Most
parishes originally evolved from the area served by a local church, and were
(and still are, in many cases) synonymous with the village in which the church
was situated. Naturally, outlying dwellings and farms away from the
main village but within walking distance were most often included. Other parishes
were based on ancient manors and priories; as land was purchased, donated,
and appropriated, boundaries were adjusted. This sometimes lead to 'split'
parishes, with isolated portions surrounded by other parishes.
Parishes varied enormously in size, from a few thousand acres, to the area
covered by one convent. In some areas a single parish covers a great number
of separate settlements; 73 in the historic parish of St. Austell, for example.
Urban parishes in older towns tended to be small in area, with a number of
separate parishes within a single town - 4 in Truro, 2 in Redruth.
There are at least two extra-parochial areas in Cornwall - which, strictly
speaking, are not under the jurisdiction of any parish. (They are Mount St.
Michael and Tregarvethan Manor.)
Parishes also varied greatly in age. Although most mediæval parishes had been formed by 1200, many were already hundreds of years old by that time. During the great growth in population in the 19th and early 20th centuries many more were formed - in 1848, St. Austell was divided into 3, while Newlyn St. Peter was created, causing Newlyn East to change its traditional name. Researchers need to pay attention to where records may be held prior to the formation of those parishes, some of which were created out of areas taken from several parishes.
The concept of a civil parish was introduced in Tudor times, when they were given responsibility for upkeep of highways, caring for the poor and for the less serious aspects of law enforcement*. Where the ecclesiastical parish was reasonably small in population it normally corresponded with the civil one.
As mentioned above, parish boundaries showed abundant anomalies, detached parts being quite common. However, in 1894 a new Local Government Act revised the entire structure, dividing the rural areas of England and Wales into 14,000 parishes. In most respects the boundaries followed the old civil parish boundaries, with most of the anomalies and detached parts removed. Of course, two exceptions remain in Cornwall; Kenwyn has a portion in the parish of Kea, and a part of Madron is in Gulval. From 1894, the affairs of the parish were controlled by an elected parish council.
This is the one part of local government structure which survived the 1974 and 1997/8 reorganisations without significant change. In urban areas parishes remain, although the legislation bringing in the latest changes give residents the option of having civil parishes in their parts of urban areas if they choose to do so.
*Police forces, per se, were not well established until the 1830s-40s in most
of Cornwall.
