Palace of Westminster

Commonly known as the House of Parliament, the Palace of Westminster is located in central London along the Thames and hosts the House of Commons and House of Lords. The building first served as the residence for the Kings of England and was erected in the eleventh century but was destroyed by a fire in 1512. In 1834, another fire ravaged the structure, with only a few medieval structures surviving. Noted Victorian architect Charles Barry, famous for his Gothic Revival architecture, designed the reconstruction. The Elizabeth Tower housing the famous Big Ben bell is one of the most iconic aspects of Westminster.

See the associated timeline (below) for a history of British legislation tied to the Palace of Westminster.

Layers

Great Britain - OS One Inch, 1885-1900

Parent Map

Map to Accompany Road to Women's Suffrage Timeline

Map: ENGL 334 No Dead White Men

English 25002 Course Map

Coordinates

Latitude: 51.499479400000
Longitude: -0.124809200000

View on the COVE Master Map

Timeline of Events Associated with Palace of Westminster

Sunday Observance Act

May 1781

In 1781, passage of what is commonly known as the Sunday Observance Law. Discussion of the bill in the House of Commons started on May 3, 1781. Image: The Rt. Revd. Beilby Porteus, Bishop of London, printed by Fisher, Son & Co., London, 1833. Print of engraving by H. Meyer after J. Hoppner R. A.. This is a faithful photographic reproduction of an original two-dimensional work of art, and, so, is public domain, following U.S. case of Bridgeman v. Corel (1999).

Passage of this Act, formally titled “Act for Preventing Certain Abuses and Profanations on the Lord’s Day, Called Sunday,” had a powerful, repressive effect on British society and culture for more than a century-and-a-half, as noted by both its proponent (Bishop Beilby Porteus) and its many Victorian critics, among them John Stuart Mill in On Liberty.

Articles

Christopher Lane, "On the Victorian Afterlife of the 1781 Sunday Observance Act"

Inclosure Act

Jan 1801

In 1801, the Consolidation (Inclosure Act) was passed: Parliament thus formalized procedures for enclosing common land, removing previously existing rights of the people to carry out certain activities in these "common" lands. Exact month of passing unknown; if you have information about the correct date, please email felluga@purdue.edu with this information. Image: Detail from Peter Paul Rubens, A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning, c. 1636 (National Gallery, London), illustrating a pre-Enclosure landscape. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Carolyn Lesjak, "1750 to the Present: Acts of Enclosure and Their Afterlife" (forthcoming)

Ellen Rosenman, “On Enclosure Acts and the Commons”

Criminal Jurisdiction Act passed

22 Jun 1802

An amendment of the Colonial Governors Act (1700), the Criminal Jurisdiction Act holds colonial officials accountable to the Court of King’s Bench in England for crimes committed in the colonies. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″

Corn Law Act

2 Mar 1815

On 23 March 1815, parliament passed the Corn Law Act of 1815. Image: the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Corn Law Act of 1815 prohibited the importation of grain when the prices in the domestic market were high. The Act was repealed on 25 June 1846.

Articles

Ayse Çelikkol, "On the Repeal of the Corn Laws, 1846"

Richard Martin's Act

22 Jul 1822

On 22 July 1822, Richard Martin’s Act — or the “Act to prevent the cruel and improper treatment of Cattle” — becomes law in Parliament. Image: The Trial of Bill Burns. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

The painting depicts the Trial of Bill Burns, the first prosecution under the 1822 Martin's Act for cruelty to animals, after he was found beating his donkey. It is the first known prosecution for animal cruelty in the world. The prosecution was brought by Richard Martin, MP for Galway, also known as Humanity Dick, and the case became memorable because he brought the donkey into court. The painting was made at the time of the trial.

Articles

Ivan Kreilkamp, “The Ass Got a Verdict: Martin’s Act and the Founding of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 1822″

Susan Hamilton, “On the Cruelty to Animals Act, 15 August 1876″

Philip Howell, “June 1859/December 1860: The Dog Show and the Dogs’ Home”

Mario Ortiz-Robles, “Animal Acts: 1822, 1835, 1849, 1850, 1854, 1876, 1900″

Sacramental Test Act

9 May 1828

Sacramental Test Act passed on 9 May 1828. Image: John Jabez Edwin Mayall, Portrait of Lord John Russell. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Introduced by Lord John Russell and passed in 1828, the Sacramental Test Act repealed the Corporation Act of 1661 and the Test Act of 1673. Those Acts had required individuals who held municipal, civil, or military office to take communion in the Church of England and to declare that they did not believe in transubstantiation. Initially aimed at keeping Catholics out of public office, these Acts ended up restricting Protestants who were not Anglicans. However, in the century and a half following the passage of the Test and Corporation Acts, the growing social power of Dissenting religions in England gradually eased those strictures.

Articles

Elsie B. Michie, "On the Sacramental Test Act, the Catholic Relief Act, the Slavery Abolition Act, and the Factory Act"

Offenses Against the Person Act

27 Jun 1828

On 27 June 1828, the Act for Consolidating and Amending the Statutes in England, Relative to Offenses Against the Person received the royal assent. Part of Sir Robert Peel’s larger project for streamlining and consolidating the criminal law, the 1828 Offenses Against the Person Act overhauled the law concerning assaults against the person, establishing new, higher penalties for assault and granting to magistrates summary powers over common assaults. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Lisa Surridge, “On the Offenses Against the Person Act, 1828″

Roman Catholic Relief Act

1 Apr 1829

Roman Catholic Relief Act received the Royal Assent on 13 April 1829 (sometimes called the Catholic Emancipation Act). Image: the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Catholic Relief Act of 1829 allowed Catholics to become Members of Parliament and to hold public offices, but it also raised the property qualifications that allowed individuals in Ireland to vote. The passage of the Catholic Relief Act marked a shift in English political power from the House of Lords to the House of Commons. The Act was led by the Duke of Wellington and passed despite initially serious opposition from both the House of Lords and King George IV.

Articles

Elsie B. Michie, "On the Sacramental Test Act, the Catholic Relief Act, the Slavery Abolition Act, and the Factory Act"

Carolyn Vellenga Berman, “On the Reform Act of 1832″

Sean Grass, “On the Death of the Duke of Wellington, 14 September 1852″

Reform Act

Jun 1832

The Great Reform Act of 1832 was passed in June 1832 after long discussion, with King William IV giving the royal asses on 7 June 1832. This followed a failed attempt on September 1831 that was vetoed by the House of Lords. A second draft was passed after the King intervened. The Bill eliminated many rotten boroughs and created a new class of eligible voters, providing a model by which non-landowners might claim representation in Parliament. Image: First page of the Reform Act, from the British government's national archives. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Carolyn Vellenga Berman, “On the Reform Act of 1832″

Janice Carlisle, “On the Second Reform Act, 1867″

Pamela Gilbert, "On Cholera in Nineteenth-Century England"

