Houses of Husbandry Act 1597

Houses of Husbandry Act 1597

Act of Parliament
Parliament of England
Long title	An Act against the decaying of towns and houses of husbandry.
Citation	39 Eliz. 1. c. 1
Territorial extent	England and Wales
Dates
Royal assent	9 February 1598
Commencement	24 October 1597 [a]
Repealed	28 July 1863
Other legislation
Amended by	Continuance, etc. of Laws Act 1601
Repealed by	Statute Law Revision Act 1863
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Houses of Husbandry Act 1597 (39 Eliz. 1. c. 1) was an act of the Parliament of England passed during the reign of Elizabeth I. It was declared to be "An Act against the decaying of towns and houses of husbandry". ^[1]

The act commanded lords who had let their "houses of husbandry" decay since 1590 to rebuild them. ^[2] A "house of husbandry" was defined as a house possessing twenty acres of land that had been occupied or let to farm for at least three years during the Queen's reign. The act ordered that they were to continue in this state "for ever". ^[3]

Subsequent developments

The act was continued until the end of the next session by the Continuance, etc. of Laws Act 1601 (43 Eliz. 1. c. 9).

The whole act was repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. c. 125).

Notes

1. Start of session.

References

1. J. E. Neale, Elizabeth I and Her Parliaments, 1584-1601 (London: Jonathan Cape, 1957), p. 346.
2. Penry Williams, The Later Tudors: England 1547-1603 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995), p. 362.
3. Neale, p. 346.