Public Health Act 1875

The Public Health Act 1875^[1]
Dates
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act for consolidating and amending the Acts relating to Public Health in England.
Citation	38 & 39 c 55
Royal assent	11 August 1875
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Public Health Act 1875 (c 55) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is one of the Public Health Acts.^[2]

Its purpose was to combat filthy urban living conditions, which caused various public health threats, including the spread of many diseases such as cholera and typhus. Reformers wanted to resolve sanitary problems, because sewage was flowing down the street daily, including the presence of sewage in living quarters. The Act required all new residential construction to include running water and an internal drainage system. This Act also led to the government prohibiting the construction of shoddy housing by building contractors. The Act also meant that every public health authority had to have a medical officer and a sanitary inspector, to ensure the laws on food, housing, water and hygiene were carried out.

Many factors delayed reform, however, such as the fact that to perform a cleanup, the government would need money, and this would have to come from factory owners, who were not keen to pay, and this further delayed reform. But reformers eventually helped to counteract the government's laissez-faire attitude, and a public health Act was introduced in 1875. Home Secretary Richard Cross was responsible for drafting the legislation, and received much good will from trades union groups in the consequent years for "humanising the toil of the working man".

The Act also meant that towns had to have pavements and street lighting.^[3]

References

Halsbury's Statutes. Third Edition. Volume 26. Page 38.
Thomas Whiteside Hime. Public Health: The Practical Guide to the Public Health Act, 1875, and Correlated Acts, for the Use of Medical Officers of Health and Inspectors of Nuisances. Bailliere, Tindall and Cox. 1884. Internet Archive.
William Cunningham Glen and Alexander Glen. The Public Health Act, 1875, and the Law relating to Public Health, Local Government, and Urban and Rural Sanitary Authorities. Eighth Edition. Butterworths. Knight & Co. London. 1876. Internet Archive.
James C Stevens. The Public Health Act 1875: Arranged in a Dictionary Index Form. Shaw and Sons. London. 1876. Internet Archive.
Robert Rawlinson. The Public Health Act 1875: Suggestions as to the Preparation of District Maps, and of Plans for the Main Sewerage, Drainage, and Water Supply (Revised to 1878). HMSO. London. 1878. Internet Archive (the description of this book, on that webpage, as another work by William Glen is erroneous).
World History 4th Edition by William J. Duiker and Jackson J. Spielvogel

↑ The citation of this Act by this short title is authorised by section 1 of this Act.
↑ The Short Titles Act 1896, section 2(1) and Schedule 2
↑ "History - Government and Public Health". BBC Bitesize. Retrieved 2010-05-02.

External links

Text of the statute as originally enacted (PDF)
Text of the Public Health Act 1875 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database

District status in the United Kingdom

Contemporary	Local Government Act 1972 - Districts of England Districts of Wales Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 - Districts of Scotland Districts of Northern Ireland Non-metropolitan district (shire district)

County districts	Local Government Act 1894 Urban district (1894-95) (1896–1974) Rural district (List)

Pre-1894 districts	Improvement Act District Public Health Act 1848 - Local board of health/Local government district (List) Public Health Act 1875 - Sanitary district (Rural)

United Kingdom legislation

Pre-Parliamentary legislation	List of English statutes Charter of Liberties Magna Carta

Acts of Parliament by states preceding the Kingdom of Great Britain	Acts of the Parliament of England to 1483 1485–1601 1603–1641 Interregnum (1642–1660) 1660–1699 1700–1706 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland Acts of the Parliament of Ireland to 1700 1701–1800

Acts of Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain	1707–1719 1720–1739 1740–1759 1760–1779 1780–1800

Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	1801–1819 1820–1839 1840–1859 1860–1879 1880–1899 1900–1919 1920–1939 1940–1959 1960–1979 1980–1999 2000 to date Halsbury's Statutes UK Statute Law Database Short titles

Church of England measures	List Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919

Legislation of devolved institutions	Acts of the Scottish Parliament Acts and Measures of the National Assembly for Wales Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly Acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland Orders in Council for Northern Ireland

Orders-in-Council	Order in Council

Secondary legislation	United Kingdom Statutory Instruments Scottish Statutory Instruments Act of Sederunt, Act of Adjournal

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