Liberties Act 1850
Encyclopedia
The Liberties Act 1850 (13 & 14 Vict. c.105) was an Act
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
that provided a mechanism to enable the various liberties
or independent jurisdictions in England and Wales to be merged into the geographical counties in which they lay.
Liberties generally had a commission of the peace and gaol distinct from those of the county, and the Inspectors of Prisons
, in their annual report of 1850 noted:
or soke
s.
The justices of the peace
of any liberty, or of any county in which a liberty lay, were given the right to prepare a petition
seeking the union of the liberty with the county. Notice of the resolution to prepare the petition was to be published for three successive weeks in both a London newspaper and one circulating in the county involved. The petition was to lay out the reasons for the proposed union, and to set out in detail the arrangements for taking over the property of the liberty, and the payments to be made, or continued employment by the county of those holding franchise or office in the liberty.
If the petition was approved by the Privy Council
, a notice to that effect was to be published in the London Gazette
. The notice would detail the areas involved, and the parishes formerly in the liberty would be annexed to existing hundreds and petty sessional division
s of the county.
Following the union:
Where municipal borough
s incorporated under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835
had been granted a separate court of quarter sessions, they were expressly exempt from the legislation.
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
that provided a mechanism to enable the various liberties
Liberty (division)
Originating in the Middle Ages, a liberty was traditionally defined as an area in which regalian rights were revoked and where land was held by a mesne lord...
or independent jurisdictions in England and Wales to be merged into the geographical counties in which they lay.
Background
Throughout England and Wales there were numerous liberties which were for historic reasons, to varying degrees, independent of the administration of the authorities of the county in which they lay. By the nineteenth century it had become clear that their continued existence was causing inefficiencies in local government and frustrating the effective administration of justice.Liberties generally had a commission of the peace and gaol distinct from those of the county, and the Inspectors of Prisons
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons is the head of HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the senior inspector of prisons, young offender institutions and immigration service detention and removal centres in England and Wales...
, in their annual report of 1850 noted:
The inconvenience of these separate jurisdictions is most obvious, and particularly where they extend into more counties than one, which is not unfrequently the case. The prisons retained in them for the confinement of prisoners under criminal and civil process are of the most inferior description, and in civil cases the prison of a Liberty is not unfrequently selected either by the debtor or the creditor; by the former, as leaving him under less restraint than the county gaol; by the latter, as likely to punish respectability by its uncleanliness and discomfort.
The Act
The Act applied to any liberty that possessed a separate commission of the peace, be they divisions of a county, counties of a town or cityCounty corporate
A county corporate or corporate county was a type of subnational division used for local government in England, Ireland and Wales.Counties corporate were created during the Middle Ages, and were effectively small self-governing counties...
or soke
Soke (legal)
The term soke ), at the time of the Norman Conquest of England generally denoted "jurisdiction", but due to vague usage probably lacks a single precise definition....
s.
The justices of the peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
of any liberty, or of any county in which a liberty lay, were given the right to prepare a petition
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....
seeking the union of the liberty with the county. Notice of the resolution to prepare the petition was to be published for three successive weeks in both a London newspaper and one circulating in the county involved. The petition was to lay out the reasons for the proposed union, and to set out in detail the arrangements for taking over the property of the liberty, and the payments to be made, or continued employment by the county of those holding franchise or office in the liberty.
If the petition was approved by the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
, a notice to that effect was to be published in the London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
. The notice would detail the areas involved, and the parishes formerly in the liberty would be annexed to existing hundreds and petty sessional division
Petty sessional division
A petty sessional division was, in England and Wales, the area that a Magistrates' Court had jusridiction over. Petty sessional divisions were gradually consolidated in the 20th century , and were replaced by local justice areas in 2005.Petty sessional divisions were established under an Act of...
s of the county.
Following the union:
- The inhabitants of the liberty were to become liable for jury service in the county
- The gaol of the liberty was to become a county institution
- Prisoners were to be sent for trial at the county quarter sessionsQuarter SessionsThe Courts of Quarter Sessions or Quarter Sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the United Kingdom and other countries in the former British Empire...
or assizesAssizes (England and Wales)The Courts of Assize, or Assizes, were periodic criminal courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the Quarter Sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court... - The records of the liberty were to be delived to the custos rotulorumCustos rotulorumCustos rotulorum is the keeper of an English county's records and, by virtue of that office, the highest civil officer in the county...
of the county - The treasurer of the liberty was to pay over all monies to the county treasurer
Where municipal borough
Municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
s incorporated under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835
Municipal Corporations Act 1835
The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 – sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales...
had been granted a separate court of quarter sessions, they were expressly exempt from the legislation.
Unions effected under the Act
Notices of the following unions of liberties with counties were published in the London Gazette:- 21 March 1864: The Liberty of CawoodCawoodCawood is a large village and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England that is notable as the finding-place of the Cawood sword....
, WistowWistow, North YorkshireWistow is a small village and civil parish just north of Selby, North Yorkshire, England. Until 2004 Wistow had a small colliery.-External links:*...
and OtleyOtley-Transport:The main roads through the town are the A660 to the south east, which connects Otley to Bramhope, Adel and Leeds city centre, and the A65 to the west, which goes to Ilkley and Skipton. The A6038 heads to Guiseley, Shipley and Bradford, connecting with the A65...
united with the West Riding of YorkshireWest Riding of YorkshireThe West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
. - 1 July 1892: The Liberty of Havering atte BowerRoyal Liberty of HaveringHavering, also known as Havering-atte-Bower, was a royal manor and ancient liberty whose former area now forms part of, and gives its name to, the London Borough of Havering in Greater London...
united with the County of EssexEssexEssex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. - 25 June 1894: The Liberties of the Tower of LondonLiberties of the Tower of LondonThe Liberties of the Tower, or the Tower Liberty was an area adjoining the Tower of London, which was outside the jurisdiction of either the City of London or the County of Middlesex....
united with the County of LondonCounty of LondonThe County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government Act 1888. The Act created an administrative County of...
.