102-588: Langport is a town and civil parish in Somerset , England, 5 miles (8 km) west of Somerton . The parish, which covers only part of the town, has a population of 3,578. Langport is contiguous with Huish Episcopi , a separate parish that includes much of the town's outskirts. Langport (old forms are "Langeberga" and "Langeport") consists of two parts, one on the hill and one by the River Parrett . The former owed its origin to its defensible position, and
204-522: 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
306-417: 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
408-515: 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
510-576: 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
612-688: A circulation (net of returns) of over 12,000 copies. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC West and ITV West Country . Television signals are received from the Mendip TV transmitter. Local radio stations are BBC Radio Somerset on 95.5 FM, Heart West on 97.1 FM, Greatest Hits Radio South West (formerly The Breeze ) on 105.6 FM and West Somerset Radio, a community based station which broadcast on 104.4 FM. [REDACTED] Media related to Langport at Wikimedia Commons Civil parishes in England In England,
714-477: 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
816-462: 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
918-559: 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
1020-481: 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
1122-402: A large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground, leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms . Average rainfall is around 700 mm (28 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August have the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the southwest. Two buildings in the town,
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#17327722670621224-399: A native of the town, whose father was master of the school. The hanging chapel afterwards became a masonic hall. Education for children aged 11 to 18 is provided by Huish Episcopi Academy , a mixed secondary school with academy status . The school has a specialist status as a Science College and Language College . It has around 1,400 students. Huish Episcopi Primary School — near
1326-529: 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
1428-431: 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
1530-693: 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. Westport Canal The Westport Canal
1632-416: 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
1734-431: 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
1836-503: 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
1938-1079: 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
2040-409: 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
2142-598: 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
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#17327722670622244-511: A single segmental arch. A little further downstream, an almost identical bridge carries Knighton Drove over the canal. The B3168 Westport to Curry Rivel road has run along the west bank since Westport, but soon the road and canal part. A footbridge carries the towpath over to the east bank, and the canal passes to the east of Hambridge. Near Hambridge, the towpath crosses back to the west bank, after which Westmoor bridge crosses. This has been lowered, and would prevent navigation. A little before
2346-943: 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
2448-521: 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
2550-405: Is grade II listed , although part of it is now used as a house. The timber store, which was also built in 1836, has found new use as an industrial workshop, while two semi-detached cottages, used by canal workers, still occupy a site near the canal basin entrance. The bridge at the basin entrance, which carries a track called Barrington Broadway over the canal, was built of lias and ham stone with
2652-525: Is a Geological Conservation Review site where Gravels are exposed which show scour-and-fill structures consistent with braided stream deposition from the Pleistocene age. To the south of the town is Wet Moor , a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which is part of the extensive grazing marsh grasslands and ditch systems of the Somerset Levels and Moors. In storm conditions
2754-577: Is a causeway across the moor and an important bridge over the river. Below Langport the Parrett is tidal. The rivers flow from the southern hills through Thorney Moor and Kings Moor, through a gap between the upland areas around Somerton and Curry Rivel , onto the Somerset Levels through which it flows past Bridgwater to the Bristol Channel . During the winter the low-lying areas around Langport are sometimes flooded. Langport Railway Cutting
2856-507: 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
2958-539: 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
3060-575: Is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of the adjacent sea temperatures. The summer months of July and August are the warmest, with a mean daily maximum of about 21 °C (69.8 °F). In winter the mean daily minimum temperature is about 1 °C (33.8 °F) or 2 °C (35.6 °F) are common. In the summer the Azores high pressure affects the southwest of England; however convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing
3162-405: 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
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3264-591: Is the place mentioned in old Welsh sources as "Llongborth" = "Ship-port", the site of the Battle of Llongborth . " Longphort " is a term used in Ireland for a Viking ship enclosure or shore fortress, with an identical etymology. Langport was previously also known as Langport Eastover , with the part on the western bank being Langport Westover, now known just as Westover. Langport is on the ancient way from Glastonbury to Taunton . Langport could have been important during
