crossing) A ford
1176-416: 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
1260-431: 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
1344-503: 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
1428-1079: 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
1512-655: A river can be crossed". Although today brod in the Serbo-Croatian means 'ship', Slavonski Brod in Croatia, as well as Makedonski Brod in North Macedonia and other place names containing Brod in Slavic countries, where brod is still the word for 'ford', are named after fords. In historic times, positioning an army in large units close to a river was thought best for direct defense as well as to attack
1596-409: 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
1680-598: 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
1764-943: 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
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#17327723989061848-521: 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
1932-537: A standalone settlement. It was first reported in public records from the 12th century as Heihlau, meaning high hill, presumably named after the notable land feature High Low hill in the centre of the parish. There are tumuli and cairns in the north western area of the parish, which are ancient burial tombsites dating to the Bronze Age. Although not recorded during the time of the Domesday records in 1066, Highlow as
2016-585: Is a cairn field located around 600 metres ( 1 ⁄ 4 mi) west of Highlow Hall. A tumulus is further to the west by the parish boundary. This extends from Highlow Wood in the south of the parish, encircling north of Bole Hill, before encompassing the south western legs of the parish and the valley of the Bretton Brook, and continuing into the Abney Grange area. Bretton Clough is characterised by deep basin peats occurring within pockets of
2100-425: Is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading, or inside a vehicle getting its wheels wet. A ford may occur naturally or be constructed. Fords may be impassable during high water. A low-water crossing is a low bridge that allows crossing over a river or stream when water is low but may be treated as a ford when the river is high and water covers the crossing. The word ford
2184-507: 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
2268-752: Is both a noun (describing the water crossing itself) and a verb (describing the act of crossing a ford). A ford is a much cheaper form of river crossing than a bridge , and it can transport much more weight than a bridge, but it may become impassable after heavy rain or during flood conditions. A ford is therefore normally only suitable for very minor roads (and for paths intended for walkers and horse riders etc.). Most modern fords are usually shallow enough to be crossed by cars and other wheeled or tracked vehicles (a process known as "fording"). Fords may be accompanied by stepping stones for pedestrians. The United Kingdom has more than 2,000 fords, and most of them do not have any way of stopping vehicles from crossing when
2352-539: 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
2436-405: 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
2520-504: 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
2604-757: The Dutch voorde (as in Vilvoorde , Coevorden , Zandvoort , or Amersfoort ) are cognates with the same meaning, all deriving from Proto-Indo-European *pértus 'crossing'. This is the source of Brythonic and Gaulish ritus (modern Welsh rhyd ; the Welsh name of Oxford is Rhydychen "ford of oxen"), which underlies such names as Chambord (from Gaulish *Camboritum "ford at the bend") and Niort ( Novioritum "new ford"). Towns such as Maastricht , Dordrecht , and Utrecht also formed at fords. The endings tricht , drecht , and trecht are derived from
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2688-587: The Latin word traiectum , meaning "crossing". Thus the name Utrecht, originally the Roman fort of Traiectum , is derived from "Uut Trecht", meaning "downstream crossing". The Afrikaans form was taken into South African English as drift and led to place names like Rorke's Drift and Velddrift . Similarly, in Slavic languages , the word brod comes from the linguistic root that means "river-crossing" or "place where
2772-1010: 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
2856-654: The River Amman ); Stafford , the county town of Staffordshire ('ford by a staithe ', or 'ford by the landing place'), Staffort crossing the river Pfinz ; and Stratford (a ford on a Roman street ). Similarly, the German word Furt (as in Frankfurt , the ford of the Franks ; Ochsenfurt , synonymous to Oxford; Schweinfurt , a ford where swine crossed the river; and Klagenfurt , literally "ford of complaints") and
2940-910: The United Kingdom . Examples are at Brockenhurst in Hampshire , Wookey in Somerset , and Swinbrook in Oxfordshire . Some of these are being replaced by bridges as these are a more reliable form of crossing in adverse weather conditions. Some very spectacular watersplashes can be found in diverse locations. Australia has the Gulf Savannah , and others may be found in Canada , Italy , South Africa , and Finland . They are also found on some Tennessee backroads, where they are referred to as "underwater bridges". In Israel and part of
