Parish

The term ‘Parish’ was first adopted by Theordor of Tarsus who was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 677 to describe a Saxon township. He was bought up in Byzantium, the Greek part of the former Roman empire and he was appointed by the Pope to bring the English into line with the Catholic faith.

There was little to choose between the administration of the church and government in the early days because only the clergy could read and write. The ecclesiastical unit of the ‘parish became more important than the Saxon system of tithings and hundreds.

The Norman conquest made further changes to the administration of local government which was continued throughout the medieval era on a gradual basis  until the dissolution of the monasteries in Tudor times put great power in the hands of the parish.