92-534: Southam ( / ˈ s aʊ ð əm / ) is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire , England , located about 6 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (10 km) east-southeast of Leamington Spa . In the 2021 census , the population of Southam was 8,114. Southam was a Royal manor until AD 998, when Ethelred the Unready granted it to Earl Leofwine . When Coventry Priory
184-522: 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
276-565: A civil parish Southam has its own Town Council , which is represented by ten councillors from four wards. Southam was the seat of the Southam Rural District from 1894 until 1974, when under the Local Government Act 1972 it was made part of Stratford-on-Avon District . Southam was in the parliamentary constituency of Stratford-on-Avon until the boundary changes approved by Parliament in June 2007 when it became part of
368-515: 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
460-576: 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
552-477: 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
644-462: 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
736-559: 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
828-440: A civil parish is usually an elected parish council (which can decide to call itself a town, village, community or neighbourhood council, or a city council if the parish has city status). Alternatively, in parishes with small populations (typically fewer than 150 electors) governance may be by a parish meeting which all electors may attend; alternatively, parishes with small populations may be grouped with one or more neighbours under
920-481: 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
1012-586: A common parish council. Wales was also divided into civil parishes until 1974, when they were replaced by communities , which are similar to English parishes in the way they operate. Civil parishes in Scotland were abolished for local government purposes by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 ; the Scottish equivalent of English civil parishes are the community council areas established by
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#17327721002581104-424: A few times a year, which attracted buyers and sellers from longer distances than the normal weekly market. Southam's Holy Well , in the picturesque Stowe river valley, is Grade II listed and a Scheduled Ancient Monument , and was first recorded in the year 998. The Well was used in medieval times by local monks and for hundreds of years as the town's principal water supply. Water from a natural mineral spring feeds
1196-529: 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
1288-431: 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
1380-686: 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. Roundhead Roundheads were
1472-416: 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
1564-503: 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
1656-1079: 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
1748-409: 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
1840-598: 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
1932-943: 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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#17327721002582024-521: 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
2116-587: A station 3 miles (5 km) to the south-west, named Southam Road and Harbury . The station was closed to goods in 1963 and passengers in 1964 by British Railways (BR). The line is now part of the London Marylebone to Birmingham Chiltern Main Line . The London and North Western Railway completed its Weedon to Marton Junction Line in 1895 and opened Southam and Long Itchington station on it 2 miles (3 km) north of Southam. British Railways closed
2208-505: 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 the 19th century and are now entirely separate. Civil parishes in their modern form came into being through
2300-515: Is Clarence now? SOMERSET At Southam I did leave him with his forces, And do expect him here some two hours hence. WARWICK Then Clarence is at hand, I hear his drum. SOMERSET It is not his, my lord; here Southam lies: The drum your honour hears marcheth from Warwick. In the English Civil War , King Charles I used Southam's mint to make new coins to pay his troops. The grade II listed mint building dates from
2392-400: Is also a small but active Bahá´í group in the town. The footpath from St James church along the protected Stowe valley to the historic Holy Well and on to Stoneythorpe Hall is a popular route for local people, ornithologists and other naturalists. Southam Rugby Club was formed in 1962. In 1969 the club purchased pitches at Kineton Road and started playing home games. Over three years' money
2484-507: 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
2576-539: 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
2668-510: Is known for its concentration of companies involved in the video game industry : The computer games company, Codemasters , is based in Southam, and was founded by two locals. It was Europe's largest privately owned computer games company, until its purchase by Electronic Arts in February 2021. The railway rolling stock company Vivarail was based in Southam between 2019 and 2023 when it
2760-443: Is located on Park Lane; the land adjoins St James' churchyard which itself extends to Park Lane, the lower part of Market Hill and the upper part of Warwick Street. The bottom of the park is a bare field used mainly for ball games and the upper part contains various kinds of play equipment, with a separate area for very young children. The second largest park is at Tollgate Road, locally referred to as 'Tollgate'. A small Zoo existed in