Anatomy Act

Jul 1832

In response to the growing trade in corpses for anatomy schools, and in particular to the sensational murders of Burke and Hare to acquire such corpses, Parliament passed The Anatomy Act in July 1832, giving access to corpses that were unclaimed after death. Most of these were those who died in prison or workhouses, and whose families could not afford to claim or bury them. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Pamela Gilbert, "On Cholera in Nineteenth-Century England"

The Reform Act of 1832

Jul 1832

The Reform Act of 1832, or “Great Reform Act,” was an electoral reform bill that reshaped the way Members of the House of Commons were elected to office. Although Members of Parliament were technically elected prior to 1832, limitations on who could vote (only propertied men) and haphazardly drawn electoral district lines meant that a small number of aristocratic elites either held or controlled the majority of seats in both parliamentary houses. Bribery was rampant, and the lack of a secret ballot allowed campaigners to put pressure on voters. By 1830, massive public outcry against the “rotten” electoral system (combined with ruling-class fear of revolutionary uprising like the one that had just taken place in France) put enough pressure on the government to act. The Tory-dominated House of Lords held out until 1832, when, faced with riots in the streets of Bristol and other cities around the country, King William IV threatened to create new Whig members of the nobility by royal decree and add them to the House of Lords. The House of Lords caved and passed the Reform Act, which created new electoral districts to more accurately represent population, introduced voter registration to prevent fraud, and made all male householders living in homes worth at least 10 pounds per year eligible to vote. While the actual changes created by the Reform Act were moderate—even after the Act, only about 10 percent of the population could vote—the Act revealed the limits of the power of the House of Lords and laid the groundwork for a series of incremental reforms that defined the Victorian period.

Berman, Carolyn Vellenga. “On the Reform Act of 1832.” BRANCH: Britain, Representation and Nineteenth-Century History. Ed. Dino Franco Felluga. Extension of Romanticism and Victorianism on the Net. Web. 27 September 2020.

Irish Church Temporalities Act

14 Aug 1833

The Irish Church Temporalities Act received the Royal Assent (i.e. became law) on 14 August 1833. The Act reorganized the ecclesiastical structure of the Irish Church by suppressing ten of its twenty-two bishoprics and removing those parish clergy who had no parishioners.

Articles

Barbara Charlesworth Gelpi, "14 July 1833: John Keble’s Assize Sermon, National Apostasy"

Slavery Abolition Act

29 Aug 1833

The Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 received the Royal Assent (which means it became law) on 29 August 1833. The Act outlawed slavery throughout the British Empire; Britain’s colonial slaves were officially emancipated on 1 August 1834 when the law came into force, although most entered a form of obligatory apprenticeship that ended in 1840. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Image: the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Elsie B. Michie, "On the Sacramental Test Act, the Catholic Relief Act, the Slavery Abolition Act, and the Factory Act"

Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″

Factory Act

29 Aug 1833

Act to Regulate the Labour of Children and Young Persons in the Mills and Factories of the United Kingdom passed on 29 August 1833. Image: the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Elsie B. Michie, "On the Sacramental Test Act, the Catholic Relief Act, the Slavery Abolition Act, and the Factory Act"

Peter Capuano, “On Sir Charles Bell’s The Hand, 1833″

Lord Lyndhurst's Act

31 Aug 1835

Lord Lyndhurst's Act passed on 31 Aug 1835. Image: Joseph Brown, engraver; after a painting by F. Roffe, Portrait of John Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst (1859). This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

This Act validated all marriages voidable under the canon law’s prohibited degrees of relation (for instance, uncles forbidden to marry nieces) performed before 31 August 1835, and absolutely invalidated any performed after that date. Parliament's passage of this Act was the beginning of a protracted and heated debate over whether there should be an exception that allowed the marriage of a man to his deceased wife's sister. The controversy ended more than 70 years later with the passage of the Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act in 1907.

Articles

Anne Wallace, “On the Deceased Wife’s Sister Controversy, 1835-1907″

Newspaper Act

1 Aug 1836

On 13 August 1836, the Newspaper Act was passed, an Act to Consolidate and Amend the Laws relating to the Conveyance of Newspapers by the Post. The bill reduced the stamp duty on newspapers to 1d, thus allowing the channels for communication to increase dramatically. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Elaine Hadley, “On Opinion Politics and the Ballot Act of 1872″

Act on Custody of Infants

17 Aug 1839

On 17 August 1839, passage of an Act to Amend the Law Relating to the Custody of Infants. The Act allowed a separated wife to petition the court for custody of her children under the age of seven. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Rachel Ablow, “‘One Flesh,’ One Person, and the 1870 Married Women’s Property Act”

Kelly Hager, “Chipping Away at Coverture: The Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857″

Jill Rappoport, “Wives and Sons: Coverture, Primogeniture, and Married Women’s Property”

Gothic Revival: House of Parliament

1840 to 1860

In 1840 England's Houses of Parliament began construction under the design direction of Sir Charles Barry. These buildings hearkened back to the grand nature of the medieval era of architecture that featured artistic imprints on many parts of the structures. "As in many of the early Gothic Revival buildings, the Gothic was used here for its picturesque and romantic qualities without regard for its structural possibilities or original function" (Brittanica). Also known as Palace of Westminster, the Houses of Parliament were not completed until 1860. Image: Picasa 2.7. Palace of Westminster. Londontopia. londontopia.net/wp-content/upl…

Articles

www.britannica.com/art/Gothic-…

www.britannica.com/topic/House…

Petition on Post Office spying

14 Jun 1844

On 14 June 1844, a petition was presented to the House of Commons concerning secret Post Office spying on the contents of the letters of Joseph Mazzini and three associates. Image: Photograph of Giuseppe Mazzini, 1 January 1860 (author unknown). This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Marjorie Stone, “On the Post Office Espionage Scandal, 1844″

Kate Lawson, “Personal Privacy, Letter Mail, and the Post Office Espionage Scandal, 1844″

House of Commons investigates Post Office spying

2 Jul 1844

On 2 July 1844, evidence was presented to the House of Commons for collusion between British and Austrian authorities in the rendition of information from Mazzini’s letters. Image: Photograph of Giuseppe Mazzini, 1 January 1860 (author unknown). This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

“On the Post Office Espionage Scandal, 1844″

Kate Lawson, “Personal Privacy, Letter Mail, and the Post Office Espionage Scandal, 1844″

Museums of Art Act

21 Jul 1845

On 21 July 1845, the Museums of Art Act received Royal Assent. This Act encouraged the establishment of museums of art or science by granting towns with over 10,000 inhabitants the right to buy land and erect buildings, to be supported with an increase in rates (property taxes) of no more than ½ penny to the pound; such lands, buildings, and collections were to be owned and managed by the Council. Town Councils could fix admission charges not to exceed one penny per person, to be used for museum employees’ salaries and museum maintenance. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Amy Woodson-Boulton, “The City Art Museum Movement and the Social Role of Art”

Protection of Works of Art Act

21 Jul 1845

On 21 July 1845, the Protection of Works of Art Act received Royal Assent. This Act established punishment for attacks on works of art and science exhibited in both public and private settings. It set a maximum sentence of 6 months, reserving the option of hard labor for men and 1, 2, or 3 private whippings at the discretion of the sentencing Court. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Amy Woodson-Boulton, “The City Art Museum Movement and the Social Role of Art”

