86-466: Standlake is a village and civil parish in West Oxfordshire about 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Witney and 7 miles (11 km) west of Oxford , England. The parish includes the hamlet of Brighthampton . The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,497. The River Windrush flows past the village and with its tributary Medley Brook it forms much of the eastern boundary of
172-522: A London borough . (Since the new county was beforehand a mixture of metropolitan boroughs , municipal boroughs and urban districts, no extant parish councils were abolished.) In 1974, the Local Government Act 1972 retained rural parishes, but abolished most urban parishes, as well as the urban districts and boroughs which had administered them. Provision was made for smaller urban districts and boroughs to become successor parishes , with
258-519: A bay is the space between architectural elements, or a recess or compartment. The term bay comes from Old French baie , meaning an opening or hole. The Japanese ken and Korean kan are both bays themselves and measurements based upon their number and standard placement. Under the Joseon , Koreans were allocated a set number of bays in their residential architecture based upon their class. This architectural element –related article
344-515: 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
430-576: 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
516-477: 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
602-462: 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
688-559: 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
774-440: 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
860-481: 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
946-586: 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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#17327797290811032-536: A corn mill, and in the 18th and 19th centuries it had a bakery. By 1636 Magdalen College had a half share in Church Mill. The mill was disused by 1911 but was repaired in the 1920s and generated electricity until 1968. During the Second World War it undertook some corn milling again. Early in the 1980s, the mill was restored and was still in working order in 2006. In 1230 Standlake was licensed to hold
1118-529: A new code. In either case the code must comply with the Nolan Principles of Public Life . A parish can be granted city status by the Crown . As of 2020 , eight parishes in England have city status, each having a long-established Anglican cathedral: Chichester , Ely , Hereford , Lichfield , Ripon , Salisbury , Truro and Wells . The council of an ungrouped parish may pass a resolution giving
1204-431: A new smaller manor, there was a means of making a chapel which, if generating or endowed with enough funds, would generally justify foundation of a parish, with its own parish priest (and in latter centuries vestry ). This consistency was a result of canon law which prized the status quo in issues between local churches and so made boundary changes and sub-division difficult. The consistency of these boundaries until
1290-696: 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. Bay (architecture) In architecture ,
1376-416: A parish council, and instead will only have a parish meeting : an example of direct democracy . Alternatively several small parishes can be grouped together and share a common parish council, or even a common parish meeting. A parish council may decide to call itself a town council, village council, community council, neighbourhood council, or if the parish has city status, the parish council may call itself
1462-503: 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
1548-1079: 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
1634-537: 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
1720-409: 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
1806-411: A schoolroom and schoolmaster's house were built on land given by Magdalen College. The building was enlarged in 1866, 1874 and 1894. In 1939 the school was reorganised as a junior and infants' school and in 1947 it became a Voluntary controlled school . The school was enlarged again in 1969 and continues to serve the parishes of Standlake and Northmoor . Standlake had a lending library, established with
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#17327797290811892-501: A second army hut was erected as a youth club. It was replaced by a purpose built club building in 1963. Longwood House on Abingdon Road was built in the 1920s. Barbara Dockar Drysdale founded the Mulberry Bush School for severely disturbed children at the house in 1948. Standlake has a car repair garage, two camp sites and a Post Office and general store. There are various small to medium-sized businesses both within
1978-598: A set number of guardians for each parish, hence a final purpose of urban civil parishes. With the abolition of the Poor Law system in 1930, urban parishes became a geographical division only with no administrative power; that was exercised at the urban district or borough council level. In 1965 civil parishes in London were formally abolished when Greater London was created, as the legislative framework for Greater London did not make provision for any local government body below
2064-943: 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
2150-521: 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
