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Erection of Cottages Act 1588
The Erection of Cottages Act 1588 (31 Eliz. 1. c. 7) was an Act of the Parliament of England that prohibited the construction—in most parts of England—of any dwelling that did not have at least 4 acres (1.62 ha; 0.01 sq mi) assigned to it out of the freehold or other heritable land belonging to the person responsible for its construction. Background In the reign of Elizabeth I of England there arose a common belief, that if a house was erected by a squatter and his friends on waste ground overnight, then they had the right of undisturbed possession.[1] The problems caused by the large number of illegally erected cottages, on common land, was explicitly recognised by an act known as the Erection of Cottages Act 1588 (31 Eliz. 1. c. 7, long title "An Act against the erecting and maintaining of Cottages.").[1][2] The actTo make it difficult for squatters to build, the act laid down, that a cottage should have minimum of 4 acres (1.62 ha; 0.01 sq mi) of land associated with it:
The act passed into law on 8 March 1589.[3] Exemption from the Act could be obtained by petition to the Quarter Sessions on grounds of poverty, provided the permission of the manorial lord was given. Lodgers and the subdivision of houses were not allowed.[2] This was qualified by the Poor Relief Act 1601 which gave churchwardens and overseers authority to build cottages on ‘waste and common’ for the use of the poor, with permission of the manorial lord:[4]
The Erection of Cottages Act 1775
The act was repealed by the Erection of Cottages Act 1775 (15 Geo. 3. c. 32)[5] The principal reasons for the repeal were in the preamble, which stated that the 1588 act had made it difficult for poor people to find 'habitation' and also that it may have caused a reduction in the population.[6] Notes
References
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