London
The forty or so Acts proposed for repeal in this consultation focus on selected areas of London’s social, economic and legal history during the 18th and 19th centuries. These obsolete Acts include-
- eight Acts to provide for, and house, the poor of London. They include an 1819 Act to build the Wapping workhouse referred to in Dickens’ The Uncommercial Traveller;
- five Acts concerning the pay and conditions of officials in the old Court of Chancery;
- a 1799 Act to regulate the fees charged by innkeepers and porters for holding and delivering packages in London;
- an 1826 Act to rebuild the Westminster Bridewell (or house of correction) on the site that is today occupied by Westminster Cathedral;
- an 1884 Act to run a free steam ferry boat across the Thames near Wapping (this pre-dated Tower Bridge).
We hope that interested parties will read and respond to our consultation paper, in particular to identify whether any of the Acts we propose to repeal has any remaining value.
Consultation paper with proposals. The consultation closes on 4 May 2007. Please email us with your views.
A background note on repealing obsolete laws is available. Return to the Statute Law Revision page to find out about other proposals for repeal.