THEME The Law and History

Educational Reform,State and School in C19th Britain

Prior to the Industrial Revolution the state played no role in the education of children. The Industrial Revolution however saw families forced into dense housing in the new industrial towns and gangs of untamed children roamed the streets, answerable to few, including the church and the government knew it had to intervene. The government thought…

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Leaders of the Enlightenment, in a nutshell

Leaders of enlightenment

Who were the central thinkers and leaders of the period of the enlightenment…who together changed the way we and our societies and families that made those societies thought and organised our world. There would be backward steps but the genie of enlightenment was out of the box…

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Act of Settlement 1700-1701

Act of Settlement 1701document

The Act of Settlement in 1701, enshrined the exclusion of Catholics from the line of succession in England. It ensured the continuation of the House of Hanover.

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‘Lunatics’ and the Poor Law Act 1834

This entry is part 4 of 9 in the series Statutes of Law

Asylums had been operating in Britain for hundreds of years, the first recorded was the Bethlem Royal Hospital established in the C15th and were run  as private charitable institutions. The whole business was a haphazard affair until the Madhouse Act of 1774 which established licensing and yearly inspections of asylums. Still little provision was made…

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Birth Marriage Death Registration Act 1836

This entry is part 5 of 9 in the series Statutes of Law

The Birth, Marriage and Death Registration Act of 1836, introduced registration of these life events but contained no penalties for refusal to register. It established the General Register Office and divided the country into registration districts. It became effective from 1st July 1837   Find the earliest registration of a life event in your tree…

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