ASPECTS OF CIVIL ADMINISTRATION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN
NINETEENTH CENTURY KNOTTINGLEY
By TERRY SPENCER B.A. (HONS), Ph D.
Preliminary Draft May 2005
CHAPTER ONE
KNOTTINGLEY SELECT VESTRY
From
earliest times Knottingley formed a chapelry of the parish of Pontefract,
its church, dedicated to the Saxon Saint, Botolph, and dating from the
late eleventh century, serving as a chapel of ease for the manorial
population. Ecclesiastical reorganisation in 1789 conferred a degree of
autonomy on the burgeoning township which became a separate parish with
full rites of baptism, matrimony and sepulture but remained a perpetual
curacy under the patronage of the Vicar of Pontefract until 1846.
Despite
its subordinate status it is clear that by the early eighteenth century
the incumbent priest was assisted by chapel wardens (1) and given the
known history of the township it seems probable that the church based
institution, known as the Vestry, was frequently convened to deal with
parish affairs, ecclesiastical and secular. (2)
The
decline of the feudal system resulted in widespread vagrancy as peasants
were dispossessed of their meagre land holdings while the suppression of
the religious houses in the 1530s added to the number of vagrants while
simultaneously removing the principal source of almsgiving to itinerant
paupers. As a result a mobile and socially independent but indigent
populace roamed the land presenting a growing threat of lawlessness and
social disorder. To forestall and counter the danger sundry items of
legislation were introduced by royal decree from the late medieval era,
particularly during the period of the Tudor dynasty, placing specific
responsibility upon each parish within the realm. The effect was to
increase the degree of secularisation, resulting in the metamorphosis of
the church vestry into a secular unit of local administration known as the
select vestry.
An
act of 1555, revised in 1563, decreed the parish constables and
churchwardens call a parochial meeting annually during Easter week for the
purpose of ordering the maintenance of the parish highways throughout the
forthcoming year. The principal element of secularisation, however, was
the Poor Law Act of 1597, confirmed by the Act of 1601.
Under
the terms of the legislation two to four householders of each parish were
to be chosen at the annual town’s meeting to assist the church wardens
in the administration of poor relief during the ensuing year.
Theoretically, the right of appointment was vested in the local justices
but the magistrates bowed to local knowledge of parishioners and in
practice accepted and approved individuals nominated for office at the
towns meeting.
Of
the evolutionary phase of development at Knottingley we know nothing
before 1820 when a committee of township residents is first recorded. The
earliest extant minutes concerning the local Select Vestry, however, date
from May 1823 at which time it is known that although the manorial
organisation of the township was still in nominal existence the system had
long ceased to exercise any administrative of legal function (3) for by
the eighteenth century the physical and demographic expansion of the
township had stimulated the range of civic activity within its boundaries
and further promoted the autonomy of the local inhabitants.
However,
an entry within the Select Vestry Minute Book in 1840 affords a glimpse of
the transitionary nature by reference to the bygone feudal age,
recommending that "the
Lords of the Manor be requested to call a court Leet as soon as
convenient." (4)
Nevertheless,
that such a request was mere tokenism is obvious and the extent to which
the power of the Select Vestry as an autonomous body had developed is
shown by a statement at a later date which averred:-
"A
notice having been placed on the Church doors that a meeting will be held
on the 27th instant to elect church wardens for the ensuing year, it is
the opinion of this [Select Vestry] meeting that as it might invalidate
the business of the Township in all matters in which their functions would
have to be exercised, it is desirable that such election of church wardens
should not proceed on that day but take place at the usual time in Easter
Week." (5)
The
formal existence of a Select Vestry had been promoted by the Sturges-Bourne
Act of 1819. Whilst having national application the legislation was
sufficiently flexible to minimise interference with existing forms of
local administration which had evolved in ad hoc fashion in preceding
eras. The Act did, however, lay down conditions of local government by
Select Vestry such as procedure, public notification together with a legal
obligation to compile and retain minutes of business transacted by such a
body. Compliance with the clauses of the Sturges-Bourne Act marked the
completion of the transition from church vestry to select vestry at
Knottingley for the Act specifically stipulated that the affairs of each
unit of local administration should henceforth be undertaken by a
committee of local ratepayers consisting of a minimum number of five and a
maximum of twenty members. (6) Knottingley township was at the forefront
in choosing a Select Vestry of maximum size as indicated by the formation
of such a committee to safeguard the interest of the town during the
proposed construction of the Aire & Calder canal through the town in
1820. (7)
In
accordance with legal requirements it was necessary to post formal but
separate notification concerning the appointment of overseers of the poor,
surveyors of the highways and vestry members. To save time and expense a
single public meeting was convened each Easter at which all civic officers
were nominated and appointed, subject to the approval of the local
magistrates. (8) The inaugural public notice reads: -
"Knottingley
25th May 1823
Notice is hereby Given
That the inhabitants of this town are requested
To attend at the School House on Thursday the
5th June at 4 O’clock in the afternoon to consider
the propriety of Forming a Select Vestry and other
Business
[signed] John Robinson
Wm. Seaton
Wm. Taylor
Wm. Smithson Overseers of the Poor
Edward Gaggs
John Jackson Chapelwardens."