Repeal of Corn Laws

25 Jun 1846

The repeal of the Corn Laws on 25 June 1846. Reversing decades of protectionism, the repeal of the Corn Laws lifted restrictions on the importation of foreign grain. Image: the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Ayse Çelikkol, "On the Repeal of the Corn Laws, 1846"

Peter Melville Logan, “On Culture: Matthew Arnold’s Culture and Anarchy, 1869″

Robert O’Kell, “On Young England”

Public Health Act

31 Aug 1848

Spurred by the 1848 cholera epidemic and Edwin Chadwick’s report on The Sanitary Conditions of the Labouring Population, a Central Board of Health was established that provided for taxation to enforce sanitary reform and the creation of local Boards of Health. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Pamela Gilbert, "On Cholera in Nineteenth-Century England"

Barbara Leckie, “‘The Bitter Cry of Outcast London’ (1883): Print Exposé and Print Reprise”

Public Libraries Act

14 Aug 1850

On 14 Aug 1850, the Public Libraries Act received Royal Assent. This Act repealed the 1845 Museums of Art Act, making the adoption of the Act a matter of city-wide rather than just council vote, and adding libraries to the provision; still put maximum new levy at ½ penny per pound of taxable property, but disallowed admission charges. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Amy Woodson-Boulton, “The City Art Museum Movement and the Social Role of Art”

Corrupt Practices Act

10 Aug 1854

On 10 August 1854, the Corrupt Practices Act of 1854 was passed, an Act to Consolidate and Amend the Laws Relating to Bribery, Treating and Undue Influence At Elections of Members of Parliament. The bill introduced small fines for bribery, cheating and the use of undue influence and voter intimidation. Candidates had to itemize expenses that were then reviewed by an auditor. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Elaine Hadley, “On Opinion Politics and the Ballot Act of 1872″

Stamp Act

15 Jun 1855

On 15 June 1855, the Stamp Act was passed, an act to amend the laws relating to the stamp duties on newspapers, and to provide for the transmission by post of printed periodical publications. The act abolished the stamp duty on newspapers, thus reducing the cost of such publications (for instance, the Manchester Guardian's price went from 7d. to 2d.) and facilitating the mass dissemination of the new medium of communication. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Elaine Hadley, “On Opinion Politics and the Ballot Act of 1872″

Claudia Nelson, “Mass Media Meets Children’s Literature, 1899: E. Nesbit’s The Story of the Treasure Seekers”

Public Libraries Act

30 Jul 1855

On 30 July 1855, the Public Libraries Act received Royal Assent. This Act repealed the 1850 Act, expanding it to include towns, improvement districts, and parishes (or two parishes with combined population) of 5,000 or more. Town councils or a minimum of ten ratepayers could now request adoption of Act, which required a two-thirds vote of a meeting of ratepayers called by the Mayor, by the Improvement Board, or by the Parish Overseers of the Poor. (The Act specified how to call this meeting, but does not give a quorum.) This Act also doubled the library and museum rate to 1 penny in the pound, all libraries and museums created under Act to be free of charge; the law specifies detailed requirements for oversight of libraries, museums, and/or schools of art or science. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Amy Woodson-Boulton, “The City Art Museum Movement and the Social Role of Art”

Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857

28 Aug 1857

On 28 August 1857, passage of the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857. The Act legalized divorce and protected a divorced woman’s property and future earnings. The grounds for divorce for men was adultery (in legal terms, criminal conversation), for women adultery combined with bigamy, incest, bestiality, sodomy, desertion, cruelty, or rape. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Kelly Hager, “Chipping Away at Coverture: The Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857″

Rachel Ablow, “‘One Flesh,’ One Person, and the 1870 Married Women’s Property Act”

Lorraine Janzen Kooistra, “The Moxon Tennyson as Textual Event: 1857, Wood Engraving, and Visual Culture”

Jill Rappoport, “Wives and Sons: Coverture, Primogeniture, and Married Women’s Property”

Suspension of the Bank Charter Act of 1844

12 Nov 1857

On 12 November 1857, Palmerston, the current British Prime Minister, signed the Bill of Indemnity that suspended the Bank Charter Act for the second time in ten years. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Lynn Shakinovsky, “The 1857 Financial Crisis and the Suspension of the 1844 Bank Act”

Second Reform Act

15 Aug 1867

On 15 August 1867, the Representation of the People Act, 1867 (also known as the Second Reform Act), received the royal assent. This act increased the electorate of England and Wales to approximately one man in three, theoretically including substantial numbers of working-class men. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Janice Carlisle, "On the Second Reform Act, 1867"

Carolyn Vellenga Berman, “On the Reform Act of 1832″

Elaine Hadley, “On Opinion Politics and the Ballot Act of 1872″

Herbert F. Tucker, "On Event"

Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″

Poor Rate Assessment and Collection Act

26 Jul 1869

On 26 July 1869, the Poor Rate Assessment and Collection Act, 1869, received the royal assent. This act reinstated compounding, the collection of tenants’ poor rates along with their rent, a practice that had been eliminated by the passage of the Second Reform Act Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Janice Carlisle, "On the Second Reform Act, 1867"

Elementary Education Act

Feb 1870

In February 1870, passage of the Elementary Education Act Parliament provides for universal, nonsectarian education of British children at public expense and with public oversight. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Herbert F. Tucker, "On Event"

Education Act of 1870

9 Aug 1870

On 9 August 1870, the Education Act of 1870 (England), written by William Edward Forster, received the royal assent. The Act established local education boards empowered (but not required) to levy taxes to support the education of children ages 5-13 in “Board Schools,” for which fees could also be charged. It also permitted local boards to fund existing and future religious schools. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Florence S. Boos, “The Education Act of 1870: Before and After”

Herbert F. Tucker, “In the Event of a Second Reform”

1870 Married Women's Property Act

9 Aug 1870

On 9 August 1870, the Married Women’s Property Act was passed. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

This Act established limited protections for some separate property for married women, including the right to retain up to £200 of any earning or inheritance. Before this all of a woman's property owned before her marriage, as well as all acquired after the marriage, automatically became her husband's alone. Only women whose families negotiated different terms in a marriage contract were able to retain control of some portion of their property.

