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The Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 ( cy, Y Deddfau Cyfreithiau yng Nghymru 1535 a 1542) were Acts of the
Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advise ...
, and were the parliamentary measures by which
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
was annexed to the
Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. On ...
. Moreover, the legal system of England was extended to Wales and the norms of English administration were introduced; with the intention to create a single
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
and legal
jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...
. The Acts were passed during the reign of King
Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
, who came from the Welsh
Tudor dynasty The House of Tudor was a royal house of largely Welsh and English origin that held the English throne from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd and Catherine of France. Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of England and it ...
, and are sometimes referred to as the Acts of Union. Before these Acts, Wales was excluded from Parliamentary representation and divided between the Principality of Wales and many feudal statelets called the
marcher Lord A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in ...
ships. The Act declared King Henry's intentions, that because of differences in law and language: – and therefore:


Names and dates

They are sometimes misleadingly known as the Acts of Union ( cy, Y Deddfau Uno), but the legal short title of each Act has since 1948 been "The Laws in Wales Act". They are also often seen cited by the years they received
Royal Assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...
, 1536 and 1543 respectively, although the official citation uses the preceding years, as each of these Acts this date was passed between 1 January and
25 March Events Pre-1600 * 421 – Italian city Venice is founded with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo di Rialto on the islet of Rialto. * 708 – Pope Constantine becomes the 88th pope. He would be the last pope to vis ...
, at a time when New Year's Day fell on 25 March.Fryde, Greenway, Porter & Roy, ''Handbook of British Chronology'', Royal Historical Society Guides & Handbooks 2, 3rd ed., University College, London 1986, p. 573


Background

From the conquest of
Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, an ...
in 1282–83 until the passing of the Laws in Wales Acts, the administrative system of Wales had remained unchanged. By the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 the territory of the native Welsh rulers had been broken up into the five counties of
Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...
,
Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor ...
, Cardigan,
Carmarthen Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...
, and Merioneth. Even though the five counties were subject to English criminal law, the "Principality" was the king of England's own personal
fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...
and
Welsh law Welsh law ( cy, Cyfraith Cymru) is an autonomous part of the English law system composed of legislation made by the Senedd.Law Society of England and Wales (2019)England and Wales: A World Jurisdiction of Choice eport(Link accessed: 16 March 202 ...
continued to be used for civil cases. The rest of Wales, except for the county of Flint, which was part of the Principality, and the Royal lordships of
Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Mot ...
and Pembroke, was made up of numerous small lordships, each with its own courts, laws and other customs. When Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond (descended from an Anglesey landowning family) seized the English throne in 1485, becoming Henry VII, no change was made to the system of governing Wales, though he remained concerned about the power of the
Marcher Lord A Marcher lord () was a noble appointed by the king of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches) between England and Wales. A Marcher lord was the English equivalent of a margrave (in the Holy Roman Empire) or a marquis (in ...
s and the lawlessness and disorder in the
Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches ( cy, Y Mers) is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ...
. To deal with this there was a revival of the
Council of Wales and the Marches The Court of the Council in the Dominion and Principality of Wales, and the Marches of the same, commonly called the Council of Wales and the Marches () or the Council of the Marches, was a regional administrative body based in Ludlow Castle wi ...
, which had been established in the reign of
Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in Englan ...
. After the deaths of many of the Marcher lords during the
Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the throne of England, English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These w ...
, many of the lordships had passed into the hands of the crown.
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
did not see the need to reform the government of Wales at the beginning of his reign, but gradually he perceived a threat from some of the remaining Marcher lords and therefore instructed his chief minister,
Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false char ...
, to seek a solution. His solution was the
annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
or incorporation of Wales which, along with other significant changes at the same time, led to the creation of England as a modern sovereign state. The Acts have been known as the "Acts of Union", but they were not popularly referred to as such until 1901, when historian Owen M. Edwards assigned them that name—a name some historians such as S. B. Chrimes regard as misleading, as the Acts were concerned with harmonising laws, not political union.


The Acts

The Act of 1535 was passed in 1536 in the 8th session of Henry VIII's 5th Parliament, which began on 4 February 1535/6, and
repealed A repeal (O.F. ''rapel'', modern ''rappel'', from ''rapeler'', ''rappeler'', revoke, ''re'' and ''appeler'', appeal) is the removal or reversal of a law. There are two basic types of repeal; a repeal with a re-enactment is used to replace the law ...
with effect from 21 December 1993. Meanwhile the Act of 1542 was passed in 1943 in the 2nd session of Henry VIII's 8th Parliament, which began on 22 January 1542/3, and repealed with effect from 3 January 1995. The first of these Acts was passed by a Parliament that had no representatives from Wales. Its effect was to extend English law into the Marches and provide that Wales had representation in future Parliaments. The Acts were given their
short title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title and a long title. T ...
s by the
Statute Law Revision Act 1948 The Statute Law Revision Act 1948 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 5(3) of the Statute Law Revision Act 1950 provided that this Act, so far as it repealed chapter 34 of the Statute of Westminster 1285 (13 Edw. 1 St. ...
.