2852-405: 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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2944-613: Is served by the local newspaper, The Leamington Observer. Southam lies between Leamington Spa and Daventry on the A425 road and between Coventry and Banbury on the A423 road . The A426 road connects it to Rugby. About 7.5 miles (12.1 km) south of Southam is the M40 motorway , though the town is surprisingly not indicated on the Junction 12 signage, despite being the main population centre in
3036-593: Is situated on the River Stowe, a tributary of the River Itchen , which flows from Napton-on-the-Hill and joins the Itchen at Stoneythorpe, just outside the town. The dominant rock type for the area is Blue Lias limestone . For many years there was a cement factory and associated limestone quarry 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the town. The works was served at one time by both rail and canal transport —
3128-504: 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
3220-692: The Earl of Northampton . The Battle of Southam is claimed by locals to have been the first battle of the English Civil Wars. Later that year, Charles stayed at the Manor House in Southam before the Battle of Edgehill on 23 October 1642. In 1645 Oliver Cromwell and 7,000 Parliamentary troops stayed in the town. In the stagecoach era Southam became an important stop on the coach road between Coventry and Oxford . Many old coaching inns remain in
3312-591: The Levellers and the apocalyptic Christian movement of the Fifth Monarchists . Some Puritans (but by no means all of them) wore their hair closely cropped round the head or flat. There was thus an obvious contrast between them and the men of courtly fashion , who wore long ringlets . During the war and for a time afterwards, Roundhead was a term of derision, and in the New Model Army it
3404-761: The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , which have fewer powers than their English and Welsh counterparts. There are no equivalent units in Northern Ireland . The parish system in Europe was established between the 8th and 12th centuries, and an early form was long established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest . These areas were originally based on the territory of manors , which, in some cases, derived their bounds from Roman or Iron Age estates; some large manors were sub-divided into several parishes. Initially, churches and their priests were
3496-1010: 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
3588-411: The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73), which established elected parish councils to take on the secular functions of the parish vestry . A civil parish can range in size from a sparsely populated rural area with fewer than a hundred inhabitants, to a large town with a population in excess of 100,000 . This scope is similar to that of municipalities in continental Europe, such as
3680-569: The Scottish against Parliament. England's many Puritans and Presbyterians were almost invariably Roundhead supporters, as were many smaller religious groups such as the Independents . However, a number of Roundheads were members of the Church of England , as were most Cavaliers . Roundhead political factions included the proto-anarchist/socialist Diggers , the diverse group known as
3772-472: 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
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3864-692: The communes of France . However, unlike their continental European counterparts, parish councils are not principal authorities , and in most cases have a relatively minor role in local government. As of September 2023 , there are 10,464 parishes in England, and in 2020 they covered approximately 40% of the English population. For historical reasons, civil parishes predominantly cover rural areas and smaller urban areas, with most larger urban areas being wholly or partly unparished ; but since 1997 it has been possible for civil parishes to be created within unparished areas if demanded by local residents . In 2007
3956-470: The (often well-endowed) monasteries. After the dissolution of the monasteries , the power to levy a rate to fund relief of the poor was conferred on the parish authorities by the Poor Relief Act 1601 . Both before and after this optional social change, local (vestry-administered) charities are well-documented. The parish authorities were known as vestries and consisted of all the ratepayers of
4048-562: The 15th century the spire was added and the chancel was rebuilt. The nave 's clerestory and present roof were added in the 16th century, along with the present west door. St James' is a Grade I listed building . In the 1540s John Leland visited the town and described it as "a modest market town of a single street" . William Shakespeare mentions Southam in Henry VI, part 3 , Act V, Scene I, Lines 10–16: WARWICK Say, Somerville, what says my loving son? And, by thy guess, how nigh
4140-564: 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
4232-591: 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
4324-511: 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
4416-513: The Anglican Archbishop William Laud made a statute in 1636 instructing all clergy to wear short hair, many Puritans rebelled to show their contempt for his authority and began to grow their hair even longer (as can be seen on their portraits ) though they continued to be known as Roundheads. The longer hair was more common among the "Independent" and "high-ranking" Puritans, which included Cromwell, especially toward
4508-616: The Millstone Hare pub and restaurant. Southam is home to 2028 (Southam) Squadron Air Training Corps , a Royal Air Force -sponsored youth organisation for 13- to 20-year-olds. The squadron is based in Millar House, Wattons Lane. There is a web of footpaths across fields and through woodland, with minimal need to use roads, giving foot access to surrounding villages. Southam's recreational ground, locally known simply as 'the Rec',
4600-738: 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
4692-399: 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
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#17327721002584784-537: 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
