The Bridges Act 1530 (22 Hen 8 c 5), sometimes called the Statute of Bridges, was an Act 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 advised ...

. It was passed in 1531. It was intended to ensure the upkeep of

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

s, which at the time were usually made of wood and required regular maintenance in order to keep them open. Section 3 ceased to have effect by virtue of section 311 of, and Schedule 23 to, the

Highways Act 1959 A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

. The whole Act was repealed by section 312(2) of, and Schedule 25 to, the Highways Act 1959. The repeal effected by section 312(2) of the Highways Act 1959 was extended to Greater London by section 16(2) of, and paragraph 70 of Schedule 6 to, the

London Government Act 1963 The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...

Section 1

In this section, the words "whereof one to be of the quorum" were repealed by section 1 of, and Schedule 1 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1948. Section I empowered

justices 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 sa ...

to look into matters of broken bridges and to arrange for their repair or rebuilding by, or at the expense of, those who were responsible for their maintenance.

Section 2

Under section II, in cases where those responsible could not be determined, the burden would fall on the inhabitants of the city or town the bridge was situated in; if it lay outside a town, then the burden would fall on the shire or riding as a whole.

Section 3

In this section, the words "or iiii of the said justices at the leaste whereof one to be of the quorum", the words from "to call before them the constables" to "inhabitauntes shall have power and auctoritie", and the words from "and after such taxacion made" to "delyver to the owner thereof" were repealed by section 1 of, and Schedule 1 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1948. Section III provided that in these cases, the justices of the peace were empowered to call before them the constables of every town and parish in the area responsible – in the absence of the constables, "two of the most honest inhabitants" would suffice – and, with their assent, assess and then tax every inhabitant for a reasonable sum to cover the cost of the work required. The justices were to draw up a roll of all persons so taxed, and appoint two collectors in every

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

. The justices were also given the power to appoint two surveyors to oversee the work, who would receive the money from the collectors.

Section 7

In this section, the words "whereof one to be of the quorum" were repealed by section 1 of, and Schedule 1 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1948.

Bridges Act 1803

The Bridges Act 1803 created some additional statutory provisions that had become necessary due to the effluence of time and events since the 1530 Act. This included giving statutory weight to the common law title of the key technical officials engaged for these functions by the Crown, namely, the

county surveyor A county surveyor is a public official in the United Kingdom and the United States. United Kingdom Webb & Webb describe the increasing chaos that began to prevail within this same period in field of county surveying in England and Wales, with c ...

of the county responsible for the upkeep of subject bridges, and the roads over them for 100 yards past the ends of the bridge.The statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 19: Google eBooks: Accessed 16 October 201

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References

* Halsbury's Statutes,