The Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 was an Act of the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...

(as it then was). It was introduced by

John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury, 4th Baronet, (30 April 183428 May 1913), known as Sir John Lubbock, 4th Baronet from 1865 until 1900, was an English banker, Liberal politician, philanthropist, scientist and polymath. Lubbock worked in his fa ...

, recognising the need for a governmental administration on the protection of

ancient monument In British law, an ancient monument is an early historical structure or monument (e.g. an archaeological site) worthy of preservation and study due to archaeological or heritage interest. The ''Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 ...

s, and was finally passed after a number of failed attempts on heritage protection acts. The gradual change towards a state-based authority responsible for the safeguarding of the Kingdom's national heritage manifested itself through the appointment of the first Inspector of Ancient Monuments in 1882, General Pitt Rivers.

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 1882 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 Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. Welsh monuments were represented by one site in each of north, south and west Wales. (includes the full text of the 1882 Act).

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 Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment ...

are indicated with '(HS)'.

Ireland

In 1882 the whole of Ireland was under British administration. 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 Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

are protected by the National Monuments ServiceNational Monuments database at archeology.ie
/ref> 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.

References