March 2021

14 Buckden Roundabout March 2021 BIRTH OF THE PARISH COUNCIL In my first article I described how the village was man- aged before the introduction of Parish Councils. The Local Government Act, or, as it is commonly called The Parish Councils Act was probably one of the greatest democratic acts passed by the Government. To give a feel of how important it was considered let us look at what the Parish Councillor ’ s Handbook said. “ In future, the agricultural labourers and the village workman are to have the rights and to discharge the du- ties of citizens. In every parish in England And Wales the inhabitants will enjoy the precious power of local self - government. This should prove the mightiest change our country has ever known. Think what it means. The men and the women of the village will meet in the evening, when the day ’ s work is over in their own village hall or schoolroom, choose their own chairman, and elect by secret vote or the ballot those persons who are to attend the needs of the inhabitants. (This suggests that women had a vote in local affairs) The Vestry, with the parson in the chair, dominated by the plural vote of property, will no longer settle parish affairs. All the powers of the Vestry, except those which relate to the Church, will belong to the Parish Meeting or the Parish Council. Thus, into villages where for centuries men and women have lived, toiled and died without any real control of the local affairs, there will be introduced the new and stirring sense of citizenship with all its hopes and possibilities. In the smallest hamlet the Parish Meeting will from time to time give the poorest peasant a chance to state his views and have his desires fulfilled. In the larger villages the Parish Council, elected on the principle of one man, one vote, will manage parish affairs and at meetings regularly held will consider and discuss the wants of the village, protect its property, and remedy the evils that lower morality and injure health ” Thus there were high hopes and ideals for the new coun- cil to meet and fulfil. So what exactly were the powers that the Council would have? They were: 1. The right to choose the overseers of the Poor. 2. The compulsory purchase and compulsory hiring of land for allotments and other purposes. 3. The control of village charities. 4. The obtaining of a proper water supply and bring- ing it to the houses. 5. Lighting the dark corners in the village. 6. Fencing off ponds and places dangerous to children 7. The right to hold meetings in schoolrooms. 8. The erection of village halls. 9. The protection of village greens, rights of way, and roadside wastes. 10. Keeping in repair footpaths and bye - roads. 11. The removal of nuisances and other conditions hurtful to health. 12. The provision of village libraries, reading rooms and washhouses. On a cold wet Tuesday evening, the 4th December 1894, 150 residents met in the Girls School room and by a show of hands elected its first Parish Council of 13 members. The enthusiasm with which this new venture was greeted can be gauged by the fact that 25 residents offered them- selves for election. Nowadays it is difficult to find enough candidates to call an election. (It was not until 1949 that full secret ballots were held for the election of parish councilors) Meetings were held quarterly, the first in the Girls School Room on 31st December 1894. Apart from considering the formalities of running the council and electing a sec- retary, a treasurer and a chairman, only one item was on the agenda: street lighting (it was later decided that none was needed). John Linton, the owner of Stirtloe House and de facto local squire was elected the first chairman and remained in office for the next 15 years. Perhaps not surprisingly the meeting was adjourned, but more sur- prisingly, only to the following day, 1st January 1895. A special meeting was held in February, at which standing orders were agreed. These differed very little from to- day ’ s orders and included a very sensible rule that no meeting would last for more than three hours. Terry Hayward Village News Articles always wanted! Are you a budding writer? Buckden Roundabout is always looking for articles to be included in the magazine. • Maybe you have something interesting to share about the history, geography or nature of the village? • Do you run a local group, society or activity (that is essentially non - commercial) and are looking to either attract new members or raise the profile of the group? • Do you have a short - story, poem or fan fiction to share? Whatever the topic, send your articles to editor@buckdenroundabout.info for consideration.