3366-504: 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
3468-629: The 2011 census was 2,872. It is also part of the Glastonbury and Somerton county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Langport lies on the east bank of the River Parrett , below the point where that river is joined by the River Yeo (Ivel) . There
3570-785: The Langport Herald , James Richard Moreton, printed and published the 107 hymn tunes and six anthems written by his father, who was the minister of Langport Independent Chapel. This was the Reverend James Moreton's Sacred Music , used by Congregationalists and other denominations in the 19th century; there is a copy in the British Library. In World War II Langport was the site of a United States Army military prison or Disciplinary Training Center. The parish council has responsibility for local issues, including setting an annual precept (local rate) to cover
3672-1010: 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
3774-618: The Roman occupation as there were several villas in the vicinity. It was one of the forts listed in the Burghal Hidage indicating its strategic position for King Alfred , as well as being close to the royal centre of Somerton . In 1086, according to Domesday Book , it had 34 resident burgesses and was worth the then large sum of £79 10s 7d. The parish of Combe was part of the Kilmersdon Hundred , while Langport Eastover
3876-696: The Tudor House and The Warehouse in Great Bow Yard, have been restored by the Somerset Buildings Preservation Trust . Close to All Saints' Church, an archway crosses the road, bearing a Perpendicular building known as The Hanging Chapel . After serving this purpose it housed first the grammar school (founded 1675), then the Quekett Museum, named after John Thomas Quekett (1815–61) the histologist ,
3978-472: 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
4080-486: The listed building register because of their historic importance. There is some interest in improving the canal for its amenity value. By the 1830s, the village of Westport was well-connected to the surrounding area, as a result of turnpike road construction in 1753, 1759 and 1823. The roads linked Westport to Ilminster and Chard, which were also on the planned route of the Chard Canal . Although that canal would link
4182-595: 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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4284-403: 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
4386-470: 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
4488-403: 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
4590-564: 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
4692-591: 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
4794-511: 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
4896-570: 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
4998-539: The Great Bow Bridge, by making the Portlake Rhine navigable, rebuilding Little Bow Bridge in the centre of Langport, and making a new cut to Bicknell's Bridge. Seven locks, each with a small rise, were planned but the scheme foundered in 1797, due to financial difficulties. The railway came to Langport in 1853 and opened up new markets, but caused the decline of river traffic. In 1856 the proprietor of
5100-556: The River Isle joins from the west, Middlemoor bridge carries the towpath back onto the east bank, where it remains until Midelney Bridge, another grade II listed structure, which carries a minor road to Midelney Manor , a grade I listed house built on what was once an island owned by Muchelney Abbey . Much of it is sixteenth century, with some nineteenth century additions. Below the bridge, the Southmoor main drain runs parallel to
5202-713: The River Parrett Navigation at no cost. The Bill became an Act of Parliament on 1 July 1878. Although the Act made provision for closing any of the navigations which came under their control, they took it to mean that all navigations must be closed. Users of the Westport Canal presented a petition requesting that the canal be retained in 1880, but were instructed that the Drainage Commissioners had no powers to allow this to happen. The canal
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#17327722670625304-554: The River Parrett to its junction with the River Isle. Here a lock was built, to maintain the water levels on the River Isle , and about one mile (1.6 km) further upstream, the 2.3-mile (3.7 km) canal turned off towards Westport, where five wharfs and a basin were built. A half lock at the junction protected the canal from high river levels. Gravatt is known to have designed an innovative set of flood gates as part of
5406-499: The River Parrett. Despite a petition against closure by local people, the Commissioners ruled that navigation of the canal must cease due to their interpretation of the Act which gave them control of it, leaving the canal to serve as a drainage channel since 1878. The channel has survived to the modern day due to its drainage function, and many of the structures associated with the canal can still be seen. A number of them are on
5508-594: The Royalists retreated through the town many were killed by the bridge over the Parrett, and many of the buildings were set on fire. Although one authority states this was an act of the Parliamentary cavalry, reading contemporary accounts of the battle it is clear that the Royalist cavalry set the lower town on fire in the (vain) hope that this would hinder the pursuit led by Cromwell's cavalry. In 1826 Langport
5610-738: 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
5712-564: The canal to Westport. The scheme was supported by two local landowners, the Trevillian family and the Combe family, and so obtaining land for the route was not difficult. On Brunel's recommendation, the engineer for the whole scheme was William Gravatt , who had previously worked with Brunel on the Bristol and Exeter Railway , and he was assisted locally by Charles Hodgkinson. The cost of