In
the wake of the said meeting a copy of the following was submitted to the
magistrates at Wentbridge, viz: -
"At
a meeting held in the School House in
Knottingley the 5th day of June 1823 to appoint
A Select Vestry (a notice being first duly given
For that purpose) The following persons are hereby appointed
The Rev’ John Bailey – Clerk
Mr Thomas Shillito
Mr Edward Gaggs
Mr William Allen
Mr Mark Carter
Mr Edward Tomlinson
Mr Robt. Long
Mr William Moorhouse Junr.
Mr William Smithson
Mr John Hoylands
Mr Maw Long
Mr John Hepworth
Mr Thomas Atkinson
The Overseers for the time being
The Chapelwardens for the time being
Signed by Wm. Moorhouse – Chairman."
The
presiding magistrate then authorised the insertion of a prescribed form of
words in the Select Vestry Minute Book viz: -
"West
Riding of Yorkshire:
Whereas
in and by the statute made and passed in the fifty ninth year of the Reign
of his late majesty King George the Third, entitled ‘An Act to amend the
laws for the relief of the Poor’, the inhabitants of any Parish in
Vestry assembled, are empowered to establish a Select Vestry for the
concern of the Poor of each Parish and to that end nominate and elect on
the same or any subsequent Vestry, or any adjournment thereof
respectively, such and so many substantial householders or occupiers
within such Parish not exceeding the number of twenty nor less than
five..and the Rector, Vicar or the Minister of the Parish and in his
absence the Curate ..and the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor for
the time being together with the inhabitants who shall be nominated and
elected…such being appointed by writing under the hand and seal of one
of his Majesty’s Justices of the Peace…shall constitute a Select
Vestry..And whereas it hath been this day made to appear to me that the
Inhabitants of Knottingley..have established a Select Vestry I therefore
authorise the following [list of appointees] to be members of the said
Select Vestry..
Given
under my hand and seal at Wentbridge 16th June One thousand eight hundred
and twenty three.
[signed]
Jos. Scott." (10)
Initially,
affixing a notice on the door of the parish church was sufficient
notification of the impending towns’ meeting or other issues of public
concern but as the town grew in size and population handbills and notices
were distributed throughout the town. (11) Thus, in 1859, apropos the town
meeting to be held in the National Schoolroom,
"convened
by public notice"
it
is resolved that
"The
Town be placard with proper notices of the same." (12)
An
interesting glimpse of the relationship of religious observance and public
affairs is afforded by an incident in March 1842. Notices having been
issued that the Towns meeting would take place at 6.00 in the evening of
the 25th March and "some
persons demurring at the meeting being called for Good Friday. Notice was
put upon the Church Door on Sunday the 19th day of march
Instant, 1842" (13) to
notify the public that the date of the Town Meeting was to be brought
forward to the evening of Thursday 24th March.
In
addition, at a time when literacy was largely confined to the middle
classes of the town the Town Crier was pressed into service. References to
the existence of the local town crier reveal that originally he was an
appointee of the manorial court but by the beginning of the nineteenth
century the crier’s duties were subject to the supervision and authority
of the Select Vestry. Once appointed, the Town Crier was confirmed as the
official keeper of the bell, the possession of which had both a practical
and a symbolic significance. Appointment to the office of Town Crier
(somewhat unusually for that era) appears to have been open to both sexes
whilst possession of the bell appears to have endowed a degree of prestige
upon the office holder as indicated by a Select Vestry decree of 1842 that,
"Richard
Askham be ordered to give up the Bell to Hannah Clarke, the appointed
Cryer by the Court Leet." (14)
Membership
of the Select Vestry was confined to a limited number of the most
prosperous citizens of the town, men usually engaged in business or
commerce within the neighbourhood, the legal profession or banking. By
virtue of their wealth, education and social status, such men were
adjudged best fitted for the task of administering the affairs of the
township. Vestry membership was largely a self perpetuating oligarchy in
which sons succeeded their fathers so that membership lists show a
generation bias with family names only disappearing upon the demise of the
male line or the occasional cessation of residence within the town.
