Records of Wantage Improvement Commissioners and alleged borough

A Administration

Wantage was called a borough in the 18th century, but never had a royal charter awarding borough status, and its claim seems to have rested on the existence of the Governors of the Town Lands, a corporate body of 12 governors appointed under the terms of a 1597 Act of Parliament to control certain publicly owned lands (now the Wantage Town Lands Charity, for records of which see D/QW.) This body was concerned with education, poor relief and highway matters, but exercised no government over the town. The governance of the town before 1828 rested mainly in the chief constable, an official of the lord of the manor of Wantage.

In 1828 a body of Improvement Commissioners was appointed by the Act of 9 George IV c. 90, entitled 'An Act for lighting, watching, cleansing, paving, and otherwise improving the Town of Wantage'. They established a Town Watch and installed street lighting immediately, and took on responsibility for maintaining the highways and bridges. They then became responsible for the general management of the town's affairs. In 1868 the Improvement Commissioners purchased the manor of Wantage and gained control of the market thereby. Their powers were taken over by the Urban District Council (see UD/WT) when the latter was formed in 1894.

WT/AS1/1 was briefly held at Berkshire Record Office in 1950-1951, and catalogued as WA/ZC1, before being returned to the depositor. [WA/ is now used for Wallingford Borough records.] Together with the other records in the AS section, it was subsequently held at Oxfordshire History Centre before being transferred to BRO in 2015.