![Bedford Square 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Bedford_Square_2.jpg)
The Building Act 1774 (formally known as the Fires Prevention (Metropolis) Act 1774) was an
Act passed in 1774 by the
Parliament of Great Britain
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...
to consolidate earlier legislation and to regulate the design and construction of new buildings in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. The provisions of the Act regulated the design of new buildings erected in London and elsewhere in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
in the late
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
period.
The 1774 Act standardised the quality and construction of buildings and made the exterior of a building as fire-proof as possible, by restricting any superfluous exterior timber ornamentation except for door frames and shop fronts. The Act placed buildings into classes or "rates" defined by size and value, with a code of structural requirements for the
foundations
Foundation may refer to:
* Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization
** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S.
** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...
and external and
party walls
A party wall (occasionally parti-wall or parting wall, also known as common wall or as a demising wall) is a dividing partition between two adjoining buildings that is shared by the occupants of each residence or business. Typically, the builder ...
for each of the rates. It mandated inspection of new buildings by building
surveyors to ensure rules and regulations were applied. The Act also brought into being the first legislation that dealt with human life and escape, rather than just building safety, and made
parishes
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
responsible for permanent provision of working fire fighting equipment.
Professor Sir
John Summerson
Sir John Newenham Summerson (25 November 1904 – 10 November 1992) was one of the leading British architectural historians of the 20th century.
Early life
John Summerson was born at Barnstead, Coniscliffe Road, Darlington. His grandfather wo ...
, one of the leading British architectural historians of the 20th century, described it as "the great Building Act of 1774, a milestone in the history of London 'improvement'". It was the leading reason for the appearance of the many Georgian
houses
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
,
terraces and
squares
In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...
which remain important features of some parts of London and other cities and towns within the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, 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 the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
and elsewhere.
Background
After the
Great Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the ...
of 1666, it was realised how much the traditional construction of buildings had aided the spread of the fire, with the close proximity of buildings and the incendiary nature of building material such as timber and thatch fuelling the fire. Several Acts of Parliament over the next century attempted to improve building regulations:
*
Rebuilding of London Act 1666
The The reconstruction of London is an Act of the Parliament of England (19 Car. II. c. 8) with the long title "An Act for rebuilding the City of London."'Charles II, 1666: An Act for rebuilding the City of London.', Statutes of the Realm: volume ...
(19 Cha. 2, c. 8), also known as the London Building Act, determined that street widths, as well as the heights of houses, were regulated and brick construction was prescribed. Timber-framed buildings were forbidden. There could be no projections or jetties over the streets, because they allowed fire to leap from house to house. The intention was to make the street into an effective firebreak
*Mischiefs by Fire Act 1707 (6 Ann., c. 31) stipulated that wooden roofs had to be surrounded by a stone parapet
*Mischiefs by Fire Act 1708 (7 Ann., c. 17), also known as the London Building Act 1708, stipulated that window wooden frames should no longer be flush with the walls, but recessed
*Mischiefs by Fire Act 1724 (11 Geo. 1, c. 28)
*London Streets, City Act 1759 (33 Geo. 2, c. 30)
*Better Regulating of Buildings etc. Act 1764 (4 Geo. 3, c. 14)
*London Widening of Passages, etc. Act 1766 (6 Geo. 3, c. 27)
*London Building Act 1772 (12 Geo. 3, c. 73), relating to party wall construction
These previous Acts had mostly failed due to the lack of enforcement. The Building Act 1774 replaced, consolidated, improved and enforced these previous Acts.
The new Act was drafted by the architects
Robert Taylor and
George Dance the Younger
George Dance the Younger RA (1 April 1741 – 14 January 1825) was an English architect and surveyor as well as a portraitist.
The fifth and youngest son of the architect George Dance the Elder, he came from a family of architects, artists a ...
, who was then Clerk of the City Works. Its aims included:
* Making the exterior of ordinary houses as nearly incombustible as possible
* Preventing slipshod construction of party walls
* Preventing disputes between adjoining owners of party walls
The Bill was submitted to the House of Commons in February 1774 by Robert Taylor and
James Adam as "Joint Architects to H. M. Works", "on behalf of the Builders of London and Westminster", who found the existing legislation confusing and out of date.
Title, short title and popular names
Acts passed by the Parliament of Great Britain did not originally have
short titles
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.
The ...
; the Building Act 1774 was uniquely identified as
14 Geo. 3, c. 78. The
long 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.
The ...
of the Act is:
The
Short Titles Act 1896
The Short Titles Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict c 14) is an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It replaces the Short Titles Act 1892.
This Act was retained for the Republic of Ireland by section 2(2)(a ...