3024-472: 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
3108-595: 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
3192-403: 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
3276-470: 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
3360-403: 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
3444-564: 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
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3528-591: 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
3612-511: 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
3696-677: The British areas under the mandate a low water crossing or watersplash had been known as the "Irish bridge" in reference to the Anglo–Irish war . The names of many towns and villages are derived from the word 'ford'. Examples include Oxford (a ford where oxen crossed the river: see the Coat of arms of Oxford ); Hertford , the county town of Hertfordshire (the ford where harts cross or "deer crossing"); Brantford , (the ford where Joseph Brant Forded The Grand River ); Ammanford (a ford on
3780-577: The Derwent, and southbound went onto the West Riding of Yorkshire . Lead was mined in times past at locations throughout the parish and beyond. There is evidence that a lead mill by the locality of Leadmill at the start of the 17th century was earlier the site of a corn mill. The lead mill was subsequently in use up to the 18th century as a stone mason's mill before being converted to a private residence. A millpond located there has been latterly used as
3864-570: 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
3948-736: The Highlow manor belonged to the Archer family, which later became extinct. Robert le Eyre was hereditary warden of the Royal Forest of the Peak administered from Peveril Castle in Castleton , during Edward III 's reign, Robert’s grandson, William le Eyre de Hope was forest warden. By the beginning of the 15th century Highlow Hall became the seat of a branch of the Eyre family, them having arrived in
4032-738: 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
4116-399: 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
4200-537: 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
4284-464: 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
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#17327723989064368-466: 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
4452-589: The country during the Norman Conquest , and by the time of Edward I had settled at the village of Hope . Robert Eyre rebuilt the hall during the 17th century, and later became High Sheriff of Derbyshire . In the early part of the 18th century, John Eyre resurrected the ancient surname of Archer, but following his death in 1842 the hall and adjoining farm were sold to the Duke of Devonshire , owner of Chatsworth House , with tenant farmers taking up residence at
4536-525: 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
4620-463: 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
4704-439: 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
4788-534: 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
4872-550: The former Outseats parishes) for the 2011 census. Because of its small population, Highlow is managed at the first level of public administration via combined parish meetings with Abney and Abney Grange alongside Offerton, there is no parish council . At district level, the wider area is overseen by Derbyshire Dales district council, and because of its inclusion within a national park, the Peak District Park Authority. Derbyshire County Council provides
4956-455: 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
5040-577: The hall. Following the death of the 10th Duke of Devonshire the hall, as well as a number of other farms in the Chatsworth Estate were sold in order to satisfy death duties. The then resident tenants, the Wain family, bought Highlow Hall and remain present owners. The outbuildings and barns have been converted to cottages which are in separate ownership. There are 585 residents recorded within Highlow (along with Abney and Abney Grange, Offerton and
5124-428: The highest level strategic services locally. There is one public house at Leadmill, The Plough Inn which dates from the 16th century. There are sites offering overnight accommodation , catering particularly to Peak District visitors in Leadmill. Several landmarks and locations appealing to tourists are scattered throughout the wider area. The long distance Peak District walking route Derwent Valley Heritage Way follows
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#17327723989065208-500: The landslip formations of its valley slopes. Civil parish In England, 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
5292-476: 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
5376-465: 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
5460-473: The nearest market town of Bakewell . Highlow is wholly within the Peak District national park, and shares a border with the parishes of Abney and Abney Grange , Eyam , Foolow , Grindleford , Hathersage as well as Offerton . There are nine listed buildings in Highlow. Highlow is surrounded by the following local areas: The parish is roughly bounded by land features such as Bretton Clough to
