The first meeting of the Council was on 2 January 1895.   It was formed as a result of the Local Government Act of 1894 which made in incumbent on every parish with a population of 300 or more to have a parish council.   Penkridge's population was then about 2,380 (some 6,000 less than it is today).   A parish meeting held in the local school selected eleven (11) members for the new Council in December 1894.   The meeting considered 24 nominations, but six of the nominees withdrew.  Members of that first Council were:

Thomas Allen, John Page, the Rt. Rev. William Ticehurst Corfield, J C Tildesley, Joseph Harrison, W W Stubbs, G Nagington, G Brown, A B Cheadle, William Wood and P Davey.

Subsequently at the first meeting, the Rev. W T Corfield was elected chairman of the Council with Mr. J C Tildesley as Vice Chairman. The council elected as their first Clerk, Mr. William Pearson, the Assistant Overseer.  

It was the County Council's task to decide how many members should serve on each Parish Council and in Penkridge's case the number was eleven (11).   Ten members were to represent Penkridge with one member for the Gailey Ward.   As a result of a review of County Districts in 1933, a further member for Gailey was appointed bringing membership on the Council to twelve (12).   Today the Council has 15 members.

(To be continued)