Succession appears to have been automatic as there is no reference in the
Vestry minutes to extraordinary town meetings being called. Thus, in the
list for 1850-51 we find the name of John Senior crossed out and the word
‘dead’ appended together with the name of Senior’s son Joseph,
alongside. (15) The fact that no additional meetings appear to have been
convened following the demise of a vestryman who either had no male heirs
is problematical but in the absence of any evidence to the contrary it
must be assumed that the Vestrymen were the arbiters of any adjustment to
the Vestry membership. During the period 1849-50 no less than four Vestry
members were replaced, including Thomas Burton, the Overseer of the Poor
that year whose place on the Vestry was taken by Daniel Fewster and who
was replaced by John Howard as the Overseer. (16)
By
the early nineteenth century the principal members of the Select Vestry
were William Moorhouse, Edward Gaggs and Thomas Atkinson who were the
nominal Lords of the Manor and as such the largest landowners in the
township, together with Mark Carter who though owning less land had
acquired substantial wealth as a brewer. (17) These men and most of their
contemporaries were pillars of the Anglican church although a minority of
less significant Vestry members were nonconformists after mid-century,
following a decree of relaxation concerning the acceptance of
non-conformism with public affairs. Nevertheless it is of passing interest
to note that the incumbent of the parish of St. Botolph’s and his
successors were automatically elected to membership of the Select Vestry
until 1872, a fact which also underlines the origins of the Select Vestry
as a church vestry. The clerics however, appear to have been ex officio
members of the Select Vestry, their views doubtless being well represented
in their absence by their acolytes. (18)
For
more than thirty years until his death in October 1873, John Carter served
continuously as the Chairman of the Knottingley Select Vestry. A
practising Anglican, John Carter was a liberal by nature and political
persuasion and an extremely wealthy man through his inheritance of the
brewery business established in Knottingley at the start of the nineteenth
century by his father. Carter’s position at the forefront of public
affairs was not merely secured by his wealth however, for there were
others such as William Moorhouse who apart from being almost as wealthy as
Carter was senior in age and residence and as one of the manorial lords
owned far more land within the township. It was largely the respect and
esteem afforded to Carter by his contemporaries at all levels of local
society, together with his proven managerial ability, which ensured his
prominence in the governance of Knottingley. (19)
Following
the passing of the Reform Act of 1832, a slightly more democratic element
was introduced into the composition of the Select Vestry membership.
Whereas before membership qualification had been restricted to individuals
in possession of freehold property, following the Reform Act burgesses
owning property valued at £10 per year, being resident with the borough,
were entitled to vote. The franchise was also granted to £10 copyholders
and £50 leaseholders outside the boroughs. Whilst the Select Vestry
remained a middle class preserve, during John Carter’s tenure as
Chairman a subtle change occurred in the composition of the membership
with the predominant element of landowning and professional men
increasingly joined by the emergent class of self-made nonconformist
businessmen. The latter group were products of the socio-political,
technological and demographic changes taking place in Victorian society
and presented a contrast to the traditional attitudes which had previously
provided the background of Vestry membership. The latent differences
between the two elements of the membership underlay the brief but
explosive ‘Vestry Riots’ of 1874. (20)
The
meetings of the Select Vestry were held in the Committee Room of the
parish workhouse, Hill Top, and were initially convened at frequent but
irregular intervals according to the demands of parish business. In the
year 1824-25, the first complete year for which data is available, 13
meetings were held and by 1841-42 the total had risen to 38, averaging two
per month during the milder seasons of he year and three per month during
the winter period when seasonal conditions produced a higher level of
unemployment, attendant destitution and illness, creating a considerable
increase in applications for poor relief by parishioners. (21)
The
method of summoning the vestrymen was by means of a circular issued by the
Parish Clerk following consultation with the Chairman. In addition to
stating the date, time and venue, the circular also contained an outline
of the proposed agenda. (22) On occasion however, notice would be served
at an ongoing meeting of a particular matter to be raised at a subsequent
meeting. (23) There are several recorded instances of meetings being
called at short notice for the consideration of matters of which an
immediate decision was desirable. In October 1841 an emergency meeting was
called to consider the possible source and method of delivery of stone for
the repair of the road at High Cross (Hill Top), (24) while at a later
date a similar meeting was convened to hear appeals against the Poor Rate
levy before legal action to compel payment was taken. (25) In May 1849, a
morning meeting at which one routine item of business was passed resolved
that a further meeting take place at 6.00pm but although an increased
attendance was recorded no business was transacted. (26) On yet another
occasion the Vestry Chairman, William Moorhouse, officiating in the
absence of John Carter, had formally closed the meeting when news reached
the members;
"…of
Mr Rbt. Lowther having saved the lives of W. Pollard & P. Denby from
drowning by jumping in the River Aire & bringing each of them
out."
