Elected parish and town councils were first established by the Parish
Councils Act 1894. This Act removed all non-ecclesiastical functions
from church parish councils and passed them to newly-established local
elected bodies, which became known as ‘parish councils’.

The Local Government Act 1972 entirely restructured local government within
England and Wales, and it provides the legal foundation for the
existence of today’s parish and town councils. Large parts of the 1972
Act have now been superseded with regard to principal authorities, but
it still governs much of the workings of parish and town councils.

Foulden parish council is no exception. In its Declaration on Acceptance of Office
of Parish Councillor it lists – J. William Billman, Amos Nurse, James Purse,
William Dorman, Joseph Upton, Charles Pointer and John Upton whom all
signed on the 19 day of December 1894. There is also an entry in Kellys Directory
1883 that lists Charles Pointer as the Parish Clerk

To this day the the Parish councils aim is the same as ever, and that is to
provide the community with a voice and a structure to take
community action.