Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882

Development of the legislation

According to Halfin, "Lubbock's Bill came at a time when England was among the last of the European nations to be completely without protective legislation for cultural property. Many of his ideas were borrowed from a long history of royal and aristocratic interest in preservation that was prevalent in Europe during the nineteenth century. In particular, Lubbock was strongly influenced by the Abbé Gregoire, who had so successfully championed the cause of cultural preservation in France."

The first introduction of the bill in 1873 was controversial because it envisioned the government being able to compulsorily purchase monuments on privately owned land if the owner decided to develop the land. By the Act's passage in 1882, these provisions had been removed from the bill.

The schedule

The act contains a schedule of the initial 68 sites that were covered by the legislation. These are almost all pre-historic monuments, some of the most famous such sites in the country among them, alongside some that were felt to be at particular risk at the time.

England and Wales

There were 26 English sites listed in the schedule, in just 10 counties, including seven sites in Wiltshire. Welsh monuments were represented by one site in each of north, south and west Wales.

Scotland

The 1882 schedule included 21 monuments, the majority of which are prehistoric sites. Two are Neolithic, five Bronze Age, eight Iron Age and six from early Christian/Pictish periods, although two of the prehistoric stones also have notable early Christian additions. Those sites now in the care of Historic Scotland are indicated with '(HS)'.

Ireland

In 1882 the whole of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. Subsequent legislation for Ireland used the terminology of historic monuments, which continues in Northern Ireland. Three sites in the schedule are in what became Northern Ireland, one being in County Armagh and two in County Down. The fifteen sites now in the Republic of Ireland are protected by the National Monuments Service and include two world heritage sites. As with England and Wales, the 1882 selection was overwhelmingly those thought to be prehistoric sites, although there is now uncertainty over the age of many sites.

Legacy

The whole act was repealed by section 24 of, and the second schedule to, the Ancient Monuments Consolidation and Amendment Act 1913 (3 & 4 Geo. 5. c. 32)

Notes

References

• The Construction of Built Heritage

References

1. {{cite DNBSupp. Edward Burnett. Tylor
2. Halfin, Simon. (1995). "The Legal Protection of Cultural Property in Britain: Past, Present and Future". DePaul Journal of Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law.
3. {{cite wikisource. Hunter. Robert. (1907). Manchester University Press (Includes the full text of the 1882 Act.)
4. (13 April 2010). "Scotland: A List of Scheduled Monuments, and a List of Properties in Care".
5. (31 March 2010). "The Schedule of Historic Monuments".
6. [https://maps.archaeology.ie/HistoricEnvironment/ National Monuments database at archaeology.ie]