The Wales and Berwick Act 1746 (20 Geo. II, c. 42) was an Act of 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 ...

that created a statutory definition of England as including

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 ...

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 ...

and

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census re ...

. This definition applied to all Acts passed before and after the Act's coming into force, unless a given Act provided an alternative definition. According to Blackstone, the Act "perhaps superfluously" made explicit what was previously implicit. The town of Berwick had changed hands between

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

on several occasions prior to the union of the two kingdoms in 1707 and had historically been a

royal burgh A royal burgh () was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...

. The Act confirmed that

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

and not Scottish law would apply to Berwick. Of the original Act's four sections, only section 3 related to Wales and Berwick; sections 1 and 2 regulated collection of

window tax Window tax was a property tax based on the number of windows in a house. It was a significant social, cultural, and architectural force in England, France, and Ireland during the 18th and 19th centuries. To avoid the tax, some houses from the p ...

and section 4 permitted

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

officials to replace the prescribed

oath of fidelity A loyalty oath is a pledge of allegiance to an organization, institution, or state of which an individual is a member. In the United States, such an oath has often indicated that the affiant has not been a member of a particular organization or ...

with a declaration, owing to their objection to oath-taking. The

short 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. T ...

'Wales and Berwick Act 1746' was introduced after the other sections had been repealed. The Act was repealed with regard to Wales by the

Welsh Language Act 1967 The Welsh Language Act 1967, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which gave some rights to use the Welsh language in legal proceedings in Wales (including Monmouthshire) and gave the relevant Minister the right to authorise the pro ...

, and in its entirety by the

Interpretation Act 1978 The Interpretation Act 1978 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act makes provision for the interpretation of Acts of Parliament, Measures of the General Synod of the Church of England, Measures of the Church Assembly, subor ...

. The

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, which came into force on 1 April 1974, explicitly stated that in future legislation 'England' would consist of the 46 metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties established by the Act (which included Berwick) and that 'Wales' would consist of the eight Welsh counties established by the Act. This also had the effect of ending debate on whether

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, wit ...

was a part of Wales, or of England. The administration of law had been attached to one of the English law circuits, Oxford, and the

Local Government Act 1933 The Local Government Act 1933 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated and revised existing legislation that regulated local government in England (except the County of London) and Wales. It remained the principal legi ...

had listed both Monmouthshire and the county borough of Newport as parts of England. The Interpretation Act 1978 restated the provisions of the 1972 Act with respect to legislation passed after 1 April 1974 and noted explicitly that in legislation enacted before then England included Berwick and Monmouthshire; and also that in legislation prior to 1967 it still included Wales.Interpretation Act 1978, Schedule 2, paragraph 5(a)

References

External links

Text of Wales and Berwick Act 1746 as enacted

{{UK legislation Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1746 1746 in England 1746 in Scotland History of Berwick-upon-Tweed Constitutional laws of Wales Repealed Great Britain Acts of Parliament

See also

References

External links