At the start of the Victorian period,
some of the services which we receive today from Powys
County Council were administered by the Quarter
Sessions.
These were meetings held four
times a year to take care of such business as ordering
repairs to bridges and highways,
passing judgement on certain crimes and offences, and dealing with complaints
under the Poor Law.
This was the system under which relief from parish funds was given to
poor people of the county, and it was delivered through unions of parishes
- the Poor Law Unions.
See our pages on the communities of Powys to see how the poor were cared
for (or dealt with !) locally in Victorian
times.
County Councils took over the administrative
responsibilities of the Quarter Sessions in 1888,
and had further powers given to them at the end of Queen Victoria’s reign.