Provisions

These Acts also had many effects on the administration of Wales. The marcher lordships were abolished as political units, and five new counties were established on Welsh lands (
Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, wit ...
,
Brecknockshire , image_flag= , HQ= Brecon , Government= Brecknockshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= Brycheiniog , Status= , Start= 1535 , End= ...
,
Radnorshire , HQ = Presteigne , Government = Radnorshire County Council (1889–1974) Radnorshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin = , Status = historic county, administrative county , Start ...
,
Montgomeryshire , HQ= Montgomery , Government= Montgomeryshire County Council (1889–1974)Montgomeryshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin= , Status= , Start= , End= ...
and
Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...
), thus creating a Wales of 13 counties;34 & 35 Hen. VIII. c. 26. Other areas of the lordships were annexed to
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
,
Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouths ...
,
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of ...
,
Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Mot ...
,
Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...
,
Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The county is home to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Park oc ...
,
Cardiganshire Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Ce ...
and
Merionethshire , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...
; The borders of Wales for administrative/government purposes were established and have remained the same since; this was unintentional as Wales was to be incorporated fully into England, but the status of
Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, wit ...
was still ambiguous in the view of some people until confirmed by the Local Government Act 1972. For ecclesiastical (i.e.
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...
) purposes, several areas of England were parts of Welsh
diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...
s until disestablishment of the
Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The pos ...
in 1920: the area around
Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads. The town was the administrative headquarters of the Borough ...
,
Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
— part of
St Asaph St Asaph (; cy, Llanelwy "church on the Elwy") is a city and community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 3,355, making it the second-smallest city in Britain in terms of population and urban ...
diocese — was the largest. (In 1920, those parishes wholly within England were transferred to English dioceses, though parishes partly in England and partly in Wales were allowed to elect either to remain in the Church of England or to join the newly disestablished Church in Wales: 17 out of 18 voted to stay with the Church of England so there is a little area of England in the Church in Wales diocese of St Asaph, and larger areas of Wales still within Church of England dioceses.) Wales elected members to the English (Westminster) Parliament, and the
Council of Wales and the Marches The Court of the Council in the Dominion and Principality of Wales, and the Marches of the same, commonly called the Council of Wales and the Marches () or the Council of the Marches, was a regional administrative body based in Ludlow Castle wi ...
was established on a legal basis.26 Hen. VIII c.6 The Court of Great Sessions was established, a system peculiar to Wales, with a Sheriff appointed in every county, and other county officers as in England. The courts of the marcher lordships lost the power to try serious criminal cases, all courts in Wales were to be conducted in the English language, not Welsh,27 Hen VIII, c. 26 § 17 and the office of
Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...
was introduced, nine to every county. Each county or shire consisted of fewer than a dozen hundreds corresponding with varying degrees of accuracy to the former
commote A commote ( Welsh ''cwmwd'', sometimes spelt in older documents as ''cymwd'', plural ''cymydau'', less frequently ''cymydoedd'')''Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru'' (University of Wales Dictionary), p. 643 was a secular division of land in Medieval Wale ...
s.


Legacy

These measures were popular with the Welsh gentry in particular, who recognised that they would give them equality under law with English citizens. The reactions of many of the prominent Welsh of the day and down the centuries were very similar: gratitude that the laws had been introduced and made Wales a peaceful and orderly country. Despite historians such as G. R. Elton, who treated the Acts as merely a triumph of Tudor efficiency, modern British, and particularly Welsh, historians are more likely to investigate evidence of the damaging effects of the Acts on Welsh identity, culture, and economy. While the Welsh gentry embraced the Acts and quickly attempted to merge themselves into English
aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word' ...
, the majority of the population could have found themselves adrift amid a legal and economic system whose language and focus were unfamiliar to them.


The Welsh language

An example of the effects on the Welsh language is the first section of the 1535 Act, which states: The same section then goes on to say that: Section 17 of the 1535 Act made English the only language of the law courts and said that those who used Welsh would not be appointed to, or paid for, any public office in Wales unless they used English when carrying out their work: This language clause laid the foundation for a thoroughly anglicised ruling class of
landed gentry The landed gentry, or the ''gentry'', is a largely historical British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. While distinct from, and socially below, the British peerage, t ...
in Wales, which would have many consequences. All remaining parts of the 1535 Act including those relating to language were definitively repealed in 1993, by the Welsh Language Act 1993, that sections 18–21 were repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1887. Most of the remaining parts of the 1542 Act were also repealed by the Welsh Language Act 1993, with the final remaining section 47 of the 1542 Act about
market overt Market overt or ''marché ouvert'' (Law French for "open market") is an English legal concept originating in mediaeval times governing subsequent ownership of stolen goods. The rule was abolished in England and Wales but it is still good law in some ...
repealed by the
Sale of Goods (Amendment) Act 1994 Market overt or ''marché ouvert'' (Law French for "open market") is an English legal concept originating in mediaeval times governing subsequent ownership of stolen goods. The rule was abolished in England and Wales but it is still good law in some ...
.


References


Citations


Notes


Bibliography

* * * * Williams, W. Ogwen (1971), "The union of England and Wales". In A. J. Roderick (Ed.), ''Wales through the ages: volume II, Modern Wales, from 1485 to the beginning of the 20th century'', pp. 16–23. Llandybïe : Christopher Davies (Publishers) Ltd. .


External links

* (Full text of the Acts as passed, from
Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...
scan) *
27 Henry VIII c.26
An Act for Laws and Justice to be ministered in Wales in like Form as it is in this Realm *
34 & 35 Henry VIII c.26
An Act for certain Ordinances in the King's Majesty's Dominion and Principality of Wales
Digital Reproduction of the Original 1535 Act on the Parliamentary Archives catalogue

Digital Reproduction of the Original 1542 Act on the Parliamentary Archives catalogue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laws in Wales Acts 1535-1542 Acts of the Parliament of England (1485–1603) Annexation Constitutional laws of Wales 16th century in Wales 1535 in law 1542 in law 1535 in England 1542 in England 1543 in law 1543 in England 1535 in Wales 1542 in Wales 1543 in Wales Repealed English legislation England–Wales relations Church in Wales Principality of Wales