Editing Village (section)

===United Kingdom===
{{See also|List of the largest villages in England|List of towns and villages in the Scottish Highlands}}
A village in the UK is a compact settlement of houses, smaller in size than a town, and generally based on agriculture or, in some areas, mining (such as [[Ouston, County Durham]]), quarrying or sea fishing. They are very similar to those in Ireland.
[[File:Main street of the village of Castle Combe, Wiltshire, England.jpg|thumb|The main street of the village of [[Castle Combe]], [[Wiltshire]], England]]
The major factors in the type of settlement are: location of water sources, organization of agriculture and landholding, and likelihood of flooding. For example, in areas such as the [[Lincolnshire Wolds]], the villages are often found along the [[spring line]] halfway down the hillsides, and originate as [[spring line settlement]]s, with the original [[open field system]]s around the village. In northern [[Scotland]], most villages are planned to a [[grid plan|grid pattern]] located on or close to major roads, whereas in areas such as the [[Forest of Arden]], woodland clearances produced small hamlets around village greens.<ref>{{cite book|title=Village England: A Social History of the Countryside|first=Martin Trevor |last=Wild |publisher=I.B.Tauris |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-86064-939-4 |ref=Wild |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M7AmyuGr5Y8C|page=12}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Village and farmstead: A History of Rural Settlement in England|first=Christopher|last=Taylor|author-link=Christopher Taylor (archaeologist)|publisher=G. Philip |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-540-01082-0 |ref=Taylor|url=https://books.google.com/books?ei=NksHTpXqIo6t8QPE1ozADQ|page=192}}</ref> Because of the topography of the [[Clent Hills]] the north [[Worcestershire]] village of [[Clent]] is an example of a village with no centre but instead consists of series of hamlets scattered on and around the Hills.

[[File:Mini-roundabout, Kilmaurs - geograph.org.uk - 1715058.jpg|thumb|right|[[Kilmaurs]] in [[East Ayrshire]], Scotland]]

Some villages have disappeared (for example, [[deserted medieval village]]s), sometimes leaving behind a church or [[manor house]] and sometimes nothing but [[Earthworks (archaeology)|bumps in the fields]]. Some show archaeological evidence of settlement at three or four different layers, each distinct from the previous one. Clearances may have been to accommodate [[sheep]] or game estates, or [[enclosure]], or may have resulted from depopulation, such as after the [[Black Death]] or following a move of the inhabitants to more prosperous districts. Other villages have grown and merged and often form hubs within the general mass of suburbia—such as [[Hampstead, London]] and [[Didsbury]] in [[Manchester]]. Many villages are now predominantly [[dormitory]] locations and have suffered the loss of shops, churches and other facilities.

[[File:Finchingfield, Essex.jpg|thumb|[[Finchingfield]], [[Essex]] - a quintessential English village.]]For many British people, the village represents an [[ideal (ethics)|ideal]] of Great Britain. Seen as being far from the bustle of modern life, it is represented as quiet and harmonious, if a little inward-looking. This concept of an unspoilt [[Arcadia (utopia)|Arcadia]] is present in many popular representations of the village such as the radio serial ''[[The Archers]]'' or the [[best kept village]] competitions.<ref>{{cite book|title=OECD Rural Policy Reviews: England, United Kingdom 2011|author=OECD|publisher=OECD Publishing|year=2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bQCGWKfXJNMC|page=237|isbn=978-9264094420}}</ref>
[[File:Bisley, Gloucestershire, a village in the Cotswolds.jpg|thumb| [[Bisley, Gloucestershire]], a village in the Cotswolds]]
Many villages in [[South Yorkshire]], north [[Nottinghamshire]], north east [[Derbyshire]], [[County Durham]], [[South Wales]] and [[Northumberland]] are known as [[pit village]]s. These (such as [[Murton, County Durham]]) grew from [[hamlet (place)|hamlets]] when the sinking of a [[colliery]] in the early 20th century resulted in a rapid growth in their population and the colliery owners built new housing, shops, pubs and churches. Some pit villages outgrew nearby towns by area and population; for example, [[Rossington]] in [[South Yorkshire]] came to have over four times more people than the nearby town of [[Bawtry]]. Some pit villages grew to become [[town]]s; for example, [[Maltby, South Yorkshire|Maltby]] in South Yorkshire grew from 600 people in the 19th century<ref>{{cite book|title=The Parliamentary gazetteer of England and Wales|publisher=A. Fullarton & Co.|year=1851|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mxIQAAAAYAAJ|volume=3|page=344}}</ref> to over 17,000 in 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rotherham.gov.uk/download/553/maltby_ward|title=Maltby Ward|publisher=Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council|access-date=26 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321023001/http://www.rotherham.gov.uk/download/553/maltby_ward|archive-date=21 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Maltby was constructed under the auspices of the [[Maltby Main Colliery|Sheepbridge Coal and Iron Company]] and included ample open spaces and provision for gardens.<ref>{{cite book|title=The history of the Yorkshire miners, 1881–1918|first=Carolyn Louise|last=Baylies|publisher=Routledge|year=1993|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WEIOAAAAQAAJ|isbn=0415093597}}</ref>

In the UK, the main historical distinction between a [[hamlet (place)|hamlet]] and a village was that the latter had a [[church (building)|church]],<ref name="BBC" /> and so usually was the centre of worship for an [[ecclesiastical parish]]. However, some [[civil parishes in England|civil parishes]] may contain more than one village. The typical village had a pub or inn, shops, and a [[blacksmith]]. But many of these facilities are now gone, and many villages are dormitories for commuters. The population of such settlements ranges from a few hundred people to around five thousand. A village is distinguished from a town in that:
* A village should not have a regular agricultural [[market (place)|market]], although today such markets are uncommon even in settlements which clearly are towns.
* A village does not have a [[City and town halls|town hall]] nor a [[mayor]].
* If a village is the principal settlement of a [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]], then any administrative body that administers it at parish level should be called a [[Parish councils in England|parish council]] or [[parish meeting]], and not a [[town council]] or [[city council]]. However, some civil parishes have no functioning parish, town, or city council nor a functioning parish meeting. In Wales, where the equivalent of an English civil parish is called a [[Community (Wales)|Community]], the body that administers it is called a [[Community council|Community Council]]. However, larger councils may elect to call themselves town councils.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/geography/parishes.asp |title=National Statistics |publisher=Statistics.gov.uk |access-date=28 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100313040555/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/geography/parishes.asp |archive-date=13 March 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In Scotland, the equivalent is also a community council, however, despite being statutory bodies they have no executive powers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.porty.org.uk/council/index.php |title=Portobello Community Council |publisher=Porty.org.uk |access-date=28 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304050953/http://www.porty.org.uk/council/index.php |archive-date=4 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* There should be a clear [[green belt]] or open fields, as, for example, seen on aerial maps for [[Ouston, County Durham|Ouston]] surrounding its parish<ref>{{cite web|url=http://parishes.durham.gov.uk/ouston/Pages/wherewelive.aspx |title=Ouston Parish Council |publisher=durham.gov.uk}}</ref> borders. However this may not be applicable to urbanised villages: although these may not be considered to be villages, they are often widely referred to as being so; an example of this is [[Horsforth]] in [[Leeds]].