Prior to the creation of the Parish Councils in 1894, Burbage would have been run by the Vestry, so called because that was where the parish meetings were held. As time went by this ancient body assumed many of the functions of the old Manor Courts and controlled many of the secular activities in the parish such as appointing a Constable, levying Poor Rates and maintaining Highways. The surviving Vestry Minute books are not particularly good examples being only erratically maintained - however they could prove a good source of names for family historians. Although the vicar and the two churchwardens where members of the Vestry, its function was mainly secular and they would have been joined by a number of parish ratepayers.
The The acquisition of Hemp Wheels for the poor 1794
© Colin Younger 2001