2236-478: A three-day market annually on St. Giles day and the days immediately before and after (31 August – 2 September). By 1279 the market had reduced to two days, and shortly thereafter it seems to have lapsed. By the latter part of the Middle Ages the main north–south route through the parish was that between Witney and Newbridge , which formed part of the main highway between London and Gloucestershire . Since
2322-402: Is a timber-framed cruck building dating from about 1500. Lincoln Farm house, formerly Tyrlings, is also a late medieval timber-framed building. It had a chimney stack inserted about 1564 and a stone-built second wing added before the end of the 16th century. At one time its tenant was Walter Bayley , who was physician to Elizabeth I and from 1561 until 1582 was Regius Professor of Physic at
2408-516: Is an amateur theatrical society. Established in October 2007 by a group of villagers and other locals, the group has held productions in Standlake village hall . Standlake is surrounded by numerous artificial lakes dug for the commercial extraction of gravel. Many are now stocked with fish and popular with anglers; others are used for aquatic sports such as windsurfing . Standlake is served by
2494-507: 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
2580-563: Is built of Cotswold stone. The Bell Inn was closed for refurbishment for some time after Greene King sold it in 2008, but reopened in August 2010 as a free house run by Few Inns. The Bell was damaged by a fire on 25 September 2015. It has not reopened and is now being redeveloped. A school in Standlake was mentioned in 1672 and bequests to fund the education of Standlake were made in 1711 and 1721. Classes were held in St. Giles' church until 1846, when
2666-539: 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
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2752-839: Is named after the family that owned it until 1516. In the English Civil War it belonged to Samuel Fell , Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford and was garrisoned by Royalist troops until the Parliamentarian Colonel Thomas Rainsborough besieged and captured it in May 1645. Thereafter it was garrisoned by Parliamentarian troops, including cavalry who raided Kidlington in October 1645 and infantry who fought at Radcot in April 1646. After Samuel Fell's death in 1649 Gaunt House passed first to his widow Margaret and then to his son John Fell , who
2838-405: 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
2924-504: 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
3010-533: The Duchy of Lancaster until early in the 16th century. The main part of Standlake Manor House is a timber-framed house built in the 15th century. A chimney stack and a stone fireplace with heraldic decoration were inserted around 1600. The western bay of the medieval house was demolished at some time and only the central and eastern bays survive. A stone-built extension was added to the house in 1889. The Church of England parish church of Saint Giles dates from
3096-761: 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
3182-1010: 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
3268-474: The University of Oxford . Cheswell Cottage was originally called Bodens. It is a timber framed thatched cottage dating from around 1550, with subsequent stone built in the 17th and 20th century additions. For parts of the 17th and 18th century it was owned by Lincoln College , Oxford . The Domesday Book in 1086 recorded one watermill on the de Grey estate. By the 13th century the parish had five mills on
3354-472: 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
3440-425: 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 the communes of France . However, unlike their continental European counterparts, parish councils are not principal authorities , and in most cases have
3526-470: 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
Standlake - Misplaced Pages Continue
3612-469: The 12th century. The Domesday Book records that in 1086 William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford was the feudal overlord of a manor of six hides at Brighthampton. However, this is believed to be the manor that later became known as Standlake. In 1086 FitzOsbern's mesne lord was Anchetil de Greye , who also held Rotherfield Greys in South Oxfordshire . The mesne lordship remained with
3698-520: The 17th century it was purely a corn or gristmill . Magdalen College, Oxford acquired interests in Gaunt Mill in 1483 and 1538 and bought the mill outright in 1617. By 1883 the mill was in poor repair and by 1928 it was only in occasional use. Magdalen College sold the mill in 1920 and it was converted to private use in the 1940s and 1950s. Church Mill, about 250 yards (230 m) upstream of St. Giles' church, existed by 1279. It may have always been
3784-467: The 18th century several local families were Anabaptists who attended a chapel in Cote . A Baptist chapel was built between Brighthampton and Standlake in 1832, flourished in the 1840s and 50s and a gallery was added to increase capacity in 1865. In the 20th century falling attendances led to services being discontinued in 1937, but they were resumed in 1951. The chapel finally closed in 1978 and in 1994 it
3870-619: The 1920s the Berinsfield - Abingdon - Witney stretch of this road has been classified as the A415 . Aston Road, which links Brighthampton with Cote , was a bridleway until 1629, when it was made into a highway. It is now part of the B4449 road . An open field system of farming prevailed in the parish until 1853, when its common lands were enclosed . By the early part of the 17th century Standlake had three or four public houses , including
