The Ancient Monuments Act 1900 ( 63 & 64 Vict. c. 34) was an act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

that aimed to improve the protection afforded to

ancient monument An ancient monument can refer to any early or historical manmade structure or architecture. Certain ancient monuments are of cultural importance for nations and become symbols of international recognition, including the Baalbek, ruins of Baalbek ...

s in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Details

The

Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 The Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 ( 45 & 46 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was introduced by John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury, recognising the need for a governmental administration on the protection ...

( 45 & 46 Vict. c. 73) had begun the process of establishing legal protection for Britain's ancient monuments; these had all been prehistoric sites, such as ancient

tumuli A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...

. By the turn of the century, the scope of the earlier legislation was felt to be insufficient, and the act empowered the government's Commissioners of Work and local

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

s to protect a wider range of properties. The act also allowed these groups to provide public access to ancient monuments, and to financially assist with their conservation.

Consequences

The Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1910 ( 10 Edw. 7. & 1 Geo. 5. c. 3) expanded on the 1900 act. In 1913, gaps in the legislation between the protection ascribed to monuments under the three previous acts led to the a royal commission and the passing of the additional Ancient Monuments Consolidation and Amendment Act 1913 ( 3 & 4 Geo. 5. c. 32).

Repeal

The whole act was repealed, except so far as it related to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, by section 24 of, and the second schedule to, Ancient Monuments Consolidation and Amendment Act 1913 ( 3 & 4 Geo. 5. c. 32), subject to the proviso in section 24.The Public General Statutes, pp 188
189
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Notes

References

Bibliography