Page 3 - WS The Wokingham Charters

An undated typescript version of the 1885 Charter of Queen Victoria can be found in other
papers donated by Canon Long and now held by the Berkshire Record Office (Ref
WO/D1/3/34/7).

The 1884 Wokingham Charter of Queen Victoria remained in force until the introduction of
The Local Government Act of 1972. This Act provided for local government administration
to be assigned to counties and, within some counties, to new local authority districts. On 1
April 1974 many of the powers of the then Wokingham Borough Council were transferred to
Wokingham District Council, which itself was granted Borough status in 2007 after
submitting a petition to the Queen.

The town of Wokingham retained its parish council which, in recognition of its size and
history, was designated a Town Council, with a Mayor, Councillors and its Coat of Arms.
The Wokingham Society Executive Committee thanks the County Archivist, Mark Stevens,
and the staff of the Berkshire Record Office for their help in researching and producing this
pamphlet.

The picture on the front page is taken from the original copy of the James I Charter held in
the Berkshire Record Office, which holds the copyright and has granted permission for its
use.

Peter Must
Chairman
The Wokingham Society June 2017

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