Parish Meeting – 18th March 1897
Thursday, March 18th, 1897
Parish Meeting held in the Schoolroom, Great Longstone, for the purpose of nominating and electing Parish Councillors for the ensuing year.
Mr. Orr, Chairman of the Parish Council, presided at the opening, and having explained the object of the meeting, called for nomination papers.
When these were handed in, it was found that Mr. Orr was nominated. He therefore vacated the chair.
Mr. Stanton proposed and Mr. S. Johnson seconded that Mr. Richd. Coe be appointed Chairman. This was unanimously agreed to, and Mr. Coe took the chair.
The following persons were nominated:
| Person Nominated | Proposer | Seconder |
|---|---|---|
| Buzzard, C. H. | H. A. Stanton | C. R. Bell |
| Furniss, Peter Joseph | Jasper Johnson | W. B. Mellor |
| Johnson, Joseph | Thomas Furniss | Joseph Wood |
| Johnson, Samuel | Joseph Wood | Thomas Furniss |
| Orr, James | Jasper Johnson | Joseph Wood |
| Stanton, H. A. | James Nadin | Richd. Coe |
| Wood, Joseph | W. B. Mellor | Jasper Johnson |
The requisite time having elapsed, the Chairman read the names of the persons nominated and asked if any candidate wished to withdraw.
There being no withdrawals, the Chairman put the names to the meeting, Mr. J. Bennett acting as teller to count the votes.
The votes given to each candidate were as under:
C. H. Buzzard – 8 votes
P. J. Furniss – 9 votes
Joseph Johnson – 15 votes
Samuel Johnson – 14 votes
James Orr – 14 votes
H. A. Stanton – 14 votes
Joseph Wood – 9 votes
The Chairman then announced the following persons duly elected as Parish Councillors (subject to a poll being demanded), viz.:
Joseph Johnson
Samuel Johnson
James Orr
H. A. Stanton
P. J. Furniss
Joseph Wood
No poll was demanded.
James Orr
Chairman
March 31st, 1897
In the Wider World – Local Democracy Takes Root
By 1897, the system of parish councils established under the Local Government Act of 1894 was becoming well established across England. These annual parish meetings, where residents could nominate and vote for their councillors, represented a quiet but profound shift in local life — giving rural communities a formal voice in their own affairs for the first time.
The process of public nomination and election, as recorded here, shows how democratic practice had filtered down to even the smallest villages. Great Longstone’s meeting would have been one of thousands held that spring, part of a growing movement toward local accountability and civic participation in the late Victorian countryside.