Articles

Rachel Ablow, "On the Married Woman's Property Act, 1870"

Kelly Hager, “Chipping Away at Coverture: The Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857″

Jill Rappoport, “Wives and Sons: Coverture, Primogeniture, and Married Women’s Property”

Anne Wallace, “On the Deceased Wife’s Sister Controversy, 1835-1907″

Ballot Act

18 Jul 1872

On 18 July 1872, the Ballot Act, an Act to Amend the Law relating to Procedure at Parliamentary and Municipal Elections, was passed. The bill introduced secret voting and increased the number of polling stations. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Elaine Hadley, “On Opinion Politics and the Ballot Act of 1872″

Carolyn Vellenga Berman, “On the Reform Act of 1832″

Janice Carlisle, “On the Second Reform Act, 1867″

Royal Titles Bill

27 Apr 1876

On 27 April 1876, parliament passed the Royal Titles Bill. The Royal Titles Act was "An Act to enable Her most Gracious Majesty to make an addition to the Royal Style and Titles appertaining to the Imperial Crown of the United Kingdom and its Dependencies." There was considerable resistance in Parliament and in the press, since the title emperor/empress was deemed un-English and associated with Britain's competitors Russia and Germany (Wilhelm I was elevated to Emperor on 18 January 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War, which may have provoked Victoria to want this title, too). Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Julie Codell, “On the Delhi Coronation Durbars, 1877, 1903, 1911″

Cruelty to Animals Act

15 Aug 1876

On 15 August 1876, the Cruelty to Animals Act received Royal Assent. The Cruelty to Animals Act (15 August 1876) was the world’s first legislation to regulate the use and treatment of live animals in scientific research. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Susan Hamilton, “On the Cruelty to Animals Act, 15 August 1876″

Philip Howell, “June 1859/December 1860: The Dog Show and the Dogs’ Home”

Ivan Kreilkamp, “The Ass Got a Verdict: Martin’s Act and the Founding of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 1822″

Mario Ortiz-Robles, “Animal Acts: 1822, 1835, 1849, 1850, 1854, 1876, 1900″

1882 Married Women's Property Act

1 Jan 1883

1882 Married Women's Property Act passed on 1 Jan 1883. Referred to as the 1882 MWPA, the Act came into effect at the beginning of 1883. Although still identifying some married women's property as "separate," this Act significantly increased the scope and protections for married women's acquisition and retention of property separate from their husbands. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Jill Rappoport, “Wives and Sons: Coverture, Primogeniture, and Married Women’s Property”

Anne Wallace, “On the Deceased Wife’s Sister Controversy, 1835-1907″

Rachel Ablow, “‘One Flesh,’ One Person, and the 1870 Married Women’s Property Act”

Corrupt Practices Act

15 Oct 1883

On 15 October 1883, the Corrupt Practices Act of 1883 was passed, or, to be more precise, the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act. The bill increased the penalties of the 1854 Corrupt Practices Act, and determined spending limits for candidates of parliamentary elections. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Elaine Hadley, “On Opinion Politics and the Ballot Act of 1872″

Franchise Act

Jan 1885

The Representation of the People (Franchise Act) came into effect January 1885. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Criminal Law Amendment Act

14 Aug 1885

Criminal Law Amendment Act passed on 14 August 1885. The Act raised the age of consent for girls from 13 to 16 and introduced the misdemeanor of “gross indecency” to criminalize sexual acts between men in public or private. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Mary Jean Corbett, “On Crawford v. Crawford and Dilke, 1886″

Andrew Elfenbein, “On the Trials of Oscar Wilde: Myths and Realities”

Western Australian Constitution Act

25 Jul 1890

On 25 July 1890, the British parliament passed the Western Australian Constitution Act, 1889 (52 Vict. No. 23), including Section 70 which attempted to protect and support the welfare of Aboriginal people. Image: Coat of Arms of Australia. This image is in the public domain in the United States as its copyright has expired.

Articles

Ann Curthoys, “Settler Self-Government versus Aboriginal Rights, 1883 – 2001: The Shocking History of Section 70 of the Western Australian Constitution”

Aborigines Act 1897 of Western Australia

11 Dec 1897

11 December 1897 saw the Royal assent to the Aborigines Act 1897 of Western Australia (61 /Vict. No. 5), in which the provisions of Section 70 of the Western Australian Constitution Act were repealed. Section 70 had sought to protect and support the welfare of Aboriginal people. Image: Coat of Arms of Australia. This image is in the public domain in the United States as its copyright has expired.

Articles

Ann Curthoys, “Settler Self-Government versus Aboriginal Rights, 1883 – 2001: The Shocking History of Section 70 of the Western Australian Constitution”

(Balfour) Education Act

Dec 1902

In December 1902, the (Balfour) Education Act extended the power of centralized local boards to permit (but not require) them to establish secondary schools. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Florence S. Boos, “The Education Act of 1870: Before and After”

Aborigines Act 1905

4 Apr 1906

4 April 1906 saw the royal assent to the Aborigines Act 1905 (5 Edw. VII No. 14), in which Section 70 (which sought to protect and support the welfare of Aboriginal people) was repealed for a second time. Image: Coat of Arms of Australia. This image is in the public domain in the United States as its copyright has expired.

Articles

Ann Curthoys, “Settler Self-Government versus Aboriginal Rights, 1883 – 2001: The Shocking History of Section 70 of the Western Australian Constitution”

Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act

28 Aug 1907

Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act passed on 28 Aug 1907. Although there are minor clauses and clarifications, the Act's opening and primary clause is simply this: "[n]o marriage heretofore or hereafter contracted between a man and his deceased wife’s sister, within the realm or without, shall be deemed to have been or shall be void or voidable, as a civil contract, by reason only of such affinity." Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

