The Sheffield Improvement Act 1818 was a local

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

passed in 1818 regarding the administration of the town of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

. Before 1818, the town was run by a mixture of bodies. The

Sheffield Town Trust The Sheffield Town Trust, formerly officially known as the Burgery of Sheffield,Robert Tittler, ''The Reformation and the Towns in England'' is a charitable trust operating in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Mediaeval period The Town Trust wa ...

held responsibility for the repair of

Lady's Bridge Lady's Bridge is the oldest bridge across the River Don in the City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the central section of the city, linking the Wicker to the north with Waingate to the south. History The first bridge The original woo ...

Barkers Pool Barker's Pool is a public city square and street in the centre of Sheffield, England. The focus of Barker's Pool is the Grade II* listed war memorial that was unveiled on 28 October 1925 to commemorate the First World War. The Grade II* listed ...

and various highways, and had traditionally contributed to general improvements to the town. The

Church Burgesses The Church Burgesses, formerly known officially as the Twelve Capital Burgesses and Commonalty of the Town and Parish of Sheffield, are a charitable organisation in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire. In 1297, the Burgery of Sheffield was e ...

also had the right to improve streets and bridges in the area of the church. By the nineteenth century, both organisations lacked the funds to construct significant improvements, and struggled to maintain existing infrastructure.Clyde Binfield et al., ''The History of the City of Sheffield 1843–1993: Volume I: Politics'' The Church Burgesses organised a public meeting on 27 May 1805 and proposed to apply to Parliament for an act to pave, light and clean the city's streets. The Town Trust's weak financial position was not public knowledge, and many at the meeting believed that it would be able to achieve these objectives, without the need for a new body which would have to levy rates. The proposal was defeated. The idea of a Commission was revived in 1810, and later in the decade Sheffield finally followed the model adopted by several other towns in petitioning for an Act to establish an Improvement Commission. This was rewarded with the 1818 Act, which established the Commission and included a number of other provisions.

Improvement Commission

The Town Trustees and the

Master Cutler The Master Cutler is the head of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire established in 1624. Their role is to act as an ambassador of industry in Sheffield, England. The Master Cutler is elected by the freemen of the company on the first Monday of ...

were given the right to appoint a Commission of eighty members. Vacancies were filled by co-option. The Commission was mandated to improve the cleaning, lighting and watching in an area within three-quarters of a mile of Sheffield Parish Church. This covered most of the built up area at the time, but did not include the emerging suburbs. In order to fulfil their mandate, the Commission was awarded an annual levy of 1s3d in the pound on all property in the town with a rental value over £7 per year. The watching mandate did not amount to setting up a

police force The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

, but did increase the number of

watchmen ''Watchmen'' is an American comic book maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987 before being collected in a single-vo ...

and gave them new powers. By 1833, it employed fifty watchmen. They were given responsibilities for identifying obstructions to footpaths, excessive smoke emitted from chimneys and unsafe walls, cellars and middens.David A. Reeder et al., ''Cities of Ideas: Civil Society and Urban Governance in Britain 1800–2000'' The Improvement Commission met monthly. Meetings included "appeals from individuals, debate over priorities and contested interpretation of its statutory powers". The watch was extensively reformed in 1836. Sheffield Town Council was established in 1843, and it took over responsibility for watching the following year, establishing the

Sheffield City Police Sheffield and Rotherham Constabulary was a short-lived police force in England from 1 June 1967 to 31 March 1974. It was created as a merger of the Sheffield City Police and Rotherham Borough Police, and covered the adjacent county boroughs of ...

in the 1850s. It absorbed the remaining powers of the Improvement Commission in the 1860s.

Other provisions

The Act established the Sheffield Gas-Light Company, with the right to construct a

gasworks A gasworks or gas house is an industrial plant for the production of flammable gas. Many of these have been made redundant in the developed world by the use of natural gas, though they are still used for storage space. Early gasworks Coal ...

at Shude Hill, to provide

street lighting A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, street lamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution ...

. The company was also permitted to supply private individuals. All owners of steam engines in the town were required to consume the engine's

smoke Smoke is a suspension of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-produc ...

, on request, on pain of a £50 fine. This was never enforced. In addition, all occupiers were required to cleanse and sweep footways and channels in front of the premises before 10:00 on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. Those who did not comply were subject to a fine of ten shillings, and householders were regularly fined for a failure to do so.

References

{{UK legislation 1818 in law History of Sheffield United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1818 Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning England Improvement commissioners 19th century in Yorkshire