1915–1916 Church of England border polls

1910s parish polls on England–Wales border April 2022 thumb|Llansilin Parish Church, the only parish to vote to join the Church in Wales thumb|Map of the Church of England parishes within Wales, as of 2026. Llansilin not shown. The Church of England border polls 1915–1916 were a series of referendums held in January and February 1915 (with second polls being held in two parishes in March 1916), for residents living in nineteen Church of England ecclesiasticalThe provision was relevant only to ecclesiastical parishes: any civil parishes which had straddled the border would have been divided, and made separate parishes, or one or both parts added to other parishes, as a result of orders made under section 36 of the Local Government Act 1894, which required parishes not to cross the boundaries of administrative counties or districts. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1894/73/pdfs/ukpga_18940073_en.pdf Local Government Act 1894 Legislation.gov.uk 2021-08-05 parishes, the boundaries of which crossed the England–Wales border. They were carried out to determine if the parish residents wished their parish to remain part of the Church of England or to become part of the Church in Wales when the Welsh Church Act 1914 took effect. (Its implementation was delayed because of the First World War and it did not take effect until 31 March 1920).http://www.legislation.gov.uk/en/ukpga/Geo5/9-10/65?timeline=true Welsh Church (Temporalities) Act 1919 Legislation.gov.uk 2021-06-02 The polls eventually resulted in all but one of the border parishes voting to remain with the Church of England. Background The Welsh Church Act 1914 was passed by parliament to disestablish the Church of England in Wales and Monmouthshire. Section 9 of the act provided for the Commissioners for Church Temporalities in Wales (commonly called "The Welsh Church Commissioners") to hold referendums in the nineteen areas defined as "border parishes", parishes whose ecclesiastical boundaries straddled the temporal boundary between England and Wales, to decide if the parish wanted to join the Church in Wales when it was disestablished or to remain part of the established Church of England. Section 9 of the Welsh Church Act required the Commissioners to ascertain "the general wishes of the parishioners" but did not specify how "parishioners" was to be defined.https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/4-5/91/section/7/enacted Welsh Church Act 1914 Legislation.gov.uk 2021-06-17 The Commissioners therefore interpreted the provision broadly. The Welsh Church Act provided that the Church in Wales parishes would no longer retain private endowments granted to them before 1662 (though this was later partlyWalker David David Grant Walker Disestablishment and Independence Walker David 1976 A History of the Church in Wales Penarth Church in Wales Publications 181 0-85326-0-11-7 compensated for by the Welsh Church (Temporalities) Act 1919).Thomas Glyn Watkin Thomas Glyn Watkin The Legal History of Wales University of Wales Press 2012 978-0708326404 Electorate The eligibility to vote in the ballots was extended to all men and women over 21 who lived in the respective parishes; non-resident ratepayers were also entitled to vote. The inclusion of all men and women over 21 extended the voting franchise beyond the limited franchise given to women by the Local Government Act 1894. It was one of the first examples of universal suffrage in the United Kingdom prior to the introduction of the Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928, which gave women the same voting rights as men in parliamentary elections. However, the extended franchise meant that there was no suitable register for the Commissioners to use, which exacerbated their difficulties in holding the elections. They also posted ballot papers to parishioners serving in the British Armed Forces. Turnout for the votes was high compared to other elections. Results The results of the referendums were given as a Written Answer in the House of Commons by the Home Secretary, Reginald McKenna.https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1915/mar/02/welsh-church-bill-balloting#S5CV0070P0_19150302_CWA_36 Welsh Church Bill (Balloting). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) 1915-03-02 2016-09-09 When reporting, the Commissioners took the view that, in spite of the difficulty in conducting the elections, in all the 17 parishes for which results were published there was a "marked preponderance of opinion" in favour of remaining part of the Church of England, so they needed to take no further action. The results of the ballots in Llansilin and Rhydycroesau were not published as they were deemed to be too close to call. A second referendum, using a more precise ballot, was therefore held in March 1916. Rhydycroesau voted to remain with the Church of England, and Llansilin was the only parish to vote in favour of joining the Church in Wales.http://cylchgronaucymru.llgc.org.uk/browse/viewpage/llgc-id:1164385/llgc-id:1164666/llgc-id:1164743/getText Journal of Welsh religious history – Vol. 3 1995 The records of the Welsh Church Commission held in the National Library of Wales : a brief guide National Library of Wales 2016-09-09 Roberts Nicholas 2011 The historical background to the Marriage (Wales) Act 2010 https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/21693/ Ecclesiastical Law Journal 13 1 39–56, fn 98 10.1017/S0956618X10000785 144909754 2 June 2021 subscription Because of the results, when disestablishment did happen in 1920, parishes and churches which were in a Welsh diocese were transferred to nearby Church of England dioceses for episcopal oversight. For example, Holy Trinity Church, Sarn in Wales was part of the Diocese of St Davids but as that became a diocese of the Church in Wales, it was transferred to the Church of England's Diocese of Hereford. https://www.achurchnearyou.com/sarn-holy-trinity/ Sarn: Holy Trinity, Sarn – Powys – Diocese of Hereford Church of England 2015-11-02 2016-09-09https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/22409/page/2867/data.pdf At the Court at Osborne House, Isle of Wight, the 1st day of August, 1860. 2867 The London Gazette 1860-08-03 2016-09-09 +Results of parish border polls held January/February 1915 Parish Ballotsissued Votes forChurch ofEngland Votes forChurch inWales Spoiltballots Alberbury 414 273 28 15 Brampton Bryan 211 168 23 8 Brilley with Michaelchurch-on-Arrow 244 192 27 5Churchstoke 596 390 70 31Dixton Newton 304 209 29 17 Dodleston 430 279 93 49 Great Wollaston 242 173 37 14 Hyssington with Snead 185 1083317 Kentchurch with Llangua"Llangua" misprinted "Langan" in Hansard. "nb" 213 107387 Lache-cum-Saltney 1,640 854 228 76 Llanymynech 526 315 13023 Lydham 10891611 Mainstone 143852028 Middleton 188156169Old Radnor5083449930Presteigne with Discoed 1,05959528952Sarn2821409621 +Results of second parish border polls held in March 1916The First Report of the Commissioners for Church Temporalities in Wales (1914–16) Cd 8166, p 5; Second Report of the Commissioners for Church Temporalities in Wales (1917–18) Cd 8472 viii 93, p 4. Parish Ballotsissued Votes forChurch ofEngland Votes forChurch inWales Spoiltballots Llansilin 565228 25566 Rhydycroesau 2049878 21 Notes Footnotes "nb" References Church of England border polls Church of England border polls Church of England border polls Church of England border polls Category:Church of England Category:Church in Wales Category:Referendums in England Category:Referendums in Wales Category:Border polls Category:Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom Category:Christian church elections