The Sunday Closing (Wales) Act 1881 was an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. It was one of the Licensing Acts 1828 to 1886. It required the closure of all

public houses A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

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 ...

on Sundays. The Act had considerable political importance as a formal acknowledgement of the separate character of Wales, setting a precedent for future legislation and decisions. It was repealed in 1911.

Introduction of the legislation

The legislation was introduced by the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Government elected in 1880 under

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

. It was the first Act since the annexation of Wales which specifically applied only to Wales.John Davies, ''A History of Wales'', 1993, A similar Bill which would have applied in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

was rejected by Parliament. The 1881 Act did not apply to Monmouthshire, but was extended over that county in 1915 under wartime legislation which was reaffirmed in 1921.Hansard 1921
/ref> However, later Acts which were specific to Wales, including the

Welsh Intermediate Education Act 1889 The Welsh Intermediate Education Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict c 40) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Background Elementary education had been compulsory in Wales, as in the rest of the United Kingdom, since the introduction of t ...

, were also applied to Monmouthshire.

Background and effects

The legislation followed pressure by the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

and, in particular, the nonconformist

chapels A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

. According to historian John Davies, the public houses in Wales had become "recruiting centres for the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

" following earlier Liberal legislation to restrict the licensed trade, and there was considerable backing among Welsh

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

men to restrict their opening. However, one of the effects of the legislation was to encourage the opening of a large number of private social clubs which were excluded from it, and the legislation seems to have had little effect on

drunkenness Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main ...

. According to Davies, "above all, he legislationconnected Welshness with negativity", and it became increasingly unpopular through the 20th century.

Repeal

The Sunday Closing (Wales) Act 1881 was repealed and consolidated into the Licensing (Consolidation) Act 1910. The Licensing Act 1953 later repealed the Licensing (Consolidation) Act 1910. Sunday Closing, however, was still retained. The

Licensing Act 1961 A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

enabled local authorities in Wales to hold polls if their electorate wished to retain, remove or readopt Sunday Closing. Shortly after the enactment of the

Licensing Act Licensing Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used in the United Kingdom for legislation relating to licensing. List * Licensing Order of 1643, an Act imposing pre-publication censorship and prompting Milton to write ''Areopagitica''. ...

there was a nationwide referendum in 1961. This first referendum oversaw the removal of Sunday Closing in Monmouthshire, Newport,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, Glamorgan, Swansea, Merthyr Tydfil and

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

. Another referendum was held in 1968 which oversaw the further abandonment of Sunday Closing by Brecknockshire, Radnorshire 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 ...

. The last district to abandon Sunday Closing was

Dwyfor Dwyfor was one of the five local government districts of Gwynedd, Wales from 1974 to 1996, covering the Llŷn peninsula. Its council was based in Pwllheli. History The district was created on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1 ...

who abandoned it in 1996. The requirement for regular polls on Sunday opening in Wales was abolished by the Licensing Act 2003.

References

{{UK legislation Welsh culture History of Wales United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1881 1881 in Wales Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning Wales Repealed United Kingdom Acts of Parliament Sunday Alcohol law in the United Kingdom