Althorne Parish Council History

The first Parish Councils were formed in England under the Local Government Act, 1894 to take over local oversight of social welfare and civic duties in towns and villages. Before this date a variety of groups based around ecclesiastical (church) parishes had responsibility for these matters, in a system of local government that dated back to the feudal system of the 8th century.

The very first Althorne Parish Councillors were officially elected into office at a meeting held on 4th December 1894, at 7 o'clock in the Mission Rooms. The meeting was chaired by George Cochrane.

Baptist Chapel (Mission Rooms) - The Endway, Althorne

(Click on the Baptist Chapel tab on the left to see a short history of the Chapel)

Below is a transcription of the handwritten minutes of the meeting to elect the first Parish Council for Althorne:-

At the Parish meeting held on the 4^th day of December at 7 o’clock pm in the Mission Room after notice duly given, for the purpose of receiving nomination forms, and electing five persons to serve as Parish Councillors for this parish and a chairman for the meeting.

Mr S Pipe having opened the meeting, it was proposed by Mr Pipe and seconded by Mr A Young that Mr G Cochrane be the Chairman of the meeting.

The following persons were nominated:-

The following persons then withdrew their nominations – vis

Hawks Alfred, Latchford Robert Henry, Pipe Samuel, Stubley William, Warren Frederick; therefore the Chairman declared the following persons to be duly elected- vis

Clark David, May John, Pollard Charles, Thurgar George, Young Alexandra.

Signed

Chairman of the meeting.

                                                George Cochrane

To see a scan of the original hand written minutes click here.

Below is a transcription of the handwritten minutes of the Althorne Council meeting where the elected members of the first Parish Council were sworn in:-

December 24th

At a meeting held in the Mission Rooms after notice duly given, the members of the Council having signed the ‘Declaration’ upon taking office-

It was proposed by Mr. Jn. May and seconded by Mr. A. Young that Mr. George Cochrane be Chairman of the Council for the ensuing year. Carried unanimously.

It was proposed by Mr. Chas. Pollard and seconded by Mr. A. Young that Mr. Jn. May be Vice chairman. Carried unanimously.

It was proposed by Mr. Jn. May, and seconded by Mr. Charles Pollard, that Mr. J. S. Prior be the Treasurer of the Council. Carried unanimously.

It was unanimously resolved that Mr, Jn, Pike Assistant overseer be Clerk to the Council, the remuneration for the service to be determined at some future meeting of the Council.

It was proposed by Mr. A. Young, and seconded by Mr. Jn. May that all documents relating to the Parish Council be handed over to the Chairman of the Council on or before the 14^th day of January 1895.

The Clerk was instructed to write to Mr J. S. Prior informing him the Council had appointed him Treasurer.

The Clerk was also instructed to write to the Rev. Milligan to request him to transfer all documents, if any, in his possession relating to the Parish Charities, to the Chairman of the Council on or before the 14^th day of January 18995.

 Signed

Chairman of the meeting.

                                                George Cochrane

To see a scan of the original hand written minutes click here.

The newly elected council voted George Cochrane as chairman. Under present legislation the chairman has to be selected from the elected councillors. However, it appears that this was not the case in the 1894 Act as George Cochrane was not one of the five councillors voted into office.

Census data from the period

The census of 1891 and 1901 have been researched to find out what is known of these first Parish Councillors.

One would have thought that in those days the first parish councillors would have been from the clergy and the local farmers or land owners. However, it is interesting to see that the working classes were fully represented.

In the 1891 census John Pike the parish clerk is shown as the publican of the Black Lion. There is no mention of John Pike in the 1901 census.

Councillor David Clarke is not mentioned in the 1891 census, but in the 1901 census he is shown as being a Great Eastern Railway Foreman Plate Layer living in the G. E. R. cottages near Althorne Station.

In the 1891 census Councillor George Thurgar was shown as being an Agricultural Labourer (possibly on Buttons Hill Farm). There was no mention of him in the 1901 census

There is no mention of councillors John May, Charles Pollard or Alexandra Young in either the 1891 or 1901 census. Maybe they lived in one of the surrounding villages and were just working or had businesses in the village. It was permitted that non residents could stand for and become councillors, as long as they worked or had business in the village.

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Last modified: May 05, 2010