LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Manorial Government
In the Middle Ages Curbridge inhabitants were
governed through Witney manor court. (fn. 1) At the biannual
view of frankpledge, sometimes called the tourn or court
leet and held at Hockday and Martinmas, Curbridge
paid tithing silver or cert money of 12s. 6d., (fn. 2) its share of
26s. 8d. originally levied on the tithing of 'Upland',
which comprised all three Witney townships. (fn. 3) A
tithingman and constable for Curbridge were appointed
each year at the Martinmas court. (fn. 4) The business of the
manor courts, which met some ten times a year in the
14th century, included criminal offences, breaches of the
assises of bread and of ale, regulation of the open fields,
and transfer of manorial holdings. The courts, which by
the 18th century were concerned almost exclusively with
appointment of officers and copyhold conveyances,
continued until abolished in 1926.
Parish Government and Parish Officers
Curbridge township contributed to Witney's church
rates and was represented in the parish vestry. By the
16th century the vestry appointed a churchwarden and
sidesman from Curbridge, and two highway surveyors. (fn. 5)
In the 17th century Curbridge had only one collector
(later called overseer) of the poor, but later two were
elected. (fn. 6) In 1714 a special rate was levied on the township, apparently after its failure to repair its highways,
and in 1732 and 1739 Curbridge was reported for
refusal or reluctance to pay poor and church rates. (fn. 7) The
township's roads were frequently reported in the 18th
century, and the surveyors occasionally satisfied the
county magistrates over their maintenance. (fn. 8)
Poor Relief
By 1775 and probably much earlier the township's
overseers accounted separately for Curbridge's poor. (fn. 9)
Between 1807 and 1814 there were three proposals to
unite with Witney and in 1814 Curbridge's representatives agreed to the abortive plan, whose failure was probably due to the high cost of poor relief in the hamlets. In
1816 and 1817 Curbridge contributed from its rates to
Witney's guardians, perhaps indicating shared use of the
town's poorhouse, and in 1817 there was a scheme,
possibly abortive, to manage the poor of Curbridge,
Ducklington, and Witney jointly. (fn. 10)
In 1733 two former Curbridge overseers were accused
of allowing an aged pauper to starve, but were discharged
by magistrates who were assured later that good care of
the poor was being taken. (fn. 11) In 1775 Curbridge spent £87
on poor relief and in 1783–5 an average of £142. (fn. 12) As elsewhere poor-relief costs rose sharply in the late 18th
century: by 1803 the expenditure of £507 (nearly 29s. by
head of population) was raised by an exceptionally high
rate of 15s. in the pound. In 1813, a bad year, expenditure
rose to 50s. a head, and by 1817 to over 51s. As elsewhere
in the parish expenditure fell in the 1820s, and was only
about £1 a head in 1824, rising by 1834 to over 30s. a head,
a total of £645. (fn. 13) There was no workhouse in Curbridge
and in 1803 there were 35 adults and 45 children on
permanent out-relief, with a further 36 occasional
recipients. In 1813–15 there were 20–30 permanent, and
a similar number of occasional, recipients. (fn. 14)
Local Government From 1834
In 1834 responsibility for Curbridge's poor passed to the
new Witney union; (fn. 15) the union workhouse, built within
Curbridge township, is discussed above. (fn. 16) The vestry
continued to appoint officers for the townships,
although it was noted in 1857 that churchwardens
represented the parish, not its townships. (fn. 17) At inclosure
in 1845 the highway surveyors were allotted three small
quarries to assist road repair, but a recreational allotment for the poor was vested not in township officers but
in the manorial lord, causing later misunderstandings. (fn. 18)
Under the Local Government Act of 1894 Curbridge
civil parish became part of the new Witney rural district,
residual local powers being vested in a parish council. In
1974 Curbridge became part of West Oxfordshire
district. (fn. 19)