LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
During the Middle
Ages the administration of the parish was shared
between the manors of Sunbury, Kempton, Charlton,
and Halliford. Sunbury manor claimed to have view
of frankpledge and the assize of bread and ale in
1293. (fn. 43) In 1704 the lord of this manor was said to
have 'leet and lawday' within the manor, (fn. 44) and courts
continued to be held until 1906. (fn. 45) This manor
claimed some kind of jurisdiction over the whole
parish in the 18th and 19th centuries. (fn. 46) In 1704 the
lord claimed the right to drive the common of
Ashford, Charlton, Feltham, Halliford, Kempton,
and Sunbury. (fn. 47)
Feltham seems to have been absorbed in Kempton
manor by 1229, (fn. 48) and in Edward III's reign the
Kempton view of frankpledge also covered La Hyde,
in Laleham, and at least part of Halliford. (fn. 49) There
were separate ale-tasters for Kempton, Feltham, and
La Hyde in the 14th century, (fn. 50) and common fines
were payable to the court for Kempton, Feltham,
Halliford, and Sunbury in 1604. (fn. 51) In 1375 the whole
homage chose three men from whom the lord
appointed the reeve. (fn. 52) In 1694 Kempton and Feltham
each had a reeve. (fn. 53) About 1680 the court baron and
leet was generally held around Michaelmas. (fn. 54)
During the later part of Henry VIII's reign Charlton
manor held views of frankpledge. (fn. 55) Courts baron
were held in the 19th century until 1889 but view
of frankpledge was held only once, in 1850. (fn. 56) The
manor of Halliford, which exercised view of frankpledge in Upper Halliford, is discussed elsewhere. (fn. 57)
In 1702 Kempton manor appointed its own constable, (fn. 58) but in 1725 a constable for the whole parish
was appointed at the Sunbury manor court. From
1734 to 1741 two constables were elected there each
year, one for Charlton and Halliford and the other
for Kempton and Sunbury. In 1844 Sunbury manor
still appointed two constables but in 1856 the constable was to be appointed by a magistrate. (fn. 59) By
this time the parish formed part of the Metropolitan
Police District. (fn. 60)
The surviving vestry records date from 1652. (fn. 61)
The number of vestry meetings held in a year
varied but the meetings were almost always held in
the vestry room with the vicar as chairman. The
number attending the meetings usually varied
between 5 and 15, and on special occasions it rose to
30, and in 1717 to 50. In the early 18th century those
attending included members of prominent local
families. Voting by proxy was allowed in 1859. At
the end of the 17th century the vicar seems to have
possessed a right of veto over the appointment of
parish officers. In 1693 one of the surveyors of the
highways was chosen for Kempton and Sunbury
and the other for Charlton and Halliford. About
1834 it was usual to serve two years as an overseer
of the poor and then one year as a churchwarden. (fn. 62)
A parish beadle is mentioned in 1796, and a beadle's
staff and bell are still preserved at the urban district
council offices.
In 1652 the parish spent £8 12s. 3d. on poor relief,
most of which was given in doles to a widow and an
illegitimate child. In the early 18th century relief
was given in clothes, cloth, and coals, (fn. 63) and in 1715
the herbage on the field tracks was reserved for the
poor people's cows. (fn. 64) In 1716 the 'parish house' on
the south side of the churchyard was in disrepair and
was pulled down. (fn. 65) A new one, incorporating materials from the old building, was erected within a year
on Sunbury Common near the windmill by Green
Street, on a site given by the lord of Sunbury manor.
It was used to accommodate poor families, and a
regular workhouse was built nearby about 1765. (fn. 66)
The cost of the building was met by selling the
stock of Turner's charity. (fn. 67) From the 1770's some
of the poor were provided with work, (fn. 68) and by 1792
their medical care was farmed for a lump sum. A
soup shop was started in 1800, which was at least
partly supported by voluntary subscriptions. Between 1813 and 1815 there were about 20 people in
the workhouse and 47 people outside receiving
regular relief. (fn. 69) The poor rates reached a maximum
of £1,500 in 1817. (fn. 70) In 1822 a select vestry of 15 was
set up and in the next seven years the poor rates
dropped by a third. (fn. 71) By 1833 there were only 16
people in the workhouse but there were 59 receiving
out-relief, the amount of which varied according to
their reputation for industry. Five of them were
labourers who were in work but had large families.
The workhouse was farmed at 4s. a head, though it
was reckoned to cost 5s. a head to maintain. No work
was provided for the inmates except gardening or
housework. (fn. 72) The parish became part of Staines
union in 1836 and the workhouse was sold in 1841. (fn. 73)
The Urban District of Sunbury.
Parted fesswise gold and silver, a fess vert between the chief two shepherds' crooks croosed saltriwise and in base two bars wauy, all azure; and on the fess a mitre between two Saxon Crowns, all gold.(Granted 1948).
By 1795 the parish had a fire engine for which a
keeper and assistant keeper were appointed. Before
1859 the beadle looked after it and from that year to
1879 the overseer was responsible. A volunteer
brigade was proposed in 1879, and had been formed
by 1895, when it was decided to hand the engine over
to the newly formed urban district council. The
vestry agreed to sell the old parish cage or round
house in 1859. In 1860 a cemetery was opened by
public subscription, (fn. 74) in 1873 a public meeting was
held to discuss the management of the greens, and in
1874 committees were appointed for telegraphic
communications and for
lighting. In or before
1879 part of the parish
was made a lighting district. Serious agitation
for better drainage began in 1890, and in 1892
the vestry decided to
press for urban status. (fn. 75)
A parochial committee
was formed in the same
year under the Public
Health Act, 1875. (fn. 76) At
a local inquiry which
was held in 1893 it was
said that middle-class
property in the parish
was depreciating because of the Staines rural
sanitary authority's apathy about drainage. The
rural sanitary authority
was not represented at the inquiry and there was no
opposition to the proposed urban district, which was
created in the following year. (fn. 77)
The council comprised 12 members until 1930,
when it was increased to 17 on the addition of
Shepperton and Littleton to the urban district. By
1957 it had been further increased to 20. (fn. 78) In 1931 all
the councillors were independents (fn. 79) and since the
Second World War the council has been predominantly Conservative. During the first few years the
council met twice monthly but recently it has met
thirteen times a year. (fn. 80) The first meeting, in January
1895, was held at the Institute. Thereafter the
council met at the Assembly Rooms in Thames
Street until it acquired the lease of Church Villa
later in 1895. (fn. 81) By 1930 the building was too small
and a temporary one was erected in the grounds. The
house known as Benwell, which now contains the
council offices, was purchased in 1932. Church Villa
was bought by the council after 1929 and has since
been used as a fire-station. (fn. 82) Since the Second
World War additional office buildings have been put
up in the grounds of Benwell. In 1895 one person
was appointed surveyor and inspector of nuisances, a
collector and medical officer were appointed, and
the vestry clerk was made clerk to the council. (fn. 83)
In 1957 there were five chief officers, including the
joint post of public health inspector and chief
housing officer, and there was an administrative
staff of 48. (fn. 84) The council's own expenditure within
the district rose from £7,152 in 1906-7 to £293,872
in 1956-7. In 1896 there were committees for
finance, highways and lighting, by-laws, fire brigade,
Church Green improvement, sanitary and general
purposes, and drainage. The last comprised the
whole council, (fn. 85) and a sewerage scheme absorbed
much attention at first. (fn. 86) A new cemetery was provided in 1900. (fn. 87) By 1957 the council had built 1,570
houses and flats, of which 996 were in the old parish. (fn. 88)