(59 & 60 Vict., c. 14), Schedule 1, gave the 1774 Act the short title the
Fires Prevention (Metropolis) Act 1774, but it is more widely referred to as the Building Act 1774. It is also known as the London Building Act 1774 and the Building Act of London 1774, and has been informally described as the great Building Act 1774, the Great Codifying Act 1774, and the Black Act 1774 (not to be confused with the
Black Act 1723
The Act 9 Geo 1 c 22, commonly known as the Black Act, or the Waltham Black Act, and sometimes called the Black Act 1722, the Black Act 1723, the Waltham Black Act 1722, the Criminal Law Act 1722, or the Criminal Law Act 1723, was an Act of t ...
).
Main provisions
Building Rates
In order to lay down hard and fast, standardised rules of construction it was necessary to categorise London buildings into separate classes or "rates". Each rate had to conform to its own structural code for foundations, thicknesses of external and party walls, and the positions of windows in outside walls. For all rates, the 1774 Act stipulated that all external window joinery was hidden behind the outer skin of masonry, as a precaution against fire. It also regulated the construction of hearths and chimneys.
The Act determined seven types of building construction graded by ground area occupied and value. The four rates applicable to houses predicted the likely
social class
A social class is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the Upper class, upper, Middle class, middle and Working class, lower classes. Membership in a social class can for ...
of their occupants.
* A “First Rate” House was valued at over £850, and occupied an area on the ground plan of more than nine "squares of building" (). These houses were typically for the "
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
" or "
gentry
Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past.
Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies
''Gentry'', in its widest ...
". The occupants would frequently not own the house, but would rent and use it as their
townhouse
A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...
as a temporary alternative to their larger
country house
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
.
* A “Second Rate” House was valued at between £300 and £850, and occupied an area on the ground plan of between five and nine "squares of building" (). These houses were typically for "
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...
" men, "
gentleman
A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...
of good fortune", or "
merchants
A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as industry ...
", and might face notable streets or the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
.
* A “Third Rate” House was smaller and valued at between £150 and £300, and occupied an area on the ground plan of between three and a half and nine "squares of building" (). These houses were typically for "
clerk
A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...
s", and faced principal streets.
* A “Fourth Rate” House was valued at less than £150, and occupied an area on the ground plan of less than three-and-a-half "squares of building" (). These houses were typically for "
mechanics
Mechanics (from Ancient Greek: μηχανική, ''mēkhanikḗ'', "of machines") is the area of mathematics and physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among physical objects. Forces applied to objects r ...
" or "
artisans
An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, s ...
", and would be found in minor streets.
All external woodwork, including ornament, was banished, except where it was necessary for shopfronts and doorcases.
Bowed shop windows were made to draw in to a or less projection. Window joinery which previous legislation had already pushed back from the wall face was now concealed in recesses to avoid the spread of fire.
File:First Rate House example.jpg, First Rate House
File:Second Rate House example.jpg, Second Rate House
File:Third Rate House example.jpg, Third Rate House
File:Fourth Rate House example.jpg, Fourth Rate House
The Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Rates were for any other building, including cranehouses,
windmills
A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some par ...
,
watermills
A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...
, and
workshops
Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the onl ...
. The Act included provisions stating a maximum floor area for
warehouses
A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities, town ...
.
Disputes
The Act regulated the responsibilities of the owners of party walls, and defined how disputes would be resolved.
Responsibilities of Surveyors
To address the past difficulties with enforcement, the Act created a statutory role for the surveyor. He had to survey any new building or wall being built, and was paid a fee by the
master workman constructing the work. The surveyor had to swear an oath that he would ensure the rules and regulations of the Act were observed. This led in 1844 to the role of "District Surveyor".
Parish Duties
![Microcosm of London Plate 035 - Fire in London (tone)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Microcosm_of_London_Plate_035_-_Fire_in_London_%28tone%29.jpg)
The Act stated that every
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
must "have, and keep in good order and repair, and in some known and publick place within each parish, a large engine, and also an hand engine, to throw up water for the extinguishing of fires", and also
pipes
Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to:
Objects
* Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules
** Piping, the use of pipes in industry
* Smoking pipe
** Tobacco pipe
* Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circula ...
and
firecocks with working supplies of water to supply these
fire engines
The Fire Engines were a post-punk band from Edinburgh, Scotland.
The Fire Engines were an influence on many bands that followed, including Franz Ferdinand and The Rapture, with Meat Whiplash and The Candyskins both taking their names from Fire ...
. In addition, the parish had to provide "in some known and publick place within each parish, three or more proper ladders of one, two and three story high, for assisting persons in houses on fire to escape therefrom". This was the first fire legislation to deal with human life and escape, rather than the safety of buildings alone.
