Ancient Monuments Consolidation and Amendment Act 1913

Last updated

Ancient Monuments Consolidation and Amendment Act 1913
Act of Parliament
Coat of arms of the United Kingdom (1901-1952).svg
Long title An Act to consolidate and amend the Law relating to Ancient Monuments and for other purposes in connection therewith.
Citation 3 & 4 Geo. 5. c. 32
Dates
Royal assent 15 August 1913
Other legislation
Repeals/revokes
Repealed by Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979
Status: Repealed

The Ancient Monuments Consolidation and Amendment Act 1913 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that aimed to improve the protection afforded to ancient monuments in Britain.

Contents

Details

The Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 had begun the process of establishing legal protection for some of Britain's ancient monuments; these had all been prehistoric sites, such as ancient tumuli. The Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1900 continued this process, empowering the government's Commissioners of Work and local county councils to protect a wider range of properties. In 1908 a royal commission concluded that there were gaps between these two pieces of legislation, and the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1910. These were felt to be unwieldy, and the Ancient Monuments Act 1913 repealed all three, replacing them with a new structure. [1]

One of the main sponsors of the bill was the former viceroy George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, who saved Tattershall Castle, Lincolnshire in 1911. Until then, owners of a building could do with it as they pleased. The experience left a deep impression on Lord Curzon, who became determined that new laws had to be put into place to protect Britain's heritage. [2]

The new structure involved the creation of the Ancient Monuments Board to oversee the protection of such monuments. Powers were given to the board, with parliamentary approval, to issue preservation orders to protect monuments, and extended the public right of access to these. The term "monument" was extended to include the lands around it, allowing the protection of the wider landscape. [3]

Consequences

By 1931, over 3,000 monuments had been listed with preservation orders, and over 200 taken into public ownership. Gaps in the legislation remained, however, leading to the passing of the Ancient Monuments Act 1931. [3] However, both the 1913 Act and the 1931 Act were repealed in full by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. [4]

Ecclesiastical exemption

A component of the 1913 Act that remains controversial to the present day is the ecclesiastical exemption from listed buildings control, covering all ecclesiastical buildings in ecclesiastical use. Subsequently, the Ecclesiastical Exemption (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Order 1994 confined the exemption to denominations deemed to have suitable internal control mechanisms in place: the Church of England, the Church in Wales, the Methodist Church, the United Reformed Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Baptist Union of Great Britain. [5] Some heritage bodies have urged the exemption's abolition, arguing that it facilitates irreparable damage to historic church interiors in the name of renovation. Howell & Sutton (1989) argued on behalf of The Victorian Society:

The maltreatment of churches is facilitated by the existence of the so-called “Ecclesiastical Exemption” . . . It is greatly to be hoped that this anomalous situation will soon be rectified. The Victorian Society has strongly urged the total abolition of the exemption for all denominations. [6]

The Church of England General Synod has expressed the ecclesiastical position:

Those who minister in churches and those who have responsibilities in relation to the maintenance of churches and their contents, should rightly be conscious of their part in ensuring that churches are indeed "living buildings". This may often result in a desire to alter the interior of the church in some way to make it more suited to modern worship. You may also seek to add facilities, such as toilets, kitchens or meeting rooms, either within the building or by extending it. [7]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scheduled monument</span> Legally protected archaeological site or historic building in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Listed building</span> Protected historic structure in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural and/or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, Cadw in Wales, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland. The classification schemes differ between England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The term has also been used in the Republic of Ireland, where buildings are protected under the Planning and Development Act 2000, although the statutory term in Ireland is "protected structure."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Consistory court</span> Ecclesiastical court in the Church of England

A consistory court is a type of ecclesiastical court, especially within the Church of England where they were originally established pursuant to a charter of King William the Conqueror, and still exist today, although since about the middle of the 19th century consistory courts have lost much of their subject-matter jurisdiction. Each diocese in the Church of England has a consistory court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historic preservation</span> Preservation of items of historical significance

Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK) is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philosophical concept that became popular in the twentieth century, which maintains that cities as products of centuries' development should be obligated to protect their patrimonial legacy. The term refers specifically to the preservation of the built environment, and not to preservation of, for example, primeval forests or wilderness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979</span> Law in the UK

The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 or AMAAA was a law passed by the UK government, the latest in a series of Ancient Monument Acts legislating to protect the archaeological heritage of England and Wales, and Scotland. Northern Ireland has its own legislation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public Worship Regulation Act 1874</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 was an act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced as a Private Member's Bill by Archbishop of Canterbury Archibald Campbell Tait, to limit what he perceived as the growing ritualism of Anglo-Catholicism and the Oxford Movement within the Church of England. The bill was strongly endorsed by Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, and vigorously opposed by Liberal party leader William Ewart Gladstone. Queen Victoria strongly supported it. The law was seldom enforced, but at least five clergymen were imprisoned by judges for contempt of court, which greatly embarrassed the Church of England archbishops who had vigorously promoted it.

The General Synod is the tricameral deliberative and legislative organ of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church of England that had started in the 1850s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protection of Wrecks Act 1973</span> UK legislation on conservation of shipwrecks

The Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provides protection for designated shipwrecks.

In the Catholic Church, an exemption is the full or partial release of an ecclesiastical person, corporation, or institution from the authority of the ecclesiastical superior next higher in rank. For example, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Strasbourg, and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem are exempt, being directly subject to the Holy See.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Murray (bishop)</span>

Daniel Murray was a Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that enables the Church of England to submit primary legislation called Measures, for passage by Parliament. Measures have the same force and effect as Acts of Parliament. The power to pass measures was originally granted to the Church Assembly, which was replaced by the General Synod of the Church of England in 1970 by the Synodical Government Measure 1969.

The canon law of the Roman Catholic Church recognizes various meanings of the term emancipation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Destruction of country houses in 20th-century Britain</span> Demolition of several larger mansion estates in the UK during the 20th century

The destruction of country houses in 20th-century Britain was the result of a change in social conditions: many country houses of varying architectural merit were demolished by their owners. Collectively termed by several authors "the lost houses", the destruction of these now often-forgotten houses has been described as a cultural tragedy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1900</span> Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Ancient Monuments Act 1900 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that aimed to improve the protection afforded to ancient monuments in Great Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1910</span> Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1910 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that aimed to improve the protection afforded to ancient monuments in Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancient Monuments Act 1931</span> Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Ancient Monuments Act 1931 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that aimed to improve the protection afforded to ancient monuments in Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robertsbridge United Reformed Church</span> Church in East Sussex , United Kingdom

Robertsbridge United Reformed Church is a former United Reformed Church place of worship in Robertsbridge, a village in the district of Rother in the English county of East Sussex. Built for Congregational worshippers in 1881 following their secession from a long-established Wesleyan Methodist chapel, it was the third Nonconformist place of worship in the village, whose nearest parish church was in the neighbouring settlement of Salehurst. Like the former Strict Baptist and Methodist chapels in the village, which have both closed, it no longer serves Robertsbridge as a place of worship. Local architect Thomas Elworthy's distinctive design—a "rich" and highly decorated blend of several styles—has divided opinion amongst architectural historians. English Heritage has listed the church at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.

Sir Charles Reed Peers was an English architect, archaeologist and preservationist. After a 10-year gap following the death of Lieutenant-General Augustus Pitt Rivers in 1900, Peers became England's second Inspector of Ancient Monuments from 1910 and was then the first Chief Inspector of Ancient Monuments from 1913 to 1933.

In English law, restitution of conjugal rights was an action in the ecclesiastical courts and later in the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes. It was one of the actions relating to marriage, over which the ecclesiastical courts formerly had jurisdiction.

References

  1. Mynors (2006), pp. 8–9.
  2. Winterman, Denise (7 March 2013). "The man who demolished Shakespeare's house". BBC News. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  3. 1 2 Mynors (2006), p. 9.
  4. "Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  5. Last (2002), p. 232.
  6. Howell & Sutton (1989), p. xiii.
  7. Rule Committee of the General Synod of the Church of England (1999), p. 3.