Acts of Parliament
Cornwall Family History Society Free Content
Explore the significant Acts of Parliament related to Cornwall’s history and genealogy. The Cornwall Family History Society provides a detailed overview of these legislative documents.
Advances Towards Equality
Some of the major events affecting the lives of our female forebears
1844 | The 1844 Poor Law Amendment Act and the 1845 Bastardy Act empowers mothers to apply to Petty Session Courts for maintenance money from the father of their illegitimate child. |
1857 | The Matrimonial Causes Act makes it possible to petition for a divorce in civil courts, so the process is newly accessible to middle-class women. |
1860 | Florence NIGHTINGALE establishes the world’s first secular Nursing School at St Thomas’s Hospital, London, making the profession more respectable for women. |
1868 | The first British women are admitted to the University of London to gain a university education following a nationwide campaign to improve women’s access to further education. |
1876 | The 1876 Medical Act allows women to be licensed to practice medicine for the first time, and register with the General Medical Council of Britain. |
1882 | The 1882 Married Women’s Property Act finally gives wives full legal control over their property and money that they earn. |
1895 | London born Lilian LINDSAY qualifies as Britain’s first female dentist. She studied in Edinburgh as English dental schools would not admit female students. |
1903 | Emmeline PANKHURST set up the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) as a militant organisation campaigning for women’s suffrage. |
1917 | The Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS) and Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps are formed as branches of the Armed Forces. |
1928 | The 1928 Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act extends voting rights to women on the same terms as men, so women over the age of 21 appear in electoral registers for the first time. |
Civil Registration Timeline
1517 | Martin LUTHER puts forward proposals to reform the Roman Catholic Church, sparking the Reformation. |
1533 | John CALVIN flees France for Switzerland leaving many followers in his native land. |
1562 | The Wars of Religion begin in France in 1572, the massacre of St Bartholomew on 24th August in Paris is followed over the next three months by some 10,000 Huguenots being killed across the country. As a result, there is a spike in refuges during this period. |
1598 | Henri IV’s Edict of Nantes end the French Wars of Religion and gives Protestants in France a degree of legal toleration. Some refugees head home from England. |
1660 | Louis XIV begins to limit the rights of protestants in France and a small but steady stream of Huguenots leave for more sympathetic states. |
1681 | The start of the Dragonnades in France triggers the major emigration. |
1685 | Louis XIV’s revocation of the Edict of Nantes in France leads to a further flood of refugees. |
1750 | The last of the religious refugees leave France. |
Huguenot History
1517 | Martin LUTHER puts forward proposals to reform the Roman Catholic Church, sparking the Reformation. |
1533 | John CALVIN flees France for Switzerland leaving many followers in his native land. |
1562 | The Wars of Religion begin in France in 1572, the massacre of St Bartholomew on 24th August in Paris is followed over the next three months by some 10,000 Huguenots being killed across the country. As a result, there is a spike in refuges during this period. |
1598 | Henri IV’s Edict of Nantes end the French Wars of Religion and gives Protestants in France a degree of legal toleration. Some refugees head home from England. |
1660 | Louis XIV begins to limit the rights of protestants in France and a small but steady stream of Huguenots leave for more sympathetic states. |
1681 | The start of the Dragonnades in France triggers the major emigration. |
1685 | Louis XIV’s revocation of the Edict of Nantes in France leads to a further flood of refugees. |
1750 | The last of the religious refugees leave France. |
Miscellaneous Acts
1706 | The monarch had worn the crowns of England and Scotland since 1603 when James VI of Scotland also became James I of England. The countries had maintained separate parliaments and commercial systems, with England having been incorporated with Wales since the time of Henry VIII. Each country had its own Act of Union: England in 1706 and Scotland in 1707 which put into effect the treaty of union. |
1737 | The 1737 Theatre Licensing Act restricted the use of dialogue in performance to two theatres, Covent Garden and Drury Lane. |
1807 | Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. |
1811 | The Regency Act was finally passed on 5th February 1811. It was rushed through to give time for the prince regent to approve finance bills that were necessary for military expenditure. |
1830 | The Beer House Act was passed, loosening regulations around the production and sale of beer. |
1832 | The 1832 Registration of the People Act (better known as the Reform Act) was introduced as a system of voter registration in England and Wales. The separate 1832 Scottish Reform Act and 1832 Presentation of the people (Ireland) Act introduced similar legislation in those countries. |
1833 | Slavery Abolition Act. |
1839 | The County Policy Act of August 1839 enabled Justice of the peace in England and Wales to found county police forces. |
1843 | The 1843 Theatre Regulation Act abolished its 1737 counterpart removing the monopoly and the Harlequinades were given linguistic freedom. |
1845 | From 1808 local authorities in England and Wales were encouraged to build county Lunatic Asylums for pauper patients. The 1845 Lunatic Asylums and Pauper Lunatics Act made these asylums compulsory. |
1857 | Under the 1857 Lunacy (Scotland) Act new asylums were run as part of the poor law and were thus built and administered by parishes. |
1859 | The half century old Volunteer Act, which was originally used to increase the number of soldiers available during the Napoleonic wars, was used to create a Volunteer Force. |
1870 | Forster’s Elementary Education Act (1870) marked the beginning of state funding for schools with the creation of local school boards. |
1871 | The 1871 Bank Holiday Act gave many workers more leisure time. |
1878 | A single register is permitted (and later made mandatory) for each constituency with those women recorded entitled to vote at municipal but not parliamentary election. |
1905 | Parliament passed the Aliens Act of 1905 to calm the populace’s fears and the 1911 census was the first to ask the nationality of respondents. |
School Attendance Milestones
1870 | The Elementary Education Act set out the framework to offer schooling for all children between the ages of 5 and13. A similar Act in Scotland in 1872 enforces compulsory attendance. |
1876 | Lord Sandon’s Education Act makes parents responsible for ensuring that their children attend elementary school. |
1878 | The Factory and Workshop Act forbids children under the age of 10 from factory work. Workers aged 10-13 must attend school halftime. |
1880 | The Elementary Education Act (Mundella Act) makes schooling compulsory for those aged 5-10 in England and Wales. School Attendance Officers are empowered to take action if children do not attend. |
1891 | Another Elementary Education Act abolishes fees for elementary schools and makes them free for the first time. |
1893 | The Elementary Education (School Attendance) Act increases the school leaving age to 11. Six years later another Act increases it again to 12. |
1911 | Children walk out of a school in Llanelli in protest over corporal punishment. This leads to pupils briefly going on strike across the UK including Shoreditch. |
1918 | An Education Act drawn up by the President of the Board of Education, Herbert FISHER, makes the school leaving age 14. |
1944 | Richard BUTLER’s Education Act creates a Ministry of Education. The leaving age becomes 15, and the system of elementary, secondary, and further education is formalised. A similar Act for Scotland follows in 1945. |