4876-464: 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
4968-466: 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
5060-466: The country/kingdom. Most Roundheads sought constitutional monarchy in place of the absolute monarchy sought by Charles; however, at the end of the English Civil War in 1649, public antipathy towards the king was high enough to allow republican leaders such as Oliver Cromwell to abolish the monarchy completely and establish the Commonwealth of England . The Roundhead commander-in-chief of
5152-459: The creation of town and parish councils is encouraged in unparished areas . The Local Government and Rating Act 1997 created a procedure which gave residents in unparished areas the right to demand that a new parish and parish council be created. This right was extended to London boroughs by the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 – with this, the City of London
5244-463: 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
5336-609: The early 16th century . It is now the Old Mint public house . Charles I passed through Southam just before the outbreak of the Civil War and apparently was not made welcome by the townsfolk, who refused to ring the parish church bells. On 23 August 1642, the day after the King formally declared war on Parliament, a skirmish was fought outside the town between Parliamentary forces led by Lord Brooke and Royalist forces commanded by
5428-439: 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
5520-605: The end of the Protectorate, while the "Presbyterian" (non-Independent) faction, and the military rank and file, continued to abhor long hair. By the end of that period, some Independent Puritans were again derisively using the term Roundhead to refer to the Presbyterian Puritans. Roundhead remained in use to describe those with republican tendencies until the Exclusion Crisis of 1678–1681, when
5612-482: 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
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#17327721002585704-436: The first Civil War, Thomas Fairfax , remained a supporter of constitutional monarchy, as did many other Roundhead leaders such as Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester , and Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex ; however, this party was outmanoeuvred by the more politically adept Cromwell and his radicals, who had the backing of the New Model Army and took advantage of Charles' perceived betrayal of England in his alliance with
5796-645: The gift and continued patronage (benefaction) of the lord of the manor , but not all were willing and able to provide, so residents would be expected to attend the church of the nearest manor with a church. Later, the churches and priests became to a greater extent the responsibility of the Catholic Church thus this was formalised; the grouping of manors into one parish was recorded, as was a manor-parish existing in its own right. Boundaries changed little, and for centuries after 1180 'froze', despite changes to manors' extents. However, by subinfeudation , making
5888-455: 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
5980-416: The hair of their heads very few of them longer than their ears, whereupon it came to pass that those who usually with their cries attended at Westminster were by a nickname called Roundheads ". The demonstrators included London apprentices, for whom Roundhead was a term of derision, because the regulations which they had agreed to included a provision for closely cropped hair. According to John Rushworth ,
6072-459: The immediate area. Stagecoach Midlands run regular bus services connecting Southam with Leamington, Rugby and some of the local villages: like Napton and Long Itchington The nearest railway stations are Leamington Spa , Rugby and Banbury . Southam has never been directly served by its own railway station, although there were two within a few miles of the town: The Great Western Railway opened its line to Birmingham in 1852, and Southam had
6164-476: 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
6256-533: The latter being a short arm from the Grand Union Canal . The cement operations at Southam were owned by the Rugby Cement company. In 2000 cement production was relocated to Rugby , and Southam cement works was closed, but quarrying at the site still continues. The former cement works was demolished in 2011. Southam is part of the area known as Silicon Spa : the area around Leamington Spa which
6348-436: The main road between Coventry and Oxford (now the A423 road ), the main road from Warwick to Northampton via Daventry , and the ancient drovers' road known as Welsh Road . In 1227, the monks of Coventry Priory were granted a market charter for their manor at Southam, causing it to develop into a market town . Southam later received charters to hold three yearly fairs : Medieval fairs were special markets, held only
6440-465: 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
6532-497: The new constituency of Kenilworth and Southam . The constituency was first contested in the 2010 United Kingdom general election . Southam has three primary schools and a secondary school ( Southam College ) with 1,643 students on roll from Southam and local villages. There is a leisure centre with swimming pool and gym next to the College on Welsh Road West. The main shopping area is based around High Street and Market Hill in
6624-465: 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
6716-488: 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
6808-401: 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
6900-404: 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
6992-562: 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
7084-499: 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
7176-411: 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