Anne Wallace, “On the Deceased Wife’s Sister Controversy, 1835-1907″

Sunday Observance Act

Inclosure Act

Criminal Jurisdiction Act passed

Corn Law Act

Richard Martin's Act

Sacramental Test Act

Offenses Against the Person Act

Roman Catholic Relief Act

Reform Act

Anatomy Act

The Reform Act of 1832

Irish Church Temporalities Act

Slavery Abolition Act

Factory Act

Lord Lyndhurst's Act

Newspaper Act

Act on Custody of Infants

Gothic Revival: House of Parliament

Petition on Post Office spying

House of Commons investigates Post Office spying

Museums of Art Act

Protection of Works of Art Act

Repeal of Corn Laws

Public Health Act

Public Libraries Act

Corrupt Practices Act

Stamp Act

Public Libraries Act

Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857

Suspension of the Bank Charter Act of 1844

Second Reform Act

Poor Rate Assessment and Collection Act

Elementary Education Act

Education Act of 1870

1870 Married Women's Property Act

Ballot Act

Royal Titles Bill

Cruelty to Animals Act

1882 Married Women's Property Act

Corrupt Practices Act

Franchise Act

Criminal Law Amendment Act

Western Australian Constitution Act

Aborigines Act 1897 of Western Australia

(Balfour) Education Act

Aborigines Act 1905

Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act

1460

1470

1480

1490

1500

1510

1520

1530

1540

1550

1560

1570

1580

1590

1600

1610

1620

1630

1640

1650

1660

1670

1680

1690

1700

1710

1720

1730

1740

1750

1760

1770

1780

1790

1800

1810

1820

1830

1840

1850

1860

1870

1880

1890

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2020

2030

2040

2050

2060

2070

2080

2090

2100

2110

2120

2130

2140

2150

2160

2170

2180

2190

2200

2210

1749

1751

1752

1753

1754

1755

1756

1757

1758

1759

1761

1762

1763

1764

1765

1766

1767

1768

1769

1771

1772

1773

1774

1775

1776

1777

1778

1779

1781

1782

1783

1784

1785

1786

1787

1788

1789

1791

1792

1793

1794

1795

1796

1797

1798

1799

1801

1802

1803

1804

1805

1806

1807

1808

1809

1811

1812

1813

1814

1815

1816

1817

1818

1819

1821

1822

1823

1824

1825

1826

1827

1828

1829

1831

1832

1833

1834

1835

1836

1837

1838

1839

1841

1842

1843

1844

1845

1846

1847

1848

1849

1851

1852

1853

1854

1855

1856

1857

1858

1859

1861

1862

1863

1864

1865

1866

1867

1868

1869

1871

1872

1873

1874

1875

1876

1877

1878

1879

1881

1882

1883

1884

1885

1886

1887

1888

1889

1891

1892

1893

1894

1895

1896

1897

1898

1899

1901

1902

1903

1904

1905

1906

1907

1908

1909

1911

1912

1913

1914

1915

1916

1917

1918

1919

1921

1922

1923

1924

1925

1926

1927

1928

1929

1931

1932

1933

1934

1935

1936

1937

1938

TimelineJS

Date	Event			Manage
	Houses of Parliament
May 1781	Sunday Observance Act In 1781, passage of what is commonly known as the Sunday Observance Law. Discussion of the bill in the House of Commons started on May 3, 1781. Image: The Rt. Revd. Beilby Porteus, Bishop of London, printed by Fisher, Son & Co., London, 1833. Print of engraving by H. Meyer after J. Hoppner R. A.. This is a faithful photographic reproduction of an original two-dimensional work of art, and, so, is public domain, following U.S. case of Bridgeman v. Corel (1999). Passage of this Act, formally titled “Act for Preventing Certain Abuses and Profanations on the Lord’s Day, Called Sunday,” had a powerful, repressive effect on British society and culture for more than a century-and-a-half, as noted by both its proponent (Bishop Beilby Porteus) and its many Victorian critics, among them John Stuart Mill in On Liberty. Articles Christopher Lane, "On the Victorian Afterlife of the 1781 Sunday Observance Act"
Jan 1801	Inclosure Act In 1801, the Consolidation (Inclosure Act) was passed: Parliament thus formalized procedures for enclosing common land, removing previously existing rights of the people to carry out certain activities in these "common" lands. Exact month of passing unknown; if you have information about the correct date, please email felluga@purdue.edu with this information. Image: Detail from Peter Paul Rubens, A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning, c. 1636 (National Gallery, London), illustrating a pre-Enclosure landscape. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired. Articles Carolyn Lesjak, "1750 to the Present: Acts of Enclosure and Their Afterlife" (forthcoming) Ellen Rosenman, “On Enclosure Acts and the Commons”
22 Jun 1802	Criminal Jurisdiction Act passed An amendment of the Colonial Governors Act (1700), the Criminal Jurisdiction Act holds colonial officials accountable to the Court of King’s Bench in England for crimes committed in the colonies. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″
2 Mar 1815	Corn Law Act On 23 March 1815, parliament passed the Corn Law Act of 1815. Image: the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Corn Law Act of 1815 prohibited the importation of grain when the prices in the domestic market were high. The Act was repealed on 25 June 1846. Articles Ayse Çelikkol, "On the Repeal of the Corn Laws, 1846"
22 Jul 1822	Richard Martin's Act On 22 July 1822, Richard Martin’s Act — or the “Act to prevent the cruel and improper treatment of Cattle” — becomes law in Parliament. Image: The Trial of Bill Burns. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired. The painting depicts the Trial of Bill Burns, the first prosecution under the 1822 Martin's Act for cruelty to animals, after he was found beating his donkey. It is the first known prosecution for animal cruelty in the world. The prosecution was brought by Richard Martin, MP for Galway, also known as Humanity Dick, and the case became memorable because he brought the donkey into court. The painting was made at the time of the trial. Articles Ivan Kreilkamp, “The Ass Got a Verdict: Martin’s Act and the Founding of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 1822″ Related Articles Susan Hamilton, “On the Cruelty to Animals Act, 15 August 1876″ Philip Howell, “June 1859/December 1860: The Dog Show and the Dogs’ Home” Mario Ortiz-Robles, “Animal Acts: 1822, 1835, 1849, 1850, 1854, 1876, 1900″
9 May 1828	Sacramental Test Act Sacramental Test Act passed on 9 May 1828. Image: John Jabez Edwin Mayall, Portrait of Lord John Russell. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired. Introduced by Lord John Russell and passed in 1828, the Sacramental Test Act repealed the Corporation Act of 1661 and the Test Act of 1673. Those Acts had required individuals who held municipal, civil, or military office to take communion in the Church of England and to declare that they did not believe in transubstantiation. Initially aimed at keeping Catholics out of public office, these Acts ended up restricting Protestants who were not Anglicans. However, in the century and a half following the passage of the Test and Corporation Acts, the growing social power of Dissenting religions in England gradually eased those strictures. Articles Elsie B. Michie, "On the Sacramental Test Act, the Catholic Relief Act, the Slavery Abolition Act, and the Factory Act"
27 Jun 1828	Offenses Against the Person Act On 27 June 1828, the Act for Consolidating and Amending the Statutes in England, Relative to Offenses Against the Person received the royal assent. Part of Sir Robert Peel’s larger project for streamlining and consolidating the criminal law, the 1828 Offenses Against the Person Act overhauled the law concerning assaults against the person, establishing new, higher penalties for assault and granting to magistrates summary powers over common assaults. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Lisa Surridge, “On the Offenses Against the Person Act, 1828″
1 Apr 1829	Roman Catholic Relief Act Roman Catholic Relief Act received the Royal Assent on 13 April 1829 (sometimes called the Catholic Emancipation Act). Image: the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Catholic Relief Act of 1829 allowed Catholics to become Members of Parliament and to hold public offices, but it also raised the property qualifications that allowed individuals in Ireland to vote. The passage of the Catholic Relief Act marked a shift in English political power from the House of Lords to the House of Commons. The Act was led by the Duke of Wellington and passed despite initially serious opposition from both the House of Lords and King George IV. Articles Elsie B. Michie, "On the Sacramental Test Act, the Catholic Relief Act, the Slavery Abolition Act, and the Factory Act" Related Articles Carolyn Vellenga Berman, “On the Reform Act of 1832″ Sean Grass, “On the Death of the Duke of Wellington, 14 September 1852″
Jun 1832	Reform Act The Great Reform Act of 1832 was passed in June 1832 after long discussion, with King William IV giving the royal asses on 7 June 1832. This followed a failed attempt on September 1831 that was vetoed by the House of Lords. A second draft was passed after the King intervened. The Bill eliminated many rotten boroughs and created a new class of eligible voters, providing a model by which non-landowners might claim representation in Parliament. Image: First page of the Reform Act, from the British government's national archives. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired. Articles Carolyn Vellenga Berman, “On the Reform Act of 1832″ Related Articles Janice Carlisle, “On the Second Reform Act, 1867″ Pamela Gilbert, "On Cholera in Nineteenth-Century England"
Jul 1832	Anatomy Act In response to the growing trade in corpses for anatomy schools, and in particular to the sensational murders of Burke and Hare to acquire such corpses, Parliament passed The Anatomy Act in July 1832, giving access to corpses that were unclaimed after death. Most of these were those who died in prison or workhouses, and whose families could not afford to claim or bury them. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Related Articles Pamela Gilbert, "On Cholera in Nineteenth-Century England"
