- the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia
The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level under the Local Government Act 1888. The 1894 legislation introduced elected councils at district and parish level.
The principal effects of the act were:
- The creation a system of urban and rural districts with elected councils. These, along with the town councils of municipal boroughs created earlier in the century, formed a second tier of local government below the existing county councils.
- The establishment of elected parish councils in rural areas.
- The reform of the boards of guardians of poor law unions.
- The entitlement of women who owned property to vote in local elections, become poor law guardians, and act on school boards.
- end of Wikipedia contribution
|
Under this act the ancient parish and borough of Horsham was reduced in area from about 11,000 acres to 839 acres and this area became an urban district. The remaining area was formed into Horsham Rural (parish) which was made up of areas to the north and the southwest of the town or urban district of Horsham. Between 1894 and 1933 the town of Horsham absorbed sections of Horsham Rural (parish) and in 1974 both Horsham Urban District and Horsham Rural (parish) were abolished and absorbed into the new district municipality of Horsham District along with other more outlying neighbouring parishes.
The village of Broadbridge Heath which has been considered a suburb of Horsham was located in the northern part of Horsham Rural (parish). Christ's Hospital, an historic public school has had its grounds in the southern section of the parish since 1902.
Because Horsham Rural (parish) was divided into two parts it is impossible to provide a single latitude and longitude setting for the parish as a whole.
| 
|
Research Tips
- The West Sussex Record Office is located in Chichester. Because it holds the records of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester, which covers the whole of Sussex, it has church records relating to both parts of Sussex.
- An on-line catalogue for some of the collections held by the West Sussex Record Office is available under the Access to Archives (A2A) project (a nationwide facility housed at The National Archives, Kew).
- West Sussex Past - database of 2 million records from West Sussex heritage organizations.
- The Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies' Sussex Collection (PDF). This is a 9-page PDF naming the files relating to Sussex in their collection-a possible first step in a course of research.
- The National Library of Scotland has a website which provides maps taken from the Ordnance Survey England & Wales One-Inch to the Mile series of 1892-1908 as well as equivalent maps for Scotland itself. The immediate presentation is a "help" screen and a place selection screen prompting the entry of a location down to town, village or parish level. These screens can be removed by a click of the "X". The map is very clear and shows parish and county boundaries and many large buildings and estates that existed at the turn of the 20th century. Magnification can be adjusted and an "overlay feature" allows inspection of the area today along with that of 1900. The specific map from the series can be viewed as a whole ("View this map") and this allows the inspection of the map legend (found in the left hand bottom corner. Becoming familiar with the various facilities of these maps is well worth the trouble.
-
|