3956-564: 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
4042-591: 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
4128-511: 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
4214-558: The 418 bus service connecting to major bus services in Eynsham and beyond with First & Last Mile community transport. Civil parishes in England 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
4300-567: The Bronze Age burial ground on Standlake Downs. Brighthampton was first recorded in 984 in the Saxon era , when it was part of the Royal manor of Bampton . 12th-century documents record the toponym as Stanlache about 1155 and Stanlac in a pipe roll of 1194. The name is derived from Old English , meaning "stony stream and hill". Standlake emerged as a separate settlement in the middle of
4386-480: The Bronze Age site. Sites have been found north and northeast of Standlake village where there were Roman settlements from the middle of the 1st century AD until late in the 2nd century. There was also a Roman settlement west of Standlake village. A large pagan burial ground from the 5th and 6th centuries has been found south of Malthouse Farm in Brighthampton. Burials from the 7th century have been found in
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#17327797290814472-579: The Chequers, which traded until at least 1781. By the latter part of the 18th century Standlake had between seven and 11 pubs. The Black Horse is a 16th-century building that was a pub by 1761 and is now a gastropub . By 1790 The Bell had opened in Rack End, but by 1804 it had moved to the High Street to a building, part of which is timber-framed infilled with brick nogging, and the remainder of which
4558-469: The River Windrush of which two were fulling mills involved with west Oxfordshire's trade in wool. Weaving was a cottage industry in the parish until the middle of the 18th century. Gaunt Mill, about 400 yards (370 m) southwest of Gaunt House, was the "new mill" in the early part of the 13th century. It was a double mill with one part for corn and the other for fulling. From the early part of
4644-738: The administration of the poor laws was the main civil function of parishes, the Poor Law Amendment Act 1866 , which received royal assent on 10 August 1866, declared all areas that levied a separate rate or had their own overseer of the poor to be parishes. This included the Church of England parishes (until then simply known as "parishes"), extra-parochial areas , townships and chapelries . To have collected rates this means these beforehand had their own vestries, boards or equivalent bodies. Parishes using this definition subsequently became known as "civil parishes" to distinguish them from
4730-399: The charter, the charter may be transferred to a parish council for its area. Where there is no such parish council, the district council may appoint charter trustees to whom the charter and the arms of the former borough will belong. The charter trustees (who consist of the councillor or councillors for the area of the former borough) maintain traditions such as mayoralty . An example of such
4816-537: 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
4902-464: 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
4988-466: 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
5074-459: 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
5160-465: The de Greyes until 1192, when John de Greye died without a male heir and his holding Standlake passed to his daughter Eve. Eve's husband Ralph Murdac took part in a rebellion for which he was deprived of his landholdings in 1194, but after Ralph's death Richard I restored Standlake to Eve. When Eve died in 1242 the tenure of the manor was divided into quarters, which were not reunited until the 16th century. By 1242 Baldwin de Redvers, 3rd Earl of Devon
5246-463: The desire to have a more local tier of government when new larger authorities have been created, which are felt to be remote from local concerns and identity. A number of parishes have been created in places which used to have their own borough or district council; examples include Daventry (2003), Folkestone (2004), Kidderminster (2015) and Sutton Coldfield (2016). The trend towards the creation of geographically large unitary authorities has been
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#17327797290815332-439: The ecclesiastical parishes. The Church of England parishes, which cover more than 99% of England, have become officially (and to avoid ambiguity) termed ecclesiastical parishes . The limits of many of these have diverged; most greatly through changes in population and church attendance (these factors can cause churches to be opened or closed). Since 1921, each has been the responsibility of its own parochial church council . In
5418-534: The established English Church, which for a few years after Henry VIII alternated between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England , before settling on the latter on the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558. By the 18th century, religious membership was becoming more fractured in some places, due in part to the progress of Methodism . The legitimacy of the parish vestry came into question, and
5504-645: 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
5590-455: 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
