Civil parishes in England
The ancient parishes split into two distinct units during the 19th century. The Poor Law Amendment Act 1866 declared that all areas that levied a separate rate —extra-parochial areas, townships, and chapelries— become civil parishes as well. The parishes for church use continued unchanged as ecclesiastical parishes. The latter part of the 19th century saw most of the ancient irregularities inherited by the civil system cleaned up, with the majority of exclaves abolished.