Jul 1832	The Reform Act of 1832 The Reform Act of 1832, or “Great Reform Act,” was an electoral reform bill that reshaped the way Members of the House of Commons were elected to office. Although Members of Parliament were technically elected prior to 1832, limitations on who could vote (only propertied men) and haphazardly drawn electoral district lines meant that a small number of aristocratic elites either held or controlled the majority of seats in both parliamentary houses. Bribery was rampant, and the lack of a secret ballot allowed campaigners to put pressure on voters. By 1830, massive public outcry against the “rotten” electoral system (combined with ruling-class fear of revolutionary uprising like the one that had just taken place in France) put enough pressure on the government to act. The Tory-dominated House of Lords held out until 1832, when, faced with riots in the streets of Bristol and other cities around the country, King William IV threatened to create new Whig members of the nobility by royal decree and add them to the House of Lords. The House of Lords caved and passed the Reform Act, which created new electoral districts to more accurately represent population, introduced voter registration to prevent fraud, and made all male householders living in homes worth at least 10 pounds per year eligible to vote. While the actual changes created by the Reform Act were moderate—even after the Act, only about 10 percent of the population could vote—the Act revealed the limits of the power of the House of Lords and laid the groundwork for a series of incremental reforms that defined the Victorian period. Berman, Carolyn Vellenga. “On the Reform Act of 1832.” BRANCH: Britain, Representation and Nineteenth-Century History. Ed. Dino Franco Felluga. Extension of Romanticism and Victorianism on the Net. Web. 27 September 2020.
14 Aug 1833	Irish Church Temporalities Act The Irish Church Temporalities Act received the Royal Assent (i.e. became law) on 14 August 1833. The Act reorganized the ecclesiastical structure of the Irish Church by suppressing ten of its twenty-two bishoprics and removing those parish clergy who had no parishioners. Articles Barbara Charlesworth Gelpi, "14 July 1833: John Keble’s Assize Sermon, National Apostasy"
29 Aug 1833	Slavery Abolition Act The Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 received the Royal Assent (which means it became law) on 29 August 1833. The Act outlawed slavery throughout the British Empire; Britain’s colonial slaves were officially emancipated on 1 August 1834 when the law came into force, although most entered a form of obligatory apprenticeship that ended in 1840. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Image: the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Elsie B. Michie, "On the Sacramental Test Act, the Catholic Relief Act, the Slavery Abolition Act, and the Factory Act" Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″
29 Aug 1833	Factory Act Act to Regulate the Labour of Children and Young Persons in the Mills and Factories of the United Kingdom passed on 29 August 1833. Image: the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Elsie B. Michie, "On the Sacramental Test Act, the Catholic Relief Act, the Slavery Abolition Act, and the Factory Act" Related Articles Peter Capuano, “On Sir Charles Bell’s The Hand, 1833″
31 Aug 1835	Lord Lyndhurst's Act Lord Lyndhurst's Act passed on 31 Aug 1835. Image: Joseph Brown, engraver; after a painting by F. Roffe, Portrait of John Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst (1859). This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired. This Act validated all marriages voidable under the canon law’s prohibited degrees of relation (for instance, uncles forbidden to marry nieces) performed before 31 August 1835, and absolutely invalidated any performed after that date. Parliament's passage of this Act was the beginning of a protracted and heated debate over whether there should be an exception that allowed the marriage of a man to his deceased wife's sister. The controversy ended more than 70 years later with the passage of the Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act in 1907. Articles Anne Wallace, “On the Deceased Wife’s Sister Controversy, 1835-1907″
1 Aug 1836	Newspaper Act On 13 August 1836, the Newspaper Act was passed, an Act to Consolidate and Amend the Laws relating to the Conveyance of Newspapers by the Post. The bill reduced the stamp duty on newspapers to 1d, thus allowing the channels for communication to increase dramatically. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Related Articles Elaine Hadley, “On Opinion Politics and the Ballot Act of 1872″
17 Aug 1839	Act on Custody of Infants On 17 August 1839, passage of an Act to Amend the Law Relating to the Custody of Infants. The Act allowed a separated wife to petition the court for custody of her children under the age of seven. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Related Articles Rachel Ablow, “‘One Flesh,’ One Person, and the 1870 Married Women’s Property Act” Kelly Hager, “Chipping Away at Coverture: The Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857″ Jill Rappoport, “Wives and Sons: Coverture, Primogeniture, and Married Women’s Property”
1840 to 1860	Gothic Revival: House of Parliament In 1840 England's Houses of Parliament began construction under the design direction of Sir Charles Barry. These buildings hearkened back to the grand nature of the medieval era of architecture that featured artistic imprints on many parts of the structures. "As in many of the early Gothic Revival buildings, the Gothic was used here for its picturesque and romantic qualities without regard for its structural possibilities or original function" (Brittanica). Also known as Palace of Westminster, the Houses of Parliament were not completed until 1860. Image: Picasa 2.7. Palace of Westminster. Londontopia. http://londontopia.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/a43792be25e33138c120cbf7a74be9d93b0d0edf.jpg Articles https://www.britannica.com/art/Gothic-Revival https://www.britannica.com/topic/Houses-of-Parliament-buildings-London-United-Kingdom
14 Jun 1844	Petition on Post Office spying On 14 June 1844, a petition was presented to the House of Commons concerning secret Post Office spying on the contents of the letters of Joseph Mazzini and three associates. Image: Photograph of Giuseppe Mazzini, 1 January 1860 (author unknown). This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired. Articles Marjorie Stone, “On the Post Office Espionage Scandal, 1844″ Kate Lawson, “Personal Privacy, Letter Mail, and the Post Office Espionage Scandal, 1844″
2 Jul 1844	House of Commons investigates Post Office spying On 2 July 1844, evidence was presented to the House of Commons for collusion between British and Austrian authorities in the rendition of information from Mazzini’s letters. Image: Photograph of Giuseppe Mazzini, 1 January 1860 (author unknown). This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired. Articles “On the Post Office Espionage Scandal, 1844″ Kate Lawson, “Personal Privacy, Letter Mail, and the Post Office Espionage Scandal, 1844″
21 Jul 1845	Museums of Art Act On 21 July 1845, the Museums of Art Act received Royal Assent. This Act encouraged the establishment of museums of art or science by granting towns with over 10,000 inhabitants the right to buy land and erect buildings, to be supported with an increase in rates (property taxes) of no more than ½ penny to the pound; such lands, buildings, and collections were to be owned and managed by the Council. Town Councils could fix admission charges not to exceed one penny per person, to be used for museum employees’ salaries and museum maintenance. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Amy Woodson-Boulton, “The City Art Museum Movement and the Social Role of Art”
21 Jul 1845	Protection of Works of Art Act On 21 July 1845, the Protection of Works of Art Act received Royal Assent. This Act established punishment for attacks on works of art and science exhibited in both public and private settings. It set a maximum sentence of 6 months, reserving the option of hard labor for men and 1, 2, or 3 private whippings at the discretion of the sentencing Court. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Amy Woodson-Boulton, “The City Art Museum Movement and the Social Role of Art”
25 Jun 1846	Repeal of Corn Laws The repeal of the Corn Laws on 25 June 1846. Reversing decades of protectionism, the repeal of the Corn Laws lifted restrictions on the importation of foreign grain. Image: the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Ayse Çelikkol, "On the Repeal of the Corn Laws, 1846" Related Articles Peter Melville Logan, “On Culture: Matthew Arnold’s Culture and Anarchy, 1869″ Robert O’Kell, “On Young England”
31 Aug 1848	Public Health Act Spurred by the 1848 cholera epidemic and Edwin Chadwick’s report on The Sanitary Conditions of the Labouring Population, a Central Board of Health was established that provided for taxation to enforce sanitary reform and the creation of local Boards of Health. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Pamela Gilbert, "On Cholera in Nineteenth-Century England" Barbara Leckie, “‘The Bitter Cry of Outcast London’ (1883): Print Exposé and Print Reprise”
14 Aug 1850	Public Libraries Act On 14 Aug 1850, the Public Libraries Act received Royal Assent. This Act repealed the 1845 Museums of Art Act, making the adoption of the Act a matter of city-wide rather than just council vote, and adding libraries to the provision; still put maximum new levy at ½ penny per pound of taxable property, but disallowed admission charges. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Amy Woodson-Boulton, “The City Art Museum Movement and the Social Role of Art”
10 Aug 1854	Corrupt Practices Act On 10 August 1854, the Corrupt Practices Act of 1854 was passed, an Act to Consolidate and Amend the Laws Relating to Bribery, Treating and Undue Influence At Elections of Members of Parliament. The bill introduced small fines for bribery, cheating and the use of undue influence and voter intimidation. Candidates had to itemize expenses that were then reviewed by an auditor. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Related Articles Elaine Hadley, “On Opinion Politics and the Ballot Act of 1872″
15 Jun 1855	Stamp Act On 15 June 1855, the Stamp Act was passed, an act to amend the laws relating to the stamp duties on newspapers, and to provide for the transmission by post of printed periodical publications. The act abolished the stamp duty on newspapers, thus reducing the cost of such publications (for instance, the Manchester Guardian's price went from 7d. to 2d.) and facilitating the mass dissemination of the new medium of communication. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Related Articles Elaine Hadley, “On Opinion Politics and the Ballot Act of 1872″ Claudia Nelson, “Mass Media Meets Children’s Literature, 1899: E. Nesbit’s The Story of the Treasure Seekers”
30 Jul 1855	Public Libraries Act On 30 July 1855, the Public Libraries Act received Royal Assent. This Act repealed the 1850 Act, expanding it to include towns, improvement districts, and parishes (or two parishes with combined population) of 5,000 or more. Town councils or a minimum of ten ratepayers could now request adoption of Act, which required a two-thirds vote of a meeting of ratepayers called by the Mayor, by the Improvement Board, or by the Parish Overseers of the Poor. (The Act specified how to call this meeting, but does not give a quorum.) This Act also doubled the library and museum rate to 1 penny in the pound, all libraries and museums created under Act to be free of charge; the law specifies detailed requirements for oversight of libraries, museums, and/or schools of art or science. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Amy Woodson-Boulton, “The City Art Museum Movement and the Social Role of Art”
