ViewsWatchers |
Slough was, from 1863 to 1974, a local government district in southern Buckinghamshire, England. It became an urban district in 1894 and was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1938. It was abolished in 1974 and now forms part of the borough of Slough in Berkshire. [edit] Formation
There was no administrative area of Slough prior to 1863; the urban area of the nascent town was mostly in the parish of Upton cum Chalvey, but also extended into the neighbouring parish of Stoke Poges. Both parishes were included in the Eton Poor Law Union from 1835, which (despite being named after Eton) was administered from Slough, where the union workhouse was built. A public meeting was held in Slough on 28 April 1863, when it was decided to adopt the Local Government Act 1858, creating a local government district for the town, covering parts of the parishes of Upton cum Chalvey and Stoke Poges, to be governed by a local board. With no objections being raised, the district came into being two months later. After elections, the first meeting of the Slough Local Board was held on 26 August 1863 at the Slough Mechanics' Institute, with William Bonsey being elected the first chairman of the board. Under the Local Government Act 1894, local government districts became urban districts with effect from 31 December 1894. The act also stipulated that civil parishes could not straddle district boundaries, and so the old parishes of Upton cum Chalvey and Stoke Poges were both split on 4 December 1894, ahead of the new districts coming into force. The part of Upton cum Chalvey within the local government district became a parish called Slough, whilst the part of Stoke Poges within the district became a parish called Stoke-in-Slough. The parishes of Slough and Stoke-in-Slough were both urban parishes and so were not given their own parish councils, but were directly administered by Slough Urban District Council, which replaced the Slough Local Board. The parish of Stoke-in-Slough was abolished in 1896, with the parish of Slough enlarged to cover the whole urban district.[1] The remaining portions of Upton cum Chalvey and Stoke Poges outside the Slough Urban District became parishes within Eton Rural District. Slough Urban District Council held its first meeting on 31 December 1894 at the local board's old offices at 1 Mackenzie Street. John Dowding was elected the first chairman of the urban district council; he had been the last chairman of the local board. [edit] Boundary Changes
There was no administrative area of Slough prior to 1863; the urban area of the nascent town was mostly in the parish of Upton cum Chalvey, but also extended into the neighbouring parish of Stoke Poges. Both parishes were included in the Eton Poor Law Union from 1835, which (despite being named after Eton) was administered from Slough, where the union workhouse was built. A public meeting was held in Slough on 28 April 1863, when it was decided to adopt the Local Government Act 1858, creating a local government district for the town, covering parts of the parishes of Upton cum Chalvey and Stoke Poges, to be governed by a local board. With no objections being raised, the district came into being two months later. After elections, the first meeting of the Slough Local Board was held on 26 August 1863 at the Slough Mechanics' Institute, with William Bonsey being elected the first chairman of the board. Under the Local Government Act 1894, local government districts became urban districts with effect from 31 December 1894. The act also stipulated that civil parishes could not straddle district boundaries, and so the old parishes of Upton cum Chalvey and Stoke Poges were both split on 4 December 1894, ahead of the new districts coming into force. The part of Upton cum Chalvey within the local government district became a parish called Slough, whilst the part of Stoke Poges within the district became a parish called Stoke-in-Slough. The parishes of Slough and Stoke-in-Slough were both urban parishes and so were not given their own parish councils, but were directly administered by Slough Urban District Council, which replaced the Slough Local Board. The parish of Stoke-in-Slough was abolished in 1896, with the parish of Slough enlarged to cover the whole urban district.[1] The remaining portions of Upton cum Chalvey and Stoke Poges outside the Slough Urban District became parishes within Eton Rural District. Slough Urban District Council held its first meeting on 31 December 1894 at the local board's old offices at 1 Mackenzie Street. John Dowding was elected the first chairman of the urban district council; he had been the last chairman of the local board. [edit] Incorporation
On 14 September 1938, under the provisions of the Municipal Corporations Act 1882, the urban district was incorporated by royal charter as a municipal borough and the local authority became Slough Borough Council. [edit] Abolition
The borough was reconstituted in 1974, when all municipal boroughs were abolished under the Local Government Act 1972. A new non-metropolitan district with borough status was created covering the former Slough Municipal Borough and part of Eton Rural District. The new district retained the name Slough, so the name of the local authority continued to be Slough Borough Council. At the same time, the enlarged borough of Slough was transferred from Buckinghamshire to Berkshire. These changes took effect on 1 April 1974.[1] Areas of Slough which were originally separate villages or hamlets include Chalvey, Cippenham, Colnbrook, Langley, Poyle, Upton, and Wexham. Wexham and Langley (under the name Langley Marish) were at one time, independent civil parishes. Parts of Slough which have been named as neighbourhoods include: Brands Hill, Britwell, Huntercombe, Manor Park, Salt Hill, Upton Lea, and Windsor Meadows. The urban area (but not the borough council area) merges into the neighbouring parishes of Burnham, Datchet, Farnham Royal, and Stoke Poges. Of these only Datchet was transferred to Berkshire in 1974.
[edit] Research Tips[edit] Maps
[edit] Registration OfficesBirth, marriage and death certificates can now be ordered online from Buckinghamshire County Council. The full postal address is Buckinghamshire Register Office, County Hall, Walton Street, Aylesbury, HP20 1YU. The Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies (County Hall, Walton Street, Aylesbury, HP20 1UU) holds
In Buckinghamshire, as with other counties in England and Wales, the location of offices where Births, Marriages and Deaths were registered has altered with other changes in local government. A list of the location of Registration Offices since civil registration began in 1837 has been prepared by GENUKI (Genealogy: United Kingdom and Ireland). The table also gives details of when each Registration Office was in existence. In the case of Buckinghamshire, the same registration offices were used for the censuses since 1851. Buckinghamshire now only has a central registration office at County Hall in Aylesbury, but there are facilities for registering births, marriages and deaths in specific libraries around the county. [edit] Nineteenth Century Local AdministrationEnglish Jurisdictions is a webpage provided by FamilySearch which analyses every ecclesiastical parish in England at the year 1851. It provides, with the aid of outline maps, the date at which parish records and bishops transcripts begin, non-conformist denominations with a chapel within the parish, the names of the jurisdictions in charge: county, civil registration district, probate court, diocese, rural deanery, poor law union, hundred, church province; and links to FamilySearch historical records, FamilySearch Catalog and the FamilySearch Wiki. Two limitations: only England, and at the year 1851. During the 19th century two bodies, the Poor Law Union and the Sanitary District, had responsibility for governmental functions at a level immediately above that covered by the civil parish. In 1894 these were replace by Rural and Urban Districts. These were elected bodies, responsible for setting local property assessments and taxes as well as for carrying out their specified duties. Thses districts continued in operation until 1974. Urban districts for larger municipalities were called "Municipal Boroughs" and had additional powers and obligations. Poor Law Unions, established nationally in 1834, combined parishes together for the purpose of providing relief for the needy who had no family support. This led to the building of '"union poorhouses" or "workhouses" funded by all the parishes in the union. The geographical boundaries established for the individual Poor Law Unions were employed again when Registration Districts were formed three years later. In 1875 Sanitary Districts were formed to provide services such as clean water supply, sewage systems, street cleaning, and the clearance of slum housing. These also tended to follow the same geographical boundaries, although there were local alterations caused by changes in population distribution. [edit] Online Historical References
|