churches within the parochia were served by itinerant presbyters. Towards the close of the 4th century it had become usual for the bishop to appoint resident presbyters to defined districts or territories, to which the term “parish” came gradually to be applied (see also Diocese). Parish, in English ecclesiastical law, may be defined as the township or cluster of townships which was assigned to the ministration of a single priest, to whom its tithes and other ecclesiastical dues were paid; but the word has now acquired several distinct meanings.
The Old Ecclesiastical Parish.—In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the ecclesiastical parish is presumed to be composed of a single township or vill, and to be conterminous with the manor within the ambit of which it is comprised. Before the process of subinfeudation became prevalent, the most ancient manors were the districts which we call by that name when speaking of the tenants, or “townships” when we regard the inhabitants, or “parishes” as to matters ecclesiastical. The parish as an institution is in reality later in date than the township. The latter has been in fact the unit of local administration ever since England was settled in its several states and kingdoms; the beginnings of the parochial system in England are attributed to Theodore of Tarsus, who was archbishop of Canterbury towards the close of the 7th century. The system was extended in the reign of Edgar, and it appears not to have been complete until the reign of Edward III. It has been considered that the intimate connexion of church and state militates against the view that the parochial system was founded as a national institution, since any legislation on the subject of the township and parochial systems would probably have resulted in the merging of the one into the other. “The fact that the two systems, the parish and the township, have existed for more than a thousand years side by side, identical in area and administered by the same persons, and yet separate in character and machinery, is a sufficient proof that no legislative act could have been needed in the first place; nor was there any lay council of the whole nation which could have sanctioned such a measure” (Stubbs, Const. Hist. i. 227). The boundaries of the old ecclesiastical parishes are usually identical with those of the township or townships comprised within its precinct; they are determined by usage, in the absence of charters or records, and are evidenced by perambulations, which formerly took place on the “gang-days” in Rogation week, but are now, where they still survive, for the most part held triennially, the Poor-Law Act of 1844 permitting the parish officers to charge the expense on the poor-rate, “provided the perambulations do not occur more than once in three years.” The expense of preserving the boundary by land-marks or bound-stones is chargeable to the same rate. Many parishes contain more than one township, and this is especially the case in the northern counties, where the separate townships are organized for administrative purposes under an act passed in 1662. In the southern and midland districts the parishes are for the most part subdivided into hamlets or other local divisions known as “ty things,“ “boroughs,” and the like; the distinction between a parish and a subordinate district lies chiefly in the fact that the latter will be found to have never had a church or a constable to itself. The select committee of 1873, appointed to inquire into parochial boundaries, reported to the effect that the parish bears no definite relation to any other administrative area, except indeed to the poor-law union. It may be situated in different counties or hundreds, and in many instances it contains, in addition to its principal district, several outlying portions intermixed with the lands in other parishes.
After the abolition of compulsory church rates in 1868 the old ecclesiastical parish ceased to be of importance as an instrument of local government. Its officers, however, have still important duties to perform. The rector, vicar or incumbent is a corporation-sole, in whom is vested the freehold of the church and churchyard, subject to the parishioners’ rights of user; their rights of burial have been enlarged by various acts. The churchwardens are the principal lay officers. Their duties consist in keeping the church and churchyard in repair and in raising a voluntary rate for the purpose to the best of their power; they have also the duty of keeping order in church during divine service. The other officials are the parish clerk and sexton. They have freeholds in their offices and are paid by customary fees. The office of the clerk is regulated by an act of 1844, enabling a curate to undertake its duties, and providing facilities for vacating the office in case of misconduct. The only civil function of the parish clerk remaining in 1894 was the custody of maps and documents, required to be deposited with him under standing orders of parliament before certain public works were begun. By the Local Government Act 1894 they are now deposited with the chairman or clerk of a parish council.
The New Ecclesiastical Parish.—Under the powers given by the Church Building Acts, and acts for making new parishes, many populous parishes have been subdivided into smaller ecclesiastical parishes. This division has not affected the parish in its civil aspect.
The Civil Parish.—For purposes of civil government the term “parish” means a district for which a separate poor-rate is or can be made, or for which a separate overseer is or can be appointed; and by the Interpretation Act 1889 this definition is to be used in interpreting all statues subsequent to 1866, except where the context is inconsistent therewith. This district may of itself constitute a poor law union; but in the great majority of cases the unions, or areas under the jurisdiction of boards of guardians according to the Poor-Law Amendment Act of 1S54, are made up of aggregated poor-law parishes. Each of these poor-law parishes may represent the extent of an old ecclesiastical parish, or a township separately rated by custom before the practice was stayed in 1819 or separated from a large parish under the act of 1662, or it may represent a chapelry, tything, borough, ward, quarter or hamlet, or other subdivision of the ancient parish, or, under various acts, an area formed by the merger of an extra-parochial place with an adjoining district by the union of detached portions with adjoining parishes, or by the subdivision of a large parish for the better administration of the relief of the poor. The civil importance of the poor-law parishes may be dated from the introduction of the poor law by the statute of 43 Elizabeth, which directed overseers of the poor to be appointed in every parish, and made the churchwardens into ex-officio overseers. The statute was preceded by tentative provisions of the same kind enacted in the reigns of Edward VI. and Mary and in the fifth year of Elizabeth, and after several renewals was made perpetual in the reign of Charles I. The chief part of the parochial organization was the vestry-meeting. It derived its name from the old place of assembly, the vestry room attached to the church or chapel. The vestry represented the old assembly of the township, and retained so much of its business as had not been insensibly transferred to the court-baron and court-leet. The freemen, now appearing as the ratepayers, elected the “parish officers,” as the churchwardens and way-wardens, the assessors, the overseers, and (if required) paid assistant overseers, a secretary or vestry-clerk, and a collector of rates if the guardians applied for his appointment. Common vestries were meetings of all the ratepayers assembled on a three days’ notice; select vestries were regulated by local custom, or derived their power from the Vestries Act 1831 (Hobhouse’s Act). The vestries could adopt various acts, and appoint persons to carry those acts into execution. The Local Government Act 1894 restored the parish to its position as the unit of local government by establishing parish councils. (See England: Local Government.)
The Parish in Scotland.—There can be little doubt that about the beginning of the 13th century the whole, or almost the whole, of the kingdom of Scotland was parochially divided. It seems probable (though the point is obscure) that the bishops presided at the first formation of the parishes—the parish being a subdivision of the diocese—and at any rate down to the date of the Reformation they exercised the power of creating new parishes within their respective dioceses (Duncan, Parochial Law, p. 4). After the Reformation the power of altering parishes was assumed by the legislature. The existing parochial districts being found unsuited to the ecclesiastical requirements of the time, a general