A
footnote appended to the Minutes in Moorhouse’s hand records that;
"the
Chair was again taken by Mr Moorhouse and a resolution proposing a vote of
thanks to Lowther on behalf of the Select Vestry was passed
unanimously." (27)
Regularisation
of Vestry meetings took place following a meeting of October 1841 when it
was decided that henceforth the Vestry would meet every week between the
first Tuesday in November and the last Tuesday the following March. The
meetings were scheduled to start precisely at 10.00 "in the
forenoon" with appeals for relief being heard an hour later. (28) The
sessions throughout the winter months were made desirable by the potential
hazard of negotiating unlit streets and poorly maintained pathways,
befouled by inclement weather. With the advent of Spring, meetings
reverted to evenings, a 7 o’clock start being more convenient to members
with daily business to conduct. Indeed, how inconvenient attendance at
meetings was is shown by a statement of October 1843, that;
"In
consequence of Tuesday being a very inconvenient day to many Gentlemen who
are on the Select Vestry for attending its meetings on that day from its
being Market Day in some of the neighbouring Towns which those Gentlemen
have to attend – Resolved: that in future the Select Vestry meetings
shall be held on Thursdays instead of Tuesdays." (29)
Yet
by January 1849 in an attempt to make Vestry attendance "less
demanding" a reversion took place following a decision that the
Select Vestry would meet on alternate Tuesday’s at 6 o’clock in the
evening. Clearly, despite the winter season the former decision to convene
on a Tuesday morning had been abandoned, presumably owing to the inroads
attendance made on business hours. (30) The fact probably explains the
fluctuation in the numbers attending Vestry meetings throughout the period
1823-92 during which annual attendance was occasionally as high as 60-75%
but was more often between 15-25%. (31)
Following
the establishment of the Pontefract Poor Law Union in 1862 and the
subsequent transfer of the responsibility for Knottingley paupers to the
new system in 1864, the number of Select Vestry meetings was considerably
reduced. From a total of 26 meetings in 1862-62 the number fell to 10 in
1865-66 and averaged seven sessions per year throughout the following
decade before falling to a single quarterly meeting during the period
1880-92. To ease the burden of attendance meetings were confined to the
last Thursday of each month from June 1863, commencing at 7.00 p.m. during
the summer and 10.00 a.m. throughout the period September to March each
year. (32)
Despite
changes to more appropriate time and date and the eventual decrease in the
number of meetings following the introduction of the New Poor Law locally,
attendance at meetings of the Select Vestry was usually sparse. Between
1835-50 the average attendance was less than one fifth of the elected
members. During the first decade the highest recorded number at any single
meeting was sixteen and the lowest one, while in the decade following, the
highest attendance was nine and the lowest one, and on three occasions
between 1839-45 the Parish Clerk registered the fact that none of the
Vestrymen had turned out for the notified meetings. (33) It is interesting
to note that no quorum was required for the transaction of parish business
and on a number of occasions when only a single member was in attendance
business was transacted as usual. (34) The overall conclusion to be drawn
from the generally sparse pattern of Select Vestry attendance is that the
duties arising from membership of that body were conducted with the
greatest reluctance under the Old Poor Law system of individual parish
relief, undertaken in accordance with legislative requirements imposed by
central government. The fact that election to the Select Vestry conferred
a degree of social status upon those who were members is perhaps the
primary, if not the sole reason why ratepayers sought nomination.
No
record of individual attendance at Vestry meetings occurred before the
10th February 1835 when Peter Sharrock was appointed to the post of Vestry
Clerk, so there is no means of knowing the number and frequency of members
attendance before that date. (35)
The
decisions of the Select Vestry were implemented by a number of officials
who were also nominated and elected for an annual term of duty at the
Towns Meeting each March. In common with the vestrymen the parish officers
had their names submitted to the local Justices for scrutiny and approval.
As central government acknowledged that the magistrates and those
constituting the membership of a select vestry were most aware of the
needs of any particular parish and most heedful of the best means of
solving any problems arising from such needs, a considerable degree of
flexibility was allowed concerning the governance of each local community.
Consequently, no single pattern of local administration existed. The
number and type of parish officials and the nature of their duties varied
from parish to parish according to perceived need.
A
statutory duty imposed upon each parish however, was the relief of the
poor and infirm. The duty was undertaken by Overseers of the Poor, first
named as such in 1572. Initially, the churchwardens acted as the parish
Overseers, meeting at least once a month after Divine Service to discuss
and transact pauper relief, the business being undertaken with a minimum
of consultation of participation by the parishioners.
