Tuesday 4 December 2012

The Liberty of the Old Artillery Ground - More musings on its status.

This post continues the previous research into the current civic status of the Old Artillery Ground.

Did the London Government Act 1899 (62 & 63 Vict. c. 14) abolish the Old Artillery Ground Parish in toto?
Here is the text from the Act: It appears that the Parish remains in existence, as the perambulation of its bounds remains chargeable as an expense. See below.
The statute governing the Liberty of the Old Artillery Ground was a General Statute, not a Local act, and it was a comprehensive municipal act:
The Vestry of the Old Artillery Ground is listed as still being in existence in Parliamentary Debates of 1855 
This affirms that the Vestry was not abolished by the Whitechapel Union, and that the Union's Guardians only had power over matters relating to the Poor.
pg 704 ibid - Old Artillery Ground....self elected and for life"
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The defines vestries as those elected under the Metropolitan Management Act of 1855. Was the Old Artillery Ground such a Vestry?

The situation is also complicated by the Old Artillery Ground's being part of the Liberty of the Tower. The Liberty as such was not abolished, as is made clear from this section of the 1899 Local Government Act quoted below. The powers judicial and administrative powers were removed from the Tower, and the administration of the Tower as a 'parish' was moved to the Borough. However, note the 1899 act says "The Tower is (present tense) extra parochial, and is in no union. In other words, the Liberty of the Tower still exists, but its administration is carried out on its behalf by the Borough.

When the Mansell Street area was brought into the City, the 'parish' was split between two authorities, as part of the Liberty of the Tower now lies in the City of London, and part in Tower Hamlets. 

However, the Liberty of the Old Artillery Ground was part of the Liberty of the Tower, and was in a Union for Poor Law purposes . I suspect it was only in a Union insofar as this applied to it under its Local Act, and then only insofar as the Poor Law Act related to that part of its comprehensive Local Act, that dealt with a range of administrative matters, and not only poor law, and so as an administrative area, possibly it was not technically in true union, as it forms a part of the Liberty of the Tower. One could create a Venn Diagram, showing the various jurisdictions the Old Artillery Ground appears to have fallen under.

Almost all the functions of the Vestry were transferred to the local council under the 1899 Act, including the function of perambulating the boundaries - from which it appears Tower Hamlets Council would need to fund such perambulation, should it take place. The Tower of London still performs a triennial perambulation of the Liberty adjacent to the Tower.






The Local Council took over the job of the overseers of the Vestry: The question is, is every item listed in the Local Act covered by the list in the 1899 Act? The Parish per se was not abolished, as the perambulation of its boundaries remains on statute as we can see above, and thus clearly the Liberty of the Old Artillery still exists, although it is governed centrally, and not locally.

Well Close, another section of the Liberty, also held a triennial perambulation:
The traditional triennial Beating of the Bounds, on Ascension Day, continued until 1897 for the Liberty of Wellclose. The Lieutenant of the Tower came, accompanied by an escort of Tower warders, followed by officials and schoolboys wearing ribbons red, white and blue on their bosoms, and carrying willow wands. These boys were the sons of soldiers quartered at the Tower. Many parish churches, including St George's, also used to beat the bounds.

Perhaps Sandy's Row Synagogue could institute a Beating of the Bounds in the Old Artillery Ground? I think it is the last remaining place of worship in the parish.



 The question here is what happened with the Local Act for the Old Artillery? Was it repealed under this scheme?

(Question - is the Vestry Room in Sandy's Row so called, because it was the parochial vestry-room for the Old Artillery Ground at some point?  )
The original vestry of the Old Artillery Ground was self-elected, and for life. 

Petition to Parliament from "The Inhabitant Householders of the Old Artillery Ground"  1831

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