5814-624: The canal to the railway. In 1875 there was flooding in Westmoor, and local landowners opened Langport Lock on the River Parrett, as the company could not afford to repair a broken culvert which carried drainage water under the river. With the lock open, no tolls could be charged, and the Somersetshire Drainage Bill was amended to allow the Somerset Drainage Commissioners to take over the whole of
5916-409: The centre of Langport — takes pupils from the age of 4 to 11. The school serves Langport, Huish Episcopi, Aller , Muchelney , Pibsbury, Drayton and Pitney . The school site includes 7 classrooms, an ICT suite, hall, library, playground and school field. There are around 180 pupils. St Gildas' School formerly provided private education, but is now closed. The main street leads up a slope from
6018-399: 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
6120-537: 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
6222-464: 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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#17327722670626324-466: 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
6426-414: The council's operating costs and producing annual accounts for public scrutiny. The parish council evaluates local planning applications and works with the local police, district council officers, and neighbourhood watch groups on matters of crime, security, and traffic. The parish council's role also includes initiating projects for the maintenance and repair of parish facilities, as well as consulting with
6528-525: 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
6630-596: The dedication "All Saints". Although restored in the 19th century it is one of the best preserved medieval windows in Somerset. Additionally it is unusual in that the window contains a full set of glass from the same period. The church has only occasional services and is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust , who have carried out extensive rebuilding work. The congregation of Langport and Huish Episcopi use St Mary's Church Huish Episcopi as
6732-463: 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
6834-407: The district council on the maintenance, repair, and improvement of highways, drainage, footpaths, public transport, and street cleaning. Conservation matters (including trees and listed buildings) and environmental issues are also the responsibility of the council. The parish council, known as Langport Town Council, is based at Langport Town Hall . For local government purposes, since 1 April 2023,
6936-439: 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
7038-399: The entrance to Westport wharfs has been refurbished, as have the terminal warehouse buildings. There is local interest in improving the canal as an amenity, and possibly the restoration of navigation for small boats. The canal terminated at Westport, and there are a number of structures which have survived. The square, 3-storey warehouse which was built in 1836 and fronted onto the basin
7140-534: 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
7242-463: The form of the Durston to Yeovil Railway, started in 1847 and completed in 1853. The six years prior to 1853 had all shown receipts in excess of £1,400, but these had dropped to £673 by 1857 and £347 by 1871. Major clearance work to remove reeds and mud was required in 1858, which caused the canal to trade at a loss. A railway through Ilminster and Chard opened in 1866, and trade continue to move from
7344-455: 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
7446-558: The initial work on the River Parrett exceeded the budget, and a second Act of Parliament was obtained in 1839, to allow the company to raise another £20,000 and to increase the tolls. Local merchants sought to oppose the increase by opposing the bill, but Benjamin Lovibond, who was acting for them at the House of Commons, produced a petition, which was investigated by a Select Committee and found to be forged. The route from Langport followed
7548-476: 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
7650-481: The latter its growth to its facilities for trade on the chief river of Somerset. Eilert Ekwall translates it as "long town" or "long market". Its name looks like Anglo-Saxon for "long port", but it may be "long market place" that could have been on the causeway that is now Bow Street. Many of the houses in Bow Street tilt backwards due to settlement of the land behind the causeway. It is speculated that Langport
7752-465: 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
7854-465: 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
7956-412: The newly formed Parrett Navigation Company powers to raise £10,500 by the issuing of shares, and an additional £3,300 from a mortgage if required. The canal was part of a bigger scheme; the act authorised improvements to the River Parrett between Burrow Bridge and Langport, rebuilding of the river bridge at Langport, which had obstructed navigation up-river from there for many years, and construction of
8058-470: The number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than the regional average of 1,600 hours. In December 1998 there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton. Most of the rainfall in the southwest is caused by Atlantic depressions or by convection . Most of the rainfall in autumn and winter is caused by the Atlantic depressions, which is when they are most active. In summer,
8160-470: The opening of the Chard canal in 1842, Stukey and Bagehot's boats alone paid tolls on 10,402 tons of goods in 1843. The main cargoes were coal, which was brought to the villages served by the canal, and grain, which was exported via the canal. Other cargoes included incoming timber, which was stored in one of the warehouses for seasoning, together with outgoing stone and reeds. However, competition arrived in
8262-488: 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
