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Parish Council Meetings

Meetings of the Council have to be held somewhere, preferably in a 'public' place. The first meeting was held in "the schoolroom". This would have been in the place now known as "The School House" in School Lane next to the current school building. The school was built in 1893 and the teaching was done in the room at the front of the building. It is interesting to note that exactly 100 years after the first meeting that a celebration Chairman's Evening was held in the main classroom of the current schoolroom. This marked the beginning of a year of celebration activities.

As opposed to the light and airy classroom of 1996 we should remember that the schoolroom was likely to have been painted in dark colours and lit by a few smoky oil lamps. It is unlikely that heating would have been generous and it should be easy to imagine what a meeting in the midst of winter would have been like. Men in suits and top coats around what heat there was discussing matters in the poor light.

Originally the Council paid the sum of 10/- for the use of the room for the whole of 1895. The school managers requested two guineas (£2/2/0) per annum in February 1896 but this was refused and it was not until 1899 that another entry indicates that any money was passed over and that was again only 10/-

Nothing further is noted until April 1915 when the sum of 7/- was paid for the hire.

The number of meetings per annum have been:


Year		Meetings	Notes
		
1895		7		1,2
1896		6		3
1897		3	
1898		5	
1899		6	
1900		10		4
1901		11		5,6,7
1902		3	
1903		7	
1904		4	
1905		5	
1906		4	
1907/8		5 each	
1909 - 11	4 each	
1912		6	
1913		4	
1914		6	
1915		5	
1916		3	
1917/18		2 each	
1919/20		3 each	
1921		2	
1922		4		9
1923		3	
1924/5		4 each	
1926		4	
1927		3	
1928 - 32	4 each	
1933/4		5	
1935		2		No annual meeting was recorded
1936		5	
1937		4	
1938/9		5 each	
1940 - 44	4 each	
1945 - 47	3 each	
1948		5		Included first in village hall
1949		7	
1950		5	
1951 - 52	7 each	
1953		6	
1954/5		4 each	
1956		7	
1957 - 64	5 each	
1965		6	
1967		8	
1968		7	
1969		6	
1970		7	
1971		6	
1972 - 74	7 each	
1975		10	
1976		8	
1977		3 		To 31st March

Notes

During the Second World War meetings continued to be held at regular intervals but little business other than the setting of the precept and payment of the electricity standing charge, clerks wages and audit stamp seemed to take place. Also the number of councillors at meetings were often as few as three and the attendance of others irregular.

On 27th April 1948 the first meeting of the Council in 53 years was held away from the school when meetings moved to the newly opened village hall.

The number of members on the Parish Council was increased to seven as from May 1955.


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Latest Revision: 31 December 2006