As most readers will know, the term ‘parish’ is used in two ways in The Chimes. It denotes the area covered by a particular church, but it also applies to the most basic level of government administration in each of the counties of England.

Not surprisingly, there has always been some confusion about where the parishes begin and end, especially because our circulation is in the furthest south-east corner of the county, adjacent to Gloucestershire. Both parish and county boundaries follow the same convoluted pattern that we have always had in this country, as can be seen from the map on the left. The four parishes which we cover all have boundaries with the neighbouring county of Gloucestershire and they are all of a different size and shape, Upton Bishop being the largest in area, which borders the parishes of Kempley and Oxenhall (not shown). 

Linton Parish Council, as we have made clear in this issue, covers three separate areas – Bromsash, Linton itself and the northern part of Gorsley. The southern half  of Gorsley is not only covered by a separate parish council but is in a separate county! Aston Ingham extends into parts of Kilcot but the responsibilities of the parish council end at the county boundary. Some of us who live in this border area will know that perhaps neither county takes much responsibility for us!

The numbers on the map are given by Herefordshire Council for each of the parishes throughout the county, there being 137 in all. The numbering starts right in the north with Leintwardine and ends with our own Aston Ingham.

Although having small budgets and, some might say, a small degree of influence over regional or national matters, parish councils have an important role to play in a number of key areas which are often highlighted in these pages, notably planning, traffic issues, flood and drainage problems, fly-tipping and waste. They also employ what is known as a ‘lengthsman’ — a term which dates from the 1700s but which job is probably of much earlier origin. It is popular in Herefordshire with over 100 councils involved in an official scheme to keep roads and verges clean and tidy. You can find out more about this on the official Herefordshire website under ‘Parish Councils’.

All of our parish councils are always looking out for new members to join their ranks and share the responsibilities, although these are not burdensome. Parishes do have regular meetings for decision making and these are open to the public and noted in the pages of The Chimes where possible. If you are interested, the various clerks’ contact details are given in the relevant sections: you can always find out more and see whether you can make your contribution to the life of the community.