At
the date that the Select Vestry was formally constituted, four Overseers of
the Poor are listed at Knottingley but thereafter two only were appointed
annually. In addition, two Surveyors of the Highways, who in accordance
with ancient obligation, were required to repair and maintain the Kings
highway passing through the manor or parish, were appointed. A Towns
Constable was also appointed to enforce the decrees of the Vestry and was
generally responsible for the maintenance of law and order. The Parish or
Vestry Clerk was also the Master of the parish workhouse at Knottingley
(assisted by a Workhouse Mistress) and was therefore designated as an
Assistant Overseer. By the nineteenth century the demographic and physical
expansion of the township with its crowded dwellings, slaughterhouses and
workshops and lacking adequate sewerage and sanitary provision, posed an
increasing health hazard, necessitating the appointment of an Inspector of
Nuisances to examine and order the removal of all materials considered to
pose a danger to public health. In conjunction with the latter officer was
the post of Town’s Medical Officer, a salaried post to which the holder
was appointed by the Select Vestry on an annual basis, being rotated
amongst the local medical practitioners each of whom undertook the public
duty in tandem with private practice.
In
addition to the above were minor officials appointed to assist in the
collection of the parish and tithe rates and designated as Assistant
Overseers, collectors or administrators. Other parish appointees such as
the Town Crier, the Pinder, the Sexton, and ferryman were originally
manorial appointments but subsequently in the gift of the Select Vestry.
In
common with the Surveyors of the Highway, the duties of the Crier and the
Pinder had their origin in the manorial organisation of the feudal era but
unlike the Surveyors their role had suffered some diminishment in the post
medieval period.
A
further minor post of which little is recorded in the annals of
Knottingley was that of Cattle Valuer for the town. A Select Vestry minute
of 23rd February 1866 resolved, "That
Mr J.S. Bentley be recommended to the Court of Quarter Sessions for
appointment…." but
nothing else is known of this post and there are no other references to
the office. (36)
The
posts of Overseers of the Poor and Surveyors of the Highways were
burdensome and open to public criticism. Furthermore, the posts were
unremunerative so that the only benefit to the office-holders was a
considerable degree of social prestige. Nevertheless, anyone nominated and
elected was expected to accept either post willingly or assume the
responsibility of finding a substitute. Failure to take either course of
action resulted in the nominee being fined £5. (37) There is no record of
refusal to serve at Knottingley, quite the contrary, in 1841 for example
there were no less than 13 nominees for the two posts of Surveyor. (38)
It
is interesting to note that at that date the record specified that the
Surveyors were to serve "without
any salary" (39) however,
payment of a token salary existed shortly before that time. In March 1839
Michael Bentley was awarded a salary of £15 for undertaking the duties of
Surveyor during the ensuing year and again, in March 1843 there is
recorded an instance of a pre-payment agreement to allow the Surveyors
£10 each for the ensuing year. (40) There are clear indications that such
payments were discretionary for a motion of April 1842 by an element
within the Select Vestry expressed the desire to pay Isaac Smith £10 for
collection of the highway rate which move was opposed by others. (41) In
the event it was subsequently agreed that Smith be paid the sum of £20 to
collect the highway rate and the church tithes in tandem. (42) Before mid
century in common with parishes in general, the discretionary payment to
the Surveyors had become regularised as an annual salary of £10 per annum
as shown by a resolution of March 1847 that "Thomas
Miller have a salary of Ten Pounds for the year and all reasonable
expenses when on a journey." (43)
Similarly,
the previous April the Vestry had agreed that, "The
Auditor of the Poor Law Acts. [accounts] have 2gns [guineas] per
annum." (44)
It
is interesting to note that such payments had been legally prohibited in
1785 in order to counter the developing tendency of some vestries to
appoint Overseers of the Poor on a permanent basis, in contravention of
the Statute. Within the following half century, however, payments had
gradually recommenced in order to palliate the odium and inconvenience to
office-holders and upon reintroduction the payments continued to be made,
initially as a honorarium and shortly thereafter as a regularised formal
payment. There can be little doubt concerning both the odium and the
difficulty of collecting the rates at Knottingley, particularly in the
straitened economic conditions of the ‘Hungry Forties’. A note dated
September 1847, entered in the Select Vestry Minute Book records that :
"Thomas
Miller agrees to collect all parochial rates, that is, Poor Rates, the
Highway Rates & Church Rates for a salary of £30 per annum."