28 Aug 1857	Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857 On 28 August 1857, passage of the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857. The Act legalized divorce and protected a divorced woman’s property and future earnings. The grounds for divorce for men was adultery (in legal terms, criminal conversation), for women adultery combined with bigamy, incest, bestiality, sodomy, desertion, cruelty, or rape. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Kelly Hager, “Chipping Away at Coverture: The Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857″ Related Articles Rachel Ablow, “‘One Flesh,’ One Person, and the 1870 Married Women’s Property Act” Lorraine Janzen Kooistra, “The Moxon Tennyson as Textual Event: 1857, Wood Engraving, and Visual Culture” Jill Rappoport, “Wives and Sons: Coverture, Primogeniture, and Married Women’s Property”
12 Nov 1857	Suspension of the Bank Charter Act of 1844 On 12 November 1857, Palmerston, the current British Prime Minister, signed the Bill of Indemnity that suspended the Bank Charter Act for the second time in ten years. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Lynn Shakinovsky, “The 1857 Financial Crisis and the Suspension of the 1844 Bank Act”
15 Aug 1867	Second Reform Act On 15 August 1867, the Representation of the People Act, 1867 (also known as the Second Reform Act), received the royal assent. This act increased the electorate of England and Wales to approximately one man in three, theoretically including substantial numbers of working-class men. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Janice Carlisle, "On the Second Reform Act, 1867" Related Articles Carolyn Vellenga Berman, “On the Reform Act of 1832″ Elaine Hadley, “On Opinion Politics and the Ballot Act of 1872″ Herbert F. Tucker, "On Event" Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″
26 Jul 1869	Poor Rate Assessment and Collection Act On 26 July 1869, the Poor Rate Assessment and Collection Act, 1869, received the royal assent. This act reinstated compounding, the collection of tenants’ poor rates along with their rent, a practice that had been eliminated by the passage of the Second Reform Act Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Janice Carlisle, "On the Second Reform Act, 1867"
Feb 1870	Elementary Education Act In February 1870, passage of the Elementary Education Act Parliament provides for universal, nonsectarian education of British children at public expense and with public oversight. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Related Articles Herbert F. Tucker, "On Event"
9 Aug 1870	Education Act of 1870 On 9 August 1870, the Education Act of 1870 (England), written by William Edward Forster, received the royal assent. The Act established local education boards empowered (but not required) to levy taxes to support the education of children ages 5-13 in “Board Schools,” for which fees could also be charged. It also permitted local boards to fund existing and future religious schools. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Florence S. Boos, “The Education Act of 1870: Before and After” Herbert F. Tucker, “In the Event of a Second Reform”
9 Aug 1870	1870 Married Women's Property Act On 9 August 1870, the Married Women’s Property Act was passed. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This Act established limited protections for some separate property for married women, including the right to retain up to £200 of any earning or inheritance. Before this all of a woman's property owned before her marriage, as well as all acquired after the marriage, automatically became her husband's alone. Only women whose families negotiated different terms in a marriage contract were able to retain control of some portion of their property. Articles Rachel Ablow, "On the Married Woman's Property Act, 1870" Related Articles Kelly Hager, “Chipping Away at Coverture: The Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857″ Jill Rappoport, “Wives and Sons: Coverture, Primogeniture, and Married Women’s Property” Anne Wallace, “On the Deceased Wife’s Sister Controversy, 1835-1907″
18 Jul 1872	Ballot Act On 18 July 1872, the Ballot Act, an Act to Amend the Law relating to Procedure at Parliamentary and Municipal Elections, was passed. The bill introduced secret voting and increased the number of polling stations. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Elaine Hadley, “On Opinion Politics and the Ballot Act of 1872″ Related Articles Carolyn Vellenga Berman, “On the Reform Act of 1832″ Janice Carlisle, “On the Second Reform Act, 1867″
27 Apr 1876	Royal Titles Bill On 27 April 1876, parliament passed the Royal Titles Bill. The Royal Titles Act was "An Act to enable Her most Gracious Majesty to make an addition to the Royal Style and Titles appertaining to the Imperial Crown of the United Kingdom and its Dependencies." There was considerable resistance in Parliament and in the press, since the title emperor/empress was deemed un-English and associated with Britain's competitors Russia and Germany (Wilhelm I was elevated to Emperor on 18 January 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War, which may have provoked Victoria to want this title, too). Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Related Articles Julie Codell, “On the Delhi Coronation Durbars, 1877, 1903, 1911″
15 Aug 1876	Cruelty to Animals Act On 15 August 1876, the Cruelty to Animals Act received Royal Assent. The Cruelty to Animals Act (15 August 1876) was the world’s first legislation to regulate the use and treatment of live animals in scientific research. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Susan Hamilton, “On the Cruelty to Animals Act, 15 August 1876″ Related Articles Philip Howell, “June 1859/December 1860: The Dog Show and the Dogs’ Home” Ivan Kreilkamp, “The Ass Got a Verdict: Martin’s Act and the Founding of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 1822″ Mario Ortiz-Robles, “Animal Acts: 1822, 1835, 1849, 1850, 1854, 1876, 1900″
1 Jan 1883	1882 Married Women's Property Act 1882 Married Women's Property Act passed on 1 Jan 1883. Referred to as the 1882 MWPA, the Act came into effect at the beginning of 1883. Although still identifying some married women's property as "separate," this Act significantly increased the scope and protections for married women's acquisition and retention of property separate from their husbands. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Jill Rappoport, “Wives and Sons: Coverture, Primogeniture, and Married Women’s Property” Anne Wallace, “On the Deceased Wife’s Sister Controversy, 1835-1907″ Related Articles Rachel Ablow, “‘One Flesh,’ One Person, and the 1870 Married Women’s Property Act”
15 Oct 1883	Corrupt Practices Act On 15 October 1883, the Corrupt Practices Act of 1883 was passed, or, to be more precise, the Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act. The bill increased the penalties of the 1854 Corrupt Practices Act, and determined spending limits for candidates of parliamentary elections. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Related Articles Elaine Hadley, “On Opinion Politics and the Ballot Act of 1872″
Jan 1885	Franchise Act The Representation of the People (Franchise Act) came into effect January 1885. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
14 Aug 1885	Criminal Law Amendment Act Criminal Law Amendment Act passed on 14 August 1885. The Act raised the age of consent for girls from 13 to 16 and introduced the misdemeanor of “gross indecency” to criminalize sexual acts between men in public or private. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Related Articles Mary Jean Corbett, “On Crawford v. Crawford and Dilke, 1886″ Andrew Elfenbein, “On the Trials of Oscar Wilde: Myths and Realities”
25 Jul 1890	Western Australian Constitution Act On 25 July 1890, the British parliament passed the Western Australian Constitution Act, 1889 (52 Vict. No. 23), including Section 70 which attempted to protect and support the welfare of Aboriginal people. Image: Coat of Arms of Australia. This image is in the public domain in the United States as its copyright has expired. Articles Ann Curthoys, “Settler Self-Government versus Aboriginal Rights, 1883 – 2001: The Shocking History of Section 70 of the Western Australian Constitution”
11 Dec 1897	Aborigines Act 1897 of Western Australia 11 December 1897 saw the Royal assent to the Aborigines Act 1897 of Western Australia (61 /Vict. No. 5), in which the provisions of Section 70 of the Western Australian Constitution Act were repealed. Section 70 had sought to protect and support the welfare of Aboriginal people. Image: Coat of Arms of Australia. This image is in the public domain in the United States as its copyright has expired. Articles Ann Curthoys, “Settler Self-Government versus Aboriginal Rights, 1883 – 2001: The Shocking History of Section 70 of the Western Australian Constitution”
Dec 1902	(Balfour) Education Act In December 1902, the (Balfour) Education Act extended the power of centralized local boards to permit (but not require) them to establish secondary schools. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Florence S. Boos, “The Education Act of 1870: Before and After”
4 Apr 1906	Aborigines Act 1905 4 April 1906 saw the royal assent to the Aborigines Act 1905 (5 Edw. VII No. 14), in which Section 70 (which sought to protect and support the welfare of Aboriginal people) was repealed for a second time. Image: Coat of Arms of Australia. This image is in the public domain in the United States as its copyright has expired. Articles Ann Curthoys, “Settler Self-Government versus Aboriginal Rights, 1883 – 2001: The Shocking History of Section 70 of the Western Australian Constitution”
28 Aug 1907	Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act Deceased Wife's Sister's Marriage Act passed on 28 Aug 1907. Although there are minor clauses and clarifications, the Act's opening and primary clause is simply this: "[n]o marriage heretofore or hereafter contracted between a man and his deceased wife’s sister, within the realm or without, shall be deemed to have been or shall be void or voidable, as a civil contract, by reason only of such affinity." Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Anne Wallace, “On the Deceased Wife’s Sister Controversy, 1835-1907″

