These ceremonial events occur on what are sometimes called Gangdays; the custom of going a-ganging was kept before the Norman Conquest. During the event, a group of prominent citizens from the community, which can be an English church parish, New England town, or other civil division, will walk the geographic boundaries of their locality for the purpose of maintaining the memory of the precise location of these boundaries. While modern surveying techniques have rendered these ceremonial walks largely irrelevant, the practice often remains as an important local civic ceremony and in some cases remains a legal requirement for civic leaders.