(45)
Something
of the hardship of the period is seen by the fact that in December 1837 of
96 rates defaulters it was decided to summons 62 who could not pay and
failed to agree deferred terms with the parish Overseers. Again, in August
1847, fifty townspeople were excused the second stage rate payment on
grounds of poverty (46) while the following year the list of people in
arrears was revised and forty-six ‘Out Laws’ benefited from the
resolution of the Select Vestry, "That
the list presented by the overseers, now revised, have their rates
given." (47)
The
reorganisation of the Poor Law system from 1834 and the eventual
incorporation of the township of Knottingley in the Pontefract Union in
1862 removed the principal administrative function from the Select Vestry.
By that time however, the township was developing apace and this fact
produced increased responsibilities upon that body with regard to aspects
of public health and civic amenities. To meet these demands it was felt
that an overhaul of the vestry system was desirable. To this end a meeting
of the Select Vestry held on the 23rd March 1862 proposed that a Town
Meeting be called to appoint a ‘Committee of Management’ to advise "in
all matters pertaining to the local management of the township."
(48)
The
committee duly elected at the Town Meeting held in the National School two
days later was however, merely the Select Vestry under a new name for it
still consisted of twenty members elected in the age-old way, the bulk of
the membership being re-elected from the previous years vestry. It is of
passing interest to not how the minimalist nature of the change is
reflected in the nomenclature used by the vestry clerk, E.S. Atkinson, who
from naming the new body as a ‘Committee of Management’ in May had
adopted the term ‘Select Committee’ by September and by early the
following year had reverted to calling it the ‘Select Vestry’. (49)
Nevertheless, the desire for change was still apparent for in January 1863
a resolution was passed deeming it desirable to call a public meeting with
a view to adopting the Local Government Act of 1858 and to determine the
number of members constituting such a local body. (50) It was also
resolved that a deputation consisting of John Carter, William Moorhouse
and William Jackson wait upon the Mayor of Pontefract and his colleagues
in order to ascertain the probability of the Borough adopting such a
course and the implications of such a decision for Knottingley. (51) At
the subsequent public meeting held on the 16th February 1863, it was
unanimously agreed that a resolution proposed by William Worfolk that the
new form of local government be adopted as was the accompanying resolution
by John Howard that the number of members elected to the Local Board be
nine. The Select Vestry Chairman, John Carter, therefore resolved that
local representatives wait upon Sir George Grey, the Home Secretary, and
urge him to acquiesce in the adoption of the Act by the township. (52)
At
a further public meeting the following month it was reported that notice
of the adoption of the Act had been ordered by the Secretary of State and
that publication of the notice in the London Gazette was pending. (53) The
meeting was therefore adjourned for a fortnight but this was further
adjourned until the 19th of March 1863 when at the annual Town’s
Meeting, William Worfolk was elected as Surveyor of the Highways at a
salary of £10 per annum "…until
the Local Government Act comes into operation." (54) and
although the matter was placed in abeyance for a month following a further
meeting on the 20th April, adoption of the Act was clearly imminent for
the Clerk was instructed to make enquiries concerning the procedure
required for the election of members to a Board of Health. (55) At a
Committee Meeting convened shortly afterwards for the further
consideration of the proposal it was decided to ask John Carter to
represent the Select [Vestry] Committee in seeking the advice of a legal
counsel concerning the matter of the township’s highways apropos the
Local Government Act. (56) In the light of the advice it was subsequently
considered not to proceed further for at a meeting of the Select Vestry on
the 23rd July 1863 the Committee resolved that "the
Local Government Act remain in abeyance at present." (57)
While
no details are given regarding the nature of the problem it is clear that
management of the local highways was the cause of the obstacle making
adoption of the Act undesirable. Owing to the fact that the Secretary of
State had formally sanctioned the adoption of the Act a legal technicality
prevented the revocation of the legislation by the Select Vestry on behalf
of the township. Consequently, a hiatus of eleven months occurred at the
end of which period the Select Vestry decided in June 1864 to write to the
Home Office with reference to the position of the township vis a vis the
Local Government Act. (58) The response of the Home Office prompted the
Select Vestry to seek further legal advice for in December 1864 a
communication was received from Messrs. Wainwright & Manders,
solicitors, and at a specially convened Vestry on the 8th December a
decision was taken to obtain annulment of the Local Government Act by
memorialising the Home Secretary, albeit with the proviso that the town
streets be lighted by gas under the terms of the old watching &
Lighting Act, passed 30 years earlier. (59) A memorial was drawn up and
forwarded to the Secretary of State through the office of the local Member
of Parliament, Mr. Erskin Childers, requesting that the Act be annulled
and the township be permitted to enter into a Highway District. (60) The
manoeuvre was successfully undertaken and at a subsequent meeting of the
Select Vestry in March 1865, William Worfolk proposed that immediate steps
be taken to carry out the terms and conditions of the 1858 Local
Government Act by electing nine members as per resolution framed on the
16th February 1863, framed in accordance with the provisions of the Act,
and that John Carter, in his capacity as Chairman of the Committee, be
requested to call a public meeting or otherwise, to secure the election of
a Local Board within the township, Worfolk’s proposal was unanimously
adopted by all ten Committeemen present and at the subsequent public
meeting Childer’s communication was read out and approval given for the
appointment of a legal advisor to facilitate the establishment of a Local
Government Board. (61) In April 1877 the annual meeting of the ratepayers
elected William Worfolk as Waywarden to the newly constituted Highway
District by a substantial majority on a show of hands, thus taking the
first step in civic reconstruction by reorganising the traditional office
of Surveyor of the Highways. (62)
However,
it is clear from the ensuing delay that there was uncertainty concerning
the future form of local government and in January 1878 it was proposed by
Sydney Woolf at a meeting of the Select Vestry that a committee of five be
appointed to ascertain on what terms and conditions the Borough of
Pontefract would admit Knottingley as a constituent part of the
Municipality. The same representatives were, however, also deputed to make
similar enquiries regarding the cost of implementing the Local Government
Act of 1858. (63)
On
the last day of January 1878 the Select Vestry reconvened to receive the
report of the delegation which had met Cr. Philips, Mayor of Pontefract.
