| Administrative history | Orders could be made by two or more Justices under the Acts of 1773 (13 George III cap. 78, ss. 19-22) and 1815 (55 George III cap. 68) for the diversion or stopping-up of highways or footpaths. The Orders are sometimes accompanied by certificate of completion and other documents such as the landowner's written consent, and after 1835 affidavits of parish surveyors. The procedure still continues under the provisions of the Highways Act of 1835 (5 & 6 William IV cap. 50, ss. 89-92). The bulk of the highways diversions in the North Riding are to be found in the Sessions bundles but these here do not appear to have ever been filed but left separate.
By an Act of 1794 (34 George III cap. 64) "for the more effectually repairing of such parts of highways as are to be repaired by two parishes" (where a parish boundary passed along the middle of a road), two Justices on the application of the parish surveyor might determine what lengths were to be repaired by each parish. These provisions were re-enacted by the Highways Act of 1835 (5 & 6 William IV cap. 50, s. 58). Only one order (relating to Thirsk and Sowerby) has been found so far, but there may be others filed in the bundles [reference: QSB]. |