7268-438: The right to create civil parishes was extended to London boroughs , although only one, Queen's Park , has so far been created. Eight parishes also have city status (a status granted by the monarch ). A civil parish may be equally known as and confirmed as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council, a right not conferred on other units of English local government. The governing body of
7360-417: The roundheaded man was. The principal advisor to Charles II , Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon , remarked on the matter, "and from those contestations the two terms of Roundhead and Cavalier grew to be received in discourse, ... they who were looked upon as servants to the king being then called Cavaliers , and the other of the rabble contemned and despised under the name of Roundheads ." After
7452-463: The semi-circular Well and pours through the mouths of carved stone gargoyles into the river. The water from the Well was said to cure eye complaints. The Holy Well and paths were renovated during 2005–2007 using a National Lottery grant. Southam's manor house in the centre of town is Grade II listed and dates from the 16th century. The present parish church of St James was built in the 14th century. In
7544-453: The station to passengers in 1958 and goods in 1965, although the line remained open to goods trains serving the cement works until 1985. The new High Speed 2 line will pass immediately south of Southam, but will have no stations between London and Birmingham. Southam has been twinned with Marolles-en-Hurepoix in France since 1992. Civil parish In England, a civil parish is
7636-602: The supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians , they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who claimed rule by absolute monarchy and the principle of the divine right of kings . The goal of the Roundheads was to give to Parliament the supreme control over executive administration of
7728-483: The town between 1966 and 1985. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central . Television signals can be received from the Sutton Coldfield TV transmitter. Local radio stations are BBC CWR , Heart West Midlands , Capital Mid-Counties , Hits Radio Coventry & Warwickshire , Fresh (Coventry & Warwickshire) and Greatest Hits Radio Midlands . The town
7820-647: The town centre. A French street market has run in High Street since the 1990s, it was restarted again in 2022 after being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic . There are four churches in Southam. St James's parish church is behind Market Hill. Both Our Lady and St Wulstan's Catholic church and the Congregational chapel are on Wood Street, and the Community Church is on Coventry Street. There
7912-688: The town. However, few buildings in Southam date from before 1741, when a large fire devastated the town. RAF Southam , about 0.6 miles (1 km) east of the town, was a World War II airfield. It was opened in 1940 and closed at the end of 1944. It was a training base and a relief landing ground. Southam's history is commemorated in Southam's Cardall Collection . Southam is about 9 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (15.3 km) south-west of Rugby and 9 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (15.3 km) west of Daventry , 13 miles (21 km) south-southeast of Coventry and 14 miles (23 km) north of Banbury . Southam
8004-475: The word was first used on 27 December 1641 by a disbanded officer named David Hide. During a riot, Hide is reported to have drawn his sword and said he would "cut the throat of those round-headed dogs that bawled against bishops"; however, Richard Baxter ascribes the origin of the term to a remark made by Queen Henrietta Maria , the wife of Charles I, at the trial of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford , earlier that year. Referring to John Pym , she asked who
8096-459: Was a punishable offence to call a fellow soldier a Roundhead. This contrasted with Cavalier , a word used to describe supporters of the Royalist cause, but which also started out as a pejorative term. The first proponents used it to compare members of the Royalist party with Spanish Caballeros who had abused Dutch Protestants during the reign of Elizabeth I . However, unlike Roundhead, Cavalier
8188-502: Was dissolved. South of the town is an industrial estate that is a significant source of local employment. Southam has become a commuter town due to its road links and location. Taxi and minicab firms operate in the area and frequent bus services serve Southam and local villages. The principal local authorities administering Southam are Warwickshire County Council and Stratford-on-Avon District Council , each responsible for different aspects of local government. In addition to this, as
8280-519: Was founded in 1043, Leofwine's son Leofric, Earl of Mercia granted Southam to it. The Domesday Book records the manor as " Sucham ". The Priory, which in the 12th century became the first Coventry Cathedral , kept Southam until the 16th century when it surrendered all its estates to the Crown in the Dissolution of the Monasteries . Southam developed at the intersection of several roads:
8372-546: Was later embraced by those who were the target of the epithet and used by them to describe themselves. "Roundheads" appears to have been first used as a term of derision toward the end of 1641, when the debates in Parliament in the Clergy Act 1640 were causing riots at Westminster . The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition quotes a contemporary authority's description of the crowd that gathered there: "They had
8464-470: Was raised to build the club house which was constructed mainly by the players and was opened in 1972. Today the club plays in the Midland League and has three senior teams and a colts team. Southam United F.C. is the town's association football club, and Southam also has a bowling club, a cricket club and the six pitch Dallas Burston Polo Club which includes conference and events facilities and
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