Public Services
These in the main have developed, in the
twentieth century in line with the rest of the country.
Water
Upton was supplied by its own wells until about 1880 when it was brought here by the Chester Waterworks Company.
The Village Pump is reputed to be well over two hundred years old. It supplied water to the villagers until about forty years ago when it was fenced off. During the early part of World War II it was decided to make the pump ready for use. It was found to be still in working order and the water from it was pure and wholesome.
Most farms had their own pumps, e.g. Upton Farm, which
supplied the people from the Smoke Street cottages with water. In Long Lane
there was a drinking water well, and on the site of the Congregational Church a
public watering pond which gave washing water for the Upton Heath cottages.
The Water Tower was built in 1933 in a field off Long Lane.
(90)
Sewerage
In 1890 a meeting was held in the village to
consider how to remove sewage from the property on Upton Heath, and it was
decided to make a drain from Flag Lane corner to "Damage field and across
Damage croft," so Upton paid for its own sewerage system which was
completed in the 90s. In 1925 a scavenging scheme was approved and a lorry was
purchased to carry it out. Since the early days of World War II salvage has
been and still is collected.
In 1937 litter baskets were provided, the Parish Council agreeing to pay I/-
per annum per basket for upkeep.
Lighting
We have no definite record of when gas was first used in Upton, but it was laid on at "Oakfield" and in the church in the early 1890s. Electricity, came to the village in 1923, but it was not until the 1930s that it replaced gas in the street -lamps.
Health Service
This is well up to the standard of the rest of Cheshire.
There is a County Midwife and a District Nurse in the area. A Child Welfare
Clinic was opened in Upton In October, 1944, and was held once a fortnight at
first. Nowadays it opens once a week with a doctor and health visitor in attendance.
In 1949 1,580 attended this clinic which has supplied a long-felt want in
Upton. Anyone living here can visit the ante- and post-natal clinic, the school
clinic and school dentist at the Hoole Welfare Centre and receive treatment
there.
Immunisation Any person can apply for this to his or her own doctor and
the County Council will pay for it.
Home Helps. These can be obtained on application to the Divisional Medical Officer. (91)
Law and Order
We are apt to-day to take our Police Force for granted and to assume that it has always been with us. In 1829 a Cheshire Constabulary Act was passed, authorising the appointment of Special High Constables of Hundreds and Assistant Petit (Petty) Constables of parishes of townships or groups of the same. Before this, law and order were preserved by (Honorary) High Constables and Parish Constables, both non-salaried but entitled to certain fees attaching to certain functions. Several districts carried on with the old Parish Constable system for many years after the above Act was passed, and this was the case in Upton. About 1929-30 Associations for the Apprehension and Prosecution of Felons were formed in various townships, due to the increase in crime resulting from the mobile labour employed in the building of canals and railways. Rewards were offered for the apprehension of criminals. We have been assured that there was very probably one of these associations in Upton, or in a neighbouring parish to which Upton would subscribe.
It was not until 1840 that the new system was
adopted in Upton. In the Overseer's accounts for the quarter ending Michaelmas,
1840, we read:- "Pd. the Police Constable 13/9d."
and again for - Midsummer 1841:- "Pd. Robert Turpin P.O. 18/10 1/2d."
This young man, Robert Turpin, was the first Police Constable
in the township of Upton, and as the salary of a P.C. was about £50 a year in
those days it is clear that he held his appointment from several townships or
parishes, and that the sum of 18/10 1/2d a quarter was Upton's share in this
salary.
By 1840 most parishes or groups of parishes had a paid
constable side-by-side with the Parish Constable whose functions diminished
until the only duty he had left was that of Coroner',s Officer, whose fee was
paid by the parish. After the County Police Act of 1856 there was a permanent
P.O. who had Upton under his charge and may or may not have lived here. The
first record we have come across of one living in Upton was in the Parish
Registers for 1880. In 1931 a P.C. lodged In Long Lane, and in (92) 1936 was
built the "Police Station" or county owned house for the resident
police constable.
Parish Council
We cannot conclude a history of Upton without
reference to the Upton Parish Council and we felt we could not do better than
to give a brief mention of its first and last general parish meetings.
The first parish meeting of Upton under the
Local Government Act of 1894 was held in the schoolroom for the purpose of
electing Parish Councillors on 4th December, 1894. There were fifty ratepayers present, eighteen of whom were
nominated, for twelve posts. On 31st December, 1894, was held the first meeting
of the Upton Parish Councillors.
In April, 1951, at the last general meeting of the Parish Council, a party of German visitors were present to study our local government "in action."