Introduction At the June 2018 meeting of Barrowden Parish Council, a resident suggested that the Parish Field (Field Gardens) may not be legally in the ownership of the Council. This paper traces the history of the ownership of the field from the Enclosure Award in 1882. This paper does not deal with the future leasing, renting or disposal of the land in question, purely how it came to be in the ownership of the Parish Council and its current status. Enclosure Award Below is a copy of the 1882 enclosure map from Leicester Record Office at Wigston which holds Rutland County records (Reference number DE1381) with the relevant field numbers. The Field Gardens is number 33. Held along with the map of Barrowden Parish are the written Awards describing each field, what it is made up of and its ownership. In the case of Field 33 the descriptions is a follows:- And I have also set out and do hereby set out and allot and award unto the Churchwardens and Overseers of the poor all that piece of land or parcel of land numbered 33 on the said map containing 20 acres to be held by them and their successors in trust as an allotment for Field Gardens for the poor inhabitants of the said Parish of Barrowden and I direct that the fences thereof against the road and against the allotment numbered 7 on
the said map shall from time to time be repaired and maintained at the expense of the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor of the said Parish for the time being. A copy of the original document is attached to this report. Local Government Act 1894 The above Act established the role of Parish Councils with the Barrowden Parish Council coming into effect in 1985. Part of this legislation was to pass the responsibility of non-ecclesiastical activities of the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor to the Parish Council as can be seen in Section 6 of the Act copied below
Barrowden Parish Council On reviewing the accounts of Barrowden Parish Council from 1895 through to 1926 it is clear that the Council accepted rent from and maintained the Field Gardens during that whole period as can be seen from the extracts from the accounts which are also now in the Records Office at Wigston. Receipts
Payments
1910 Land Value Maps and Records Within the book of the Duties on Land Values (catalogued in class DE 2072 by Income Tax parish) prepared by the Inspector of Taxes for each district valuation office, the relevant entry for the two fields is a shown Across two pages the basic details all land and property in each Income Tax parish, with one line for each of the red numbers on the maps. In the case of Field 160 the Owner and Occupier is shown as the Parish Council,
showing two parcels of land, the Recreation Ground and the Field Gardens comprising 20 acres and 6 acres respectively. The working copies of the maps have been deposited in the Records Office at Wigston, within a binder labelled 25 OS maps Inland Revenue Series, the Inland Revenue reference numbers of the Garden Fields and the Recreation Ground is numbered 160 Also in hand writing on the map it states L(andowner) Parish Council T(enants) Various L(and) Tax 15/9 Tithe nil Rent Allotments 6.17.6 Recreation 9.2.6 Current Ownership Barrowden Parish Council formerly registered the Field Gardens in their ownership in 2007. A copy of the Title Deeds and Map are attached to the end of this paper.
Conclusions It is evident from the above records that the Field Gardens, now called the Parish Field, has been in the ownership of the Parish Council since 1895 and records demonstrate that the Parish Council has during the intervening period provided the use of the land as and when required for the poor of the Parish (and the not so poor) to rent allotments as well as maintain the land and fences. With regard as to whether Field 33 should be in the Barrowden Village Greens and Recreation Ground Charity or even a Charity in its own right is a subject beyond this paper and would be worthy of advice from a Barrister as there is considerable and complex case law relating to this matter. For example, the Hughenden Parish case where an allotment holder took the Charity Commission to a tribunal and in a similar case Burstow Parish Council ended up in the Appeal Court over the interpretations of the various Acts including the 1908 Small Holdings and Allotments Act where the judgement runs to some 10 pages. I would advise that before the Parish Council wishes to either place the land into a Charity or otherwise lease or dispose of any of the Field Gardens land it takes Barrister s advice.
Title Number : LT395918 This title is dealt with by Land Registry, Leicester Office. The following extract contains information taken from the register of the above title number. A full copy of the register accompanies this document and you should read that in order to be sure that these brief details are complete. Neither this extract nor the full copy is an 'Official Copy' of the register. An official copy of the register is admissible in evidence in a court to the same extent as the original. A person is entitled to be indemnified by the registrar if he or she suffers loss by reason of a mistake in an official copy. This extract shows information current on 25 MAR 2016 at 09:43:33 and so does not take account of any application made after that time even if pending in the Land Registry when this extract was issued. REGISTER EXTRACT Title Number : LT395918 Address of Property : land on the north side of Wakerley Road, Barrowden Price Stated : Not Available Registered Owner(s) : BARROWDEN PARISH COUNCIL care of The Parish Clerk, Mrs Grace Wilkinson, 4 Redland Close, Barrowden, Oakham, Rutland LE15 8ES. Lender(s) : None 1 of 2
Title number LT395918 This is a copy of the register of the title number set out immediately below, showing the entries in the register on 25 MAR 2016 at 09:43:33. This copy does not take account of any application made after that time even if still pending in the Land Registry when this copy was issued. This copy is not an 'Official Copy' of the register. An official copy of the register is admissible in evidence in a court to the same extent as the original. A person is entitled to be indemnified by the registrar if he or she suffers loss by reason of a mistake in an official copy. If you want to obtain an official copy, the Land Registry web site explains how to do this. A: Property Register This register describes the land and estate comprised in the title. RUTLAND 1 (28.02.2007) The Freehold land shown edged with red on the plan of the above title filed at the Registry and being land on the north side of Wakerley Road, Barrowden. B: Proprietorship Register This register specifies the class of title and identifies the owner. It contains any entries that affect the right of disposal. Title absolute 1 (28.02.2007) PROPRIETOR: BARROWDEN PARISH COUNCIL care of The Parish Clerk, Mrs Grace Wilkinson, 4 Redland Close, Barrowden, Oakham, Rutland LE15 8ES. C: Charges Register This register contains any charges and other matters that affect the land. 1 (28.02.2007) The land is subject to the rights granted by a Conveyance of the land tinted blue on the title plan dated 19 December 1991 made between (1) The Parish Council of Barrowden and (2) British Gas plc. NOTE: Copy filed. 2 (28.02.2007) The land is subject to the rights granted by a Deed of Grant dated 19 December 1991 made between (1) The Parish Council of Barrowden and (2) British Gas plc. The said Deed also contains restrictive covenants by the grantor. NOTE: Copy filed. End of register 2 of 2
This is a copy of the title plan on 25 MAR 2016 at 09:43:34. This copy does not take account of any application made after that time even if still pending in the Land Registry when this copy was issued. This copy is not an 'Official Copy' of the title plan. An official copy of the title plan is admissible in evidence in a court to the same extent as the original. A person is entitled to be indemnified by the registrar if he or she suffers loss by reason of a mistake in an official copy. If you want to obtain an official copy, the Land Registry web site explains how to do this. The Land Registry endeavours to maintain high quality and scale accuracy of title plan images.the quality and accuracy of any print will depend on your printer, your computer and its print settings.this title plan shows the general position, not the exact line, of the boundaries. It may be subject to distortions in scale. Measurements scaled from this plan may not match measurements between the same points on the ground. This title is dealt with by Land Registry, Leicester Office.