Log in

Layers

Parent Map

Coordinates

View on the COVE Master Map

Timeline of Events Associated with Palace of Westminster

Sunday Observance Act

May 1781

Articles

Inclosure Act

Jan 1801

Articles

Criminal Jurisdiction Act passed

22 Jun 1802

Articles

Corn Law Act

2 Mar 1815

Articles

Richard Martin's Act

22 Jul 1822

Articles

Related Articles

Sacramental Test Act

9 May 1828

Articles

Offenses Against the Person Act

27 Jun 1828

Articles

Roman Catholic Relief Act

1 Apr 1829

Articles

Related Articles

Reform Act

Jun 1832

Articles

Related Articles

Anatomy Act

Jul 1832

Related Articles

The Reform Act of 1832

Jul 1832

Irish Church Temporalities Act

14 Aug 1833

Articles

Slavery Abolition Act

29 Aug 1833

Articles

Factory Act

29 Aug 1833

Articles

Related Articles

Lord Lyndhurst's Act

31 Aug 1835

Articles

Newspaper Act

1 Aug 1836

Related Articles

Act on Custody of Infants

17 Aug 1839

Related Articles

Gothic Revival: House of Parliament

1840 to 1860

Petition on Post Office spying

14 Jun 1844

Articles

House of Commons investigates Post Office spying

2 Jul 1844

Articles

Museums of Art Act

21 Jul 1845

Articles

Protection of Works of Art Act

21 Jul 1845

Articles

Repeal of Corn Laws

25 Jun 1846

Articles

Related Articles

Public Health Act

31 Aug 1848