8364-464: The parish church of the community (Parish of Huish Episcopi cum Langport). The Langport and Castle Cary Railway passes through Langport. The town was served by Langport East , which was on the Reading to Taunton Line , although it closed to passengers in 1962. Langport is served by a free newspaper, The Leveller , established in 2010, which provides news of the town and the county of Somerset with
8466-448: 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
8568-401: 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
8670-404: 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
8772-562: 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
8874-499: 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
8976-411: 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
9078-426: The project, which were described as "self-acting". The canal was officially opened on 20 May 1839, but there were complains about water levels from some of the merchants, and further work was required to remove shoals in the river section. The project was completed in 1840, and was initially profitable. The Westport terminus gained two warehouses, a coal yard owned by Stukey and Bagehot, and a manager's office. Despite
9180-433: The river to the fine Perpendicular church of All Saints , which is a Grade I listed building . The square tower (with its octagonal stair turret), which is in three stages, dates from the 15th century but the top section was rebuilt in 1833. It has a number of interesting gargoyles known locally as ‘hunky punks’. The East window of the chancel contains a set of late 15th century glass depicting various saints, appropriate to
9282-439: The rivers can overtop their banks and overspill into the adjacent low-lying moorland. The rivers running through the moor make home for many wildlife, including wintering whooper swans . Along with the rest of South West England , Langport has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50.0 °F). Seasonal temperature variation
9384-519: The second Monday in Lent. Only one fair is now held, a horse and cattle fair on 3 September. A Saturday market was held under the grant of 1562, but in the 19th century the market day was changed to Tuesday. On 10 July 1645, the Battle of Langport was fought here, in which the last effective Royalist field army was destroyed and the Parliamentary victory in the Civil War became all but inevitable. When
9486-465: The town comes under the unitary authority of Somerset Council . Prior to this, it was part of the non-metropolitan district of South Somerset , which was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , having previously been part of Langport Rural District . The town is in the 'Langport and Huish' electoral ward . Langport is the most populous area but the ward stretches south and east to Huish Episcopi . The total ward population at
9588-460: The towns to Taunton, those planning the Westport Canal made approaches to the Chard Canal proprietors about the possibility of a link from Westport to the new canal, but this was rejected. Against this background, and having engaged Isambard Kingdom Brunel as engineering consultant, the construction of the Westport Canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament obtained in 1836. The Act gave
9690-666: 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
9792-434: Was built in the late 1830s to link Westport and Langport in Somerset , England. It was part of a larger scheme involving improvements to the River Parrett above Burrow Bridge . Langport is the point at which the River Yeo joins the River Parrett and the intention was to enable trade via the port at Bridgwater . It remained in use until the 1870s, but closed when the Somerset Drainage Commissioners took over control of
9894-491: Was effectively abandoned as a navigation from 1875, and used as a drain for the Somerset levels from 1878. The canal still contains water, and can be navigated by light craft such as canoes, which can be portaged at Midelney lock. Some refurbishment of the canal was carried out by Wessex Water Authority in the 1970s. Midelney lock is derelict, and the Westmoor Lane bridge at Hambridge has been lowered. The bridge at
9996-498: 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
10098-498: Was first mentioned in 1220. The medieval bridge consisted of a total of 31 arches, of which nine crossed the river, and 19 of the original arches were located by ground-penetrating radar in 1987, buried beneath the road which runs from Great Bow Bridge to Little Bow Bridge. Around 1840 the Westport Canal was built, which joined the river at Langport. The abortive Ivelchester and Langport Navigation scheme had sought to avoid
10200-688: Was second only to that of the Bank of England . It was then taken over by Parr's Bank , which became part of the Westminster Bank . The Great Bow Bridge, which now carries the A378 , is a three-arched bridge, constructed under the terms of the Parrett Navigation Act of 1836. Completed in 1841 at a cost of £3,749, it replaced the previous medieval bridge, with its nine tiny arches, all too small to allow navigation. A bridge at this site
10302-505: Was the birthplace of Walter Bagehot a businessman, essayist and journalist, who wrote extensively about literature, government, economic affairs and other topics. He went into partnership with George Stuckey and by 1866 the company owned 14 East Indiamen as well as 19 barges on the River Parrett. This developed into the Somerset Trading Company. Stuckey's Bank had been founded in 1770, and by 1909 its banknote circulation
10404-580: Was within the Hundred of Pitney. The first charter, granted by Elizabeth I in 1562, recognised that Langport was a borough of great antiquity, which had enjoyed considerable privileges, being governed by a portreeve . It was incorporated by James I in 1617, but the corporation was abolished in 1883. Langport was represented in parliament in 1304 and 1306. In medieval times Langport was an important centre for cloth making. The charter of 1562 granted three annual fairs to Langport, on 28 June, 11 November, and
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