Burying in Woollen Acts
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The Burying in Woollen Acts 1666–80 were acts of the Parliament of England (citation 18 & 19 Cha. 2. c. 4 (1666),[1][2] 30 Cha. 2. c. 3 (1678)[3] and 32 Cha. 2. c. 1 (1680)[4]) which required the dead, except plague victims and the destitute, to be buried in pure English woollen shrouds to the exclusion of any foreign textiles.[5]
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- (Ruffhead: 18 Cha. 2. c. 4)
| Act of Parliament | |||||||
| |||||||
| Long title | An Act for Burying in Woollen onely. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citation | 18 & 19 Cha. 2. c. 4
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| Territorial extent | England and Wales | ||||||
| Dates | |||||||
| Royal assent | 18 January 1667 | ||||||
| Commencement | 25 March 1667[a] | ||||||
| Repealed | 28 July 1863 | ||||||
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Status: Repealed | |||||||
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |||||||
| Act of Parliament | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Long title | An Act for burying in Woollen. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citation | 30 Cha. 2. c. 3 | ||||||||
| Territorial extent | England and Wales | ||||||||
| Dates | |||||||||
| Royal assent | 15 July 1678 | ||||||||
| Commencement | 23 May 1678[b] | ||||||||
| Repealed | 23 July 1814 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Status: Repealed | |||||||||
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |||||||||
| Act of Parliament | |||||||
| |||||||
| Long title | An Additionall Act for burying in Woollen. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citation | 32 Cha. 2. c. 1 | ||||||
| Territorial extent | England and Wales | ||||||
| Dates | |||||||
| Royal assent | 10 January 1681 | ||||||
| Commencement | 2 February 1680[c] | ||||||
| Repealed | 23 July 1814 | ||||||
| |||||||
Status: Repealed | |||||||
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |||||||
Enforcement
It was a requirement that an affidavit be sworn in front of a justice of the peace (usually by a relative of the deceased), confirming burial in wool, with the punishment of a £5 fee for noncompliance. Burial entries in parish registers were marked with the word "affidavit" or its equivalent to confirm that affidavit had been sworn; it would be marked "naked" for those too poor to afford the woollen shroud.
| Burying in Woollen Act 1814 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |||||||||
.svg) | |||||||||
| Long title | An Act to repeal Two Acts of the Thirtieth and Thirty second Years of King Charles the Second, for burying in Woollen, and for indemnifying Persons against Penalties for Offences committed against the said Acts. | ||||||||
| Citation | 54 Geo. 3. c. 108 | ||||||||
| Territorial extent | United Kingdom | ||||||||
| Dates | |||||||||
| Royal assent | 23 July 1814 | ||||||||
| Commencement | 23 July 1814[d] | ||||||||
| Repealed | 5 August 1873 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Status: Repealed | |||||||||
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |||||||||
The legislation was in force until the passing of the Burying in Woollen Act 1814 (54 Geo. 3. c. 108), but was generally ignored after 1770.[6] The 1666 act had been annulled by the passing of the 1680 act. The whole act was repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. c. 125), which came into force on 28 July 1863.[7]
Use in genealogy
Notes
- Section 1.
- Start of session
- Section 1.