5676-546: The hall. In the 15th century Standlake had a hermitage . After the English Reformation it became a cottage and was absorbed into Manor Farm. The building still existed in 1659 and may have been incorporated into later buildings, but if so it was demolished when the Manor House was extended in 1889. A few families of nonconformists were recorded in the parish in the latter part of the 17th century, and in
5762-476: The late 19th century, most of the "ancient" (a legal term equivalent to time immemorial ) irregularities inherited by the civil parish system were cleaned up, and the majority of exclaves were abolished. The census of 1911 noted that 8,322 (58%) of "parishes" in England and Wales were not geographically identical when comparing the civil to the ecclesiastical form. In 1894, civil parishes were reformed by
5848-458: The latter part of the 12th century. It was enlarged in the 13th and 14th centuries and underwent further alterations in about 1500. The Gothic Revival architect C.C. Rolfe restored the building between 1880 and 1891 and the spire was restored in 1911. The west tower has a ring of six bells. Henry III Bagley of Chacombe , Northamptonshire cast the second and third bells in 1709 and the fifth bell in 1710. William Taylor of Loughborough cast
5934-465: 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
6020-465: 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
6106-488: 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
6192-401: 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
6278-404: 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
6364-708: The parish. The western boundary has been subject to changes and disputes in past centuries. It now follows Brighthampton Cut, an artificial land drain dug in the 19th century. The Windrush joins the River Thames at Newbridge just over 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south.south. Palaeolithic axes have been found west of Standlake village and northeast of Brighthampton. Neolithic implements have been found north of Standlake village. Late Bronze Age urn burials have been found in ring ditches north of Brighthampton on Standlake Downs. Evidence of an extensive Iron Age settlement with round huts and storage pits has been found near
6450-562: 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
6536-499: 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
6622-411: 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
6708-404: 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 the Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73), which established elected parish councils to take on the secular functions of
6794-438: 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
6880-477: The support of the Rector by 1877, and which continued intermittently until the 20th century. In 1924 it was superseded by a new library at the village school, which served the village until 1964 when it was succeeded by Oxfordshire County Council 's mobile library service.In about 1921 a converted army hut was erected as Standlake's first village hall . It was replaced by the present community centre in 1989. In 1954
6966-536: The tenor bell in 1843, presumably at the foundry he had at the time in Oxford. Mears and Stainbank of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry cast the treble bell in 1887 and the fourth bell in 1931. St Giles' also has a Sanctus bell that Thomas Rudhall of Gloucester cast in 1781. The central range of St Giles' Rectory dates from at least 1246 and includes a lancet window from about 1300. The north range
7052-416: The village and on two light industrial parks in the parish. Standlake Arena is a locally owned and run 1 ⁄ 4 -mile (400 m) oval racing circuit near Stanton Harcourt that hosts stock and banger car racing throughout the year. Oxford Downs Cricket Club has its ground at Standlake. It is a member of The Home Counties Premier Cricket League and The Cherwell Cricket League. The Standlake Players
7138-442: Was Bishop of Oxford from 1676. On his death in 1686 John Fell left Gaunt House to Christ Church, Oxford to provide an income to pay bursaries for poor students. It remained with Christ Church until it was sold 1955. Gaunt House was originally timber-framed but only a section of the original structure remains: all the rest having been replaced in stone by the early part of the 17th century. Lincoln Cottage, near St. Giles' church,
7224-400: Was added late in the 15th century, and a small south wing was added in 1661. Further alterations and additions were made in the 18th and 19th centuries, and dilapidated outbuildings including the parish's tithe barn were demolished. In 1980 the rectory was sold as a private house, and in restoration work in 1981 the new owners uncovered early 17th century wall paintings in an upstairs room over
7310-413: Was serving as the offices of a missionary society. It is now a private house. A Primitive Methodist chapel was built in 1864–65 and became a Methodist chapel in 1932. Sunday services ceased in 1970 and the chapel is now a private house. Gaunt House, a moated house 1 ⁄ 2 mile (800 m) east of Standlake village across the River Windrush, existed by the latter part of the 15th century. It
7396-402: Was the overlord of Standlake. When his heir Richard de Redvers, 4th Earl of Devon died in 1193, Standlake passed to the Crown . In 1355-56 Edward III granted Standlake to his daughter Isabella de Coucy . After her death, Richard II granted Standlake to William Montacute, 2nd Earl of Salisbury . Standlake belonged to John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster by 1388 and was recorded as part of
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