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Boundary
Stone Numbers Start: Old Town Hall |
Red = Borough Boundary - Green = Walking Route - Blue = Position of Boundary Stones |
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| Beating
the Bounds On Ascension Day the bounds of many Parishes are beaten by the 'clergy', choir-boys and parishioners, who go in procession around the whole Parish, carrying white wands with which they beat every boundary stone they pass. Once the ceremony was very necessary because many people could not read or write, they had to be taught once and for all where the boundary lines ran. As the procession came to each mark the lads were whipped, bumped or otherwise roughly treated to make them remember that particular mark. If it was a hedge, they were dragged through it; if a ditch, they were thrown in it. The last time the Bounds of the Borough of Harton were beaten was in approximately 1860. |
The Harton Town Trust is a registered charity first established in 1896 by the Charity Commission with the purpose of administering the ‘residue’ of the ancient Borough of Harton. This followed an act of Parliament which established the District and Parish Councils we know today. As Queen Victoria refused to allow Harton to remain as a Borough, we came under the care of Bideford Borough and our Parish Council. The Old Borough of Harton controlled the affairs of the Borough by a committee of twelve men, including a portreeve, constable, clerk and various other officials. They were answerable to the Lord of the Manor by way of the Bailiff who lived in what we now call the Manor House. He ensured that all dues were passed on to the Lord of the Manor and also dealt with matters that concerned the Borough at a county level. With the establishment of the Parish Council the ‘residue’, that is property and various responsibilities such as the market, fayres, water, etc. which were unable to be administered by the Council, came under the control of the Harton Town Trust. This has remained the case for over a hundred years, we now have a number of properties that are let and the residue of the income is often available to help local organisations with projects of benefit to the community. We hold in trust the records of the Borough right back to the early 1600s. |
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