Insurance and Accident
Before 1774 liability for fires in England was strict without exception. No excuse was permitted when an owner allowed a fire to spread to neighbouring properties, due to the danger of fire in crowded and largely wooden mediaeval towns and villages. The Act relaxed this liability by stipulating that no action should be taken against someone who caused a fire by accident. The Act also included measures to prevent deliberate fire setting in order to claim insurance
Adoption of the Act, and demand for the Third Rate House
![Earls Terrace, London](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Earls_Terrace%2C_London.jpg)
During the half-century or so after the 1774 Act came into force, building in brick or stone became standard in cities and towns, and houses of the second, third and fourth rate became standardised throughout the country.
The rising population in London generated demand for housing, encouraging land owners to develop large tracts of land. The great majority of these developments were built
speculatively: land owners improved their land by laying out roads and services, and then granted building leases on this land. Housing developers (landlords) would build "spec" houses on the improved land and generate an income from leaseholders by collecting rent. A builder-speculator bought the leasehold of a site from the ground landlord and built the shell and roofed and floored it, usually with the bare internal walls roughly plastered out. This would be in accordance with the stipulations laid down by the 1774 Act and with the guidance of pattern books such as
Peter Nicholson's ''The New Practical Builder'' (1823). The first true occupiers of the house would then have the carcass finished to their own taste. Builders' guides were published, simplifying the statutory requirements.
In 1821 the population of London had been 1.38 million. In the next fifty years it grew by a further million and the resultant need for housing, coming mainly from lower-middle and middle-class families - clerks, shopkeepers and other such tradespeople - was best met through the provision of
terraced houses
In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...
of medium size. By far the greatest number of speculative houses built were of the third rate, whose exact dimensions were arrived at as a result of the areas defined in the Act. Also, J.C. Loudon suggested in ''The Suburban Gardener and Villa Companion'' (1838), "this technical classification of houses has been made by the British legislature, chiefly with a view to facilitate their assessment for taxes", referring to taxes on windows, glass and brick, and houses were built to suit. Demand for the third rate house placed it at the forefront of the housing market; intended to offer the speculative builder the greatest economy, and the middle-class house buyer the greatest value, the terraced third rate house became, according to Loudon, the most numerous house type in early nineteenth-century London.
Outside of London
Many of the regulations of the Act were subsequently applied outside of London in other cities and towns of
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
, especially in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
and
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, and were also influential in developments in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
,
Bath,
Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...
,
Weymouth,
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
,
Margate
Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...
,
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level. ,
Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
,
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
and
Cheltenham
Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
, and in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
and
Newtown Pery in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. Some provisions of the Act became law in British colonies such as
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
Criticism of the Act
![Sutton Place Hackney](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Sutton_Place_Hackney.jpg)
In ''Georgian London'' (1945), Summerson described how "the Act contributed largely to what the later Georgians and early Victorians conceived to be the inexpressible monotony of the typical London street, a monotony which certainly must, at one time, have been overpowering." Whole streets and even neighbourhoods consisted of the same size of house. Ornament was discouraged, most woodwork was forbidden other than doors; window joinery was concealed behind recesses in the wallface. Summerson himself referred to a Georgian terrace, built in Dublin under the standards of the Act, as "simply one damned house after another".
Victorians found the resulting houses and streets monotonous and the dimensional restraints tyrannical, and christened the Act "The Black Act of 1774", although it was more likely the increasingly efficient capitalisation of building, not legislation, that was the main cause of this.
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...
blamed the Act for "all those flat, dull spiritless streets all resembling each other, like a large family of plain children." He also observed in his novel ''
Tancred; or, the New Crusade'' (1847) that:
Gower Street in
Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions.
Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...
, for example, was described by ''
The Builder
''Building'' is one of the United Kingdom's oldest business-to-business magazines, launched as ''The Builder'' in 1843 by Joseph Aloysius Hansom – architect of Birmingham Town Hall and designer of the Hansom Cab. The journal was renamed ''Bu ...
'' journal in 1887 as "one of the dullest, gloomiest thoroughfares in town
ith its
The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany.
Geography
Location
The Ith is immediatel ...
monotonous elevations wholly unbroken or unrelieved", and was referred to a decade later by historian Sir
Laurence Gomme
Sir George Laurence Gomme, FSA (18 December 1853 – 23 February 1916) was a public servant and leading British folklorist. He helped found both the Victoria County History and the Folklore Society. He also had an interest in old buildings an ...
, in his commentary on ''London in the Reign of Victoria'', as a "hideous monstrosity".