5544-465: 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
5628-433: The north east parish boundary. There are nine listed structures within the parish, all at Grade II designation and mainly agricultural related, except for Highlow Hall and its archway entrance, both dating from the 16th century and at the higher designation of Grade II*. The wider region is known for a wide range of prehistoric artefacts and Roman locations spread throughout. The only scheduled monument recorded in Highlow
5712-488: 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
5796-448: 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
5880-401: 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
5964-404: 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
6048-621: The parish: Primarily farming and pasture land throughout the parish outside the sparsely populated areas, there are some small forestry plots throughout, mainly around the Highlow Brook valley. Abney and Bretton Clough is an SSSI which also covers this area. Limestone , gritstone and lead feature in the geology of the wider area, which lies on millstone grit from the carboniferous era, rising through mudstones, shales, sandstones and grits which have formed soils that are mainly coarse loams with peat y gleysols near springs on
6132-562: 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
6216-499: 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
6300-411: 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
6384-534: The sandstone/shale layers. The parish is roughly bounded by the Bretton Brook to the west, the Derwent and Dunge Brook to the north, and Highlow Brook to the east and centre. Stoke Ford is where several paths meet by the convergence of the Bretton and Highlow streams. There are a number of springs found throughout the parish. The parish can be hilly and undulating in places, the land generally rising from east to
6468-432: The water is shallow enough, but the material on the riverbed will not support heavy vehicles, fords are sometimes improved by building a submerged concrete floor. In such cases, a curb (kerb) is often placed on the downstream side to prevent vehicles from slipping off, as the growth of algae will often make the slab very slippery. Fords may be also equipped with a post indicating the water depth, so that users may know if
6552-615: The water is too deep to attempt to cross. Some have an adjacent footbridge so that pedestrians may cross dryshod. Fords were sometimes the only way to cross, such as at the Milkhouse at Rock Creek in Washington, DC, but the regular use of this ford has been superseded by bridges. The crossing remained for "adventurous" drivers until 1996 when the National Park Service closed the ford to cars. A road running below
6636-459: The water level of a stream or river is often known as a "watersplash". It is a common name for a ford or stretch of wet road in some areas, and is sometimes also used to describe tidal crossings. They have become a common feature in rallying courses. Some enthusiasts seek out and drive through these water features, recording details (such as wave created, position, and access) on dedicated websites. There are many old fords known as watersplashes in
6720-531: The water makes them impassable. According to The AA , many flood-related vehicle breakdowns are at fords. In New Zealand , fords are a normal part of roads, including, until 2010, along State Highway 1 on the South Island 's east coast. In dry weather, drivers become aware of a ford by crunching across outwash detritus on the roadway. A Bailey bridge may be built off the mainline of the road to carry emergency traffic during high water. At places where
6804-666: 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
6888-649: The west, the Derwent and Dunge Brook to the north, Highlow Brook to the east, and Bole Hill to the south. This area lies in the far north of the Derbyshire Dales district and north region of Derbyshire county. Highlow is completely within the Peak District National Park. There are two hamlets within the parish: Outside of these, Highlow is predominantly an agricultural and rural area, with very few scattered farms and occasional residential dwellings. There are three roads throughout
6972-463: The west. The lowest point is in the north east area by Leadmill and the Derwent at ~142 metres (466 ft), while the central High Low hill near Highlow Hall is 281 metres (922 ft), The western area rises to 340–350 metres (1,120–1,150 ft), with the parish peak along the south west boundary by Bretton Clough at 370 metres (1,210 ft). Highlow was not recorded in the Domesday survey as
7056-434: Was established between the 8th and 12th centuries, and an early form was long established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest . These areas were originally based on the territory of manors , which, in some cases, derived their bounds from Roman or Iron Age estates; some large manors were sub-divided into several parishes. Initially, churches and their priests were the gift and continued patronage (benefaction) of
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