William Worfolk, supported by John Wild, proposed
"That
this meeting resolves to recommend to a Public Meeting of the Ratepayers
the adoption of a separate Borough or Corporation for the Township of
Knottingley."
An
amendment was proposed by John Senior, seconded by John Moody, that a
Local Government Board be adopted. A further amendment by George Greenhow,
seconded by William Bagley, proposed
"That
the Township be permitted to remain as it is, under the same
management."
which was
followed by a further amendment by Sydney Woolf, seconded by George
Greenhow, that the township apply to Pontefract Corporation to be annexed
as part of that Borough.
Of
the sixteen Vestrymen in attendance, the voting was as follows:-
|
FOR |
AGAINST |
| Woolf/Greenhow |
7 |
9 |
| Greenhow/Bagley |
2 |
13 |
| Senior/Moody |
8 |
7 |
| Worfolk/Wild |
7 |
8 |
The
voting pattern reveals the range of opinion between the Vestry members
concerning the best system of local government and the decision to adopt a
Local Government Board was only approved by the casting vote of the
Chairman, J.S. Bentley. (64)
Perhaps
inspired in part by the narrowness of the vote the combative William
Worfolk and his adherents used the following Select Vestry meeting to
propose the calling of a public meeting to resolve the issue. The meeting
convened in the Town Hall on the 15th February 1878 was presented with
three proposals. Worfolk, supported by E. Turner, recommended municipal
status. J. Beaumont, supported by J. Arnold, proposed adoption of a Local
Board and G. Greenhow, supported by S. Rhodes, urged the status quo. The
first proposal obtained 16 votes, the second 23 and the third 30, and the
vox populi therefore ensured that for a season the township retain the
system of governance by Select Vestry. (65)
Despite
the reluctance of the majority of Knottingley ratepayers to adopt a Local
Government Board the fact remained that the system of Select Vestry
administration was archaic and inefficient, particularly so when viewed
within the context of expansion of the township in terms of population and
physical development and civic improvements in general in the second half
of the nineteenth century. Problems concerning sanitation, drainage, water
supply and other aspects of public health and safety which demanded urgent
attention were incapable of being resolved by the oligarchic dilettantism
of the outmoded Select Vestry.
At
the root of the problem was not merely the inefficient method of rate
collection which resulted in an insufficiency of public funds to enable
the Select Vestry to embark upon desired and increasing necessary public
works, but the method whereby the rates were assessed. The principal
members of the Select Vestry were also the principal land and property
owners within the township but as the responsibility for payment of rates
fell upon the occupiers of property rather than the owners, the financial
contribution of those most able to pay by virtue of wealth and possession
was minimised. Not unnaturally, the leaders of the ongoing system of local
administration had a personal interest in maintaining the status quo but
even those of lesser means who were owners of small dwellings and rentable
property had a vested interest in avoiding any change to the method of
rate assessment and for that reason supported their social superiors.