The Victorians often did their best to destroy the scale and symmetry which were the hallmark of the Act, by breaking up the line of Georgian frontages and adorning their immaculate façades with terracotta and composition dressings.
Apart from the rigid building prescriptions, the Act made no controls which related to matters of health. There were no controls on the amount of open space related to a dwelling, on the width of streets, on the height of buildings or on the height of rooms - even though these last two matters had had some tentative control under the earlier Rebuilding of London Act of 1666. The 1774 Act did not legislate any limit on occupancy. Smaller houses which yielded low rents were increasingly shoddily built, and the combination of overcrowding and poor-quality housing led to a severe decline in general living conditions. The provisions were lacking in detail, especially in the areas of drainage and sanitary facilities, ventilation and damp proofing.
Partial repeal
The 1774 Act was largely replaced by the Metropolitan Buildings Act 1844 (7 & 8 Vict., c. 84) and the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865 (28 & 29 Vict., c.90), leaving only Sections 83 and 86 in force today, concerning buildings insurance and liability for reinstatement. Under Section 83, "to deter and hinder ill-minded persons from wilfully setting their house or houses, or other buildings, on fire, with a view of gaining to themselves the insurance money", the insurer could reinstate property if requested by an interested party, or if the insurer suspected fraud or arson. This power has been largely unused and may be unnecessary, and there has been discussion of whether it should be reformed.
Importance of the Act
![Myddelton Square, Islington-geograph-2823209-by-Stephen-McKay](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Myddelton_Square%2C_Islington-geograph-2823209-by-Stephen-McKay.jpg)
As well as facilitating the enforcement of a structural code, the importance of the Building Act of 1774 as explained by Summerson was that:
The Act moved London away from its earlier chaotic and often mediaeval conditions, and ensured that whole city would be decent, handsome and orderly. It meant that, in an era when almost all construction was undertaken on speculative building leases, the landowner, the tenant and the community at large had a real guarantee of quality.
Despite the later criticisms, it had a greater effect upon London than any other previous legislative measure, and had major influence in other cities and towns. It has been suggested that, by imposing a uniform image and a means to identify and control London before its subsequent immense expansion, the Act prepared the capital for its next
imperial phase.
The Act established over its long career a machinery for control which was well tried and tested. It established the origins of the role of District Surveyor and above all it acted as a model for subsequent regulations. It showed how a town or city council could obtain and administer legislation that would control the construction of buildings within a city in the interests of public safety and health. The Building Acts in Bristol were closely modelled on it and there were certain similarities in the Acts in Liverpool. It established the principle that every parish had a duty to maintain equipment for fire fighting and rescue.
The new rating system led to the development of what are today perceived as grand and gorgeous terraces and
squares
In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...
in London and other cities and towns, creating simple and elegant uniformity which is much admired and reflected in the premiums paid when purchasing a Georgian property.
Most are now protected with
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
status.
Bibliography
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See also
*
History of fire safety legislation in the United Kingdom
The history of fire safety legislation in the United Kingdom formally covers the period from the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801 but is founded in the history of such legislation in England and Wales, and Sco ...
*
Canning, Liverpool
Canning (also known as the '' Georgian Quarter'') is an area on the borders of Toxteth and Liverpool city centre, England. It has no formal definition but is generally agreed to be bounded to the south by Upper Parliament Street, to the east by G ...
*
Clifton, Bristol
Clifton is both a suburb of Bristol, England, and the name of one of the city's thirty-five council wards. The Clifton ward also includes the areas of Cliftonwood and Hotwells. The eastern part of the suburb lies within the ward of Clifton Do ...
*
Georgian Dublin
''Georgian Dublin'' is a phrase used in terms of the history of Dublin that has two interwoven meanings:
# to describe a historic period in the development of the city of Dublin, Ireland, from 1714 (the beginning of the reign of King George I ...
*
Grainger Town, Newcastle upon Tyne
*
New Town, Edinburgh
The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of its original neo-classical and Georgian period architecture. Its best known street is Princes Street ...
, an 18th- and 19th-century development that contains some of the largest surviving examples of Georgian-style architecture and layout.
*
Newtown Pery, Limerick
*
The Georgian Group
The Georgian Group is a British charity, and the national authority on Georgian architecture built between 1700 and 1837 in England and Wales. As one of the National Amenity Societies, The Georgian Group is a statutory consultee on alterati ...
Notes
References
{{UK legislation
Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1774
Legal history of England
Legal history of the United Kingdom
Laws in the United Kingdom
Fire prevention
Health and safety in the United Kingdom
Georgian architecture
Architectural styles
British architectural history
18th-century architecture
19th-century architecture