February 2021

18 Buckden Roundabout February 2021 BUCKDEN BEFORE PARISH COUNCILS With admirably drawn standing orders, a popular chair- man, and an able clerk, the Buckden Parish Council should get through their business very smoothly, with, let us hope credit to themselves and to the benefit of the ratepayers generally This announcement appeared in the St Neots Advertiser on 9th February 1895. The first meeting of the new council had met on New Year ’ s Eve 1894 and after brief formalities had, very sen- sibly, adjourned to The Lion. How were the village affairs managed before this? In Buckden, as in all villages and towns in England and Wales the Parish council was a late arrival in the history of local government. Long before the Norman Conquest the Saxons had a hierarchy of shire, hundred and tithing (a group of ten households) for administration, military and judicial purposes. By 1066, local law and order was primarily maintained through a system of Frithborh or frankpledge. Under this each man in a tithing was re- sponsible to the king for the good behaviour of every other member. The Normans adopted a modified form of frankpledge when they introduced a manorial system of courts - baron which dispense civil justice and courts - leet, which were administrative bodies which also dealt with petty offences. With the decline of feudalism, the func- tions of these courts gradually passed to county magis- trates and parish vestries. A transcript of the Buckden Vestry book is held in the Huntingdonshire Archives. The vestries were not established by any act of parlia- ment, nor were their powers and composition defined by any law. They were usually chaired by the vicar or the local squire. That said by the end of the seventeenth cen- tury they and the magistrates had become the rulers of villages like Buckden. The population of Buckden then was probably only about 200 and would have been con- centrated in the present High Street, Church Street and Lucks Lane area. In common with most rural villages the magistrate was the local squire. The vestries were re- sponsible for the general wellbeing of the parish; they looked after the poor, the old and the sick; they main- tained the church and managed the village pound (this was an area put aside for stray cattle). They also waged a constant but often losing battle against foxes, sparrows and hedgehogs. In order to carry out these roles they nominated from among themselves the appropriate offi- cials. These included Overseers of the poor, surveyors of highways, church wardens, keepers of the pound, parish clerks and a constable. Many of those nominated actually paid others to complete their tasks because very often the post could result in considerable personal cost, even physical harm for the holder. From the early eighteenth century the village had its own fire appliance which was a necessity given the number of thatched roofs in the village. The story of the Buckden fire brigade is worthy of an article of its own sufficient to say that the village church/vestry purchased a fire appli- ance and building to house it next to the church. In common with most other villages the substantial rate- payers of the village met once a month to discuss parish matters. They met in the church vestry but probably more often in one of the village inns. Ale would be paid for out of the parish rates! The real government of the village was not parliament but the village vestry. It ’ s probably fair to say that the management of village affairs was generally well meaning but not terribly effi- cient. The Local Government Act 1894 changed all this. Thus, it was that on the cold, wet evening of Tuesday, 4th De- cember 1894, about 150 electors met in the Girls ’ School Room to elect Buckden ’ s first Parish Council. Twenty - five residents offered themselves for election to one of the thirteen places available. Voting was done by a show of hands. Much of the above is a copy of the relevant chapter in the book Buckden - A Huntingdonshire Village. Terry Hayward Village News Articles always wanted! Are you a budding writer? Buckden Roundabout is always looking for articles to be included in the magazine. • Maybe you have something interesting to share about the history, geography or nature of the village? • Do you run a local group, society or activity (that is essentially non - commercial) and are looking to either attract new members or raise the profile of the group? • Do you have a short - story, poem or fan fiction to share? Whatever the topic, send your articles to editor@buckdenroundabout.info for consideration.