Thus, when at a Town’s Meeting on the 28th March 1879, George Greenhow
proposed the adoption of the Poor Rate Assessment and Collection Act of
1869, which placed the responsibility for the payment of the parochial
rates upon owners rather than occupiers of properties of the value of £8
or less per annum, the resolution was defeated by a large majority of the
300 or more people present. (66)
For
more than a year, hopes had been held that a drainage scheme for the town
would be provided under the aegis of the Rural Sanitary Authority and to
facilitate this hope the said meeting unanimously accepted a resolution
that the maintenance of the town’s highways be transferred from the
Highway Board to the management of the Rural Sanitary Authority. (67) The
scheme was not implemented however, and in March 1881 it was proposed and
unanimously accepted by the assembled townsfolk, that the existing scheme
be suspended and a new scheme be devised for presentation to
the Local Government Department of the Home Office for approval. (68)
The
history of the drainage scheme is dealt with elsewhere in this study,
suffice to say here that no action was forthcoming during the following
decade despite the potentially hazardous effect on the townspeople of
insufficient sewerage and water supply which were the subject of
occasional public meetings and agitation. (69) The state of affairs
continued until at a Select Vestry meeting on the 19th January 1891,
William Bagley proposed that steps be taken to adopt a Local Authority
following soundings in several towns of similar sized population to
Knottingley’s. A deputation was therefore formed consisting of the
Vestry Chairman, J. S. Bentley, J.W. Bagley, Captain W. Johnson,
E.L. Poulson and the Clerk, to make the necessary enquiries and report back
to the next meeting. (70) As a result the Select Vestry decided to convene
a meeting of the Town’s Ratepayers convened to consider the advisability
or otherwise of constituting the township a Local District managed by a
Local Board in accordance with the provisions of the Public Health Act of
1875. At the same meeting the Select Vestry authorised the Clerk to reply
to a letter from the Town Clerk of Pontefract rejecting the Corporation’s
offer to constitute Knottingley as a department of the Borough Council.
(71) At a subsequent meeting on the 19th February 1891, it was agreed that
the Vestry Clerk, Mr. E.S. Atkinson, should continue as the Clerk of the
proposed Local Board which was to have nine members and that a public
meeting be called to decide the issue.
Under
the Chairmanship of William Bagley about 300 owners and ratepayers met the
following evening and unanimously decided to adopt the resolution to
establish a Local Board and the necessary steps were taken to achieve the
stated aim. (72) However, progress was frustratingly slow and at a Select
Vestry meeting held on the 18th December 1891, a motion was
proposed by Benjamin Atkinson, supported by William Worfolk,
"that
this meeting requests Mr. Bagley to write to the Clerk of the County
Council and to Mr. Chapman C [ounty] C[ouncillor] to urge the necessity of
proceeding with the order to constitute the Township of Knottingley a
Local Board District." (73)
The
Local Board which was established on the 11th March 1892 and consisted of
nine members had only a brief tenure for under the provisions of the Local
Government Act of 1894 the township was reconstituted as an Urban District
in and governed by Knottingley Urban District Council. (74)
The
establishment of the Urban District Council resulted in a degree of
conflict with the Select Vestry concerning the presumed authority of the
former to appoint parish officials and assume responsibility for their
parochial duties, hitherto the preserve of the Select Vestry.
On
the evening of the 20th February 1896, a public meeting attended by
approximately 60-70 citizens of the township, met to consider the issues
involved. The meeting was chaired by the Vicar of St. Botolph’s, Rev.
F.E. Egerton, and while conceding to the new council the right to hold and
manage parish property and to administer the public charities previously
managed by the Select Vestry, denied it the right to appoint and supervise
the duties of the Assistant Overseer. Objection was raised to the powers
and responsibilities of the Select Vestry being assumed by the K.U.D.C.
and an amendment which would have surrendered such powers was defeated by
18 votes to 32. Thus, the Select Vestry continued in existence alongside
the K.U.D.C., being a disputant party tot he authority of the former body
with regard to the Poor Law administration. (75) Maters came to a head the
following month when following the death of the Assistant Overseer and
Select Vestry Clerk, Mr. E.S. Atkinson, it became necessary to appoint a
successor to the post. While the power of appointment was nominally vested
in the Council that body deferred to the expressed desire of the local
ratepayers and applied to the Local Government Board to rescind the Order
of the 4th March conferring the right of the Council to be the sole
arbiter. (76) Consequently, Walter Swaine was elected to the post of
Assistant Overseer by the inhabitants of the town in Vestry assembled (77)
However, as the K.U.D.C. grew in size and authority during the following
decade meetings of the Select Vestry became increasingly infrequent
resulting in a renewed but abortive attempt by the Council to reclaim the
right of appointment and supervision, the power being exercised by the
inhabitants at the time of the last recorded minutes of the Select Vestry
in 1919. (78)
©2005 Dr. Terry Spencer
| INDEX |
INTRODUCTION
| CHAPTER ONE | CHAPTER
TWO | CHAPTER THREE | CHAPTER
FOUR |
| CHAPTER FIVE | CHAPTER
SIX | CHAPTER
SEVEN | CHAPTER
EIGHT | CHAPTER NINE
| CHAPTER TEN |
|
