YourUsername: 1 revision imported

2025-10-19T00:03:15Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 00:03, 19 October 2025
(No difference)

wikipedia>Folkezoft: /* top */ Adding {{Use British English}} with date

2025-08-29T14:37:13Z

top: Adding {{Use British English}} with date

New page

{{Short description|Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom regarding the Church of England}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title = Public Worship Regulation Act 1874<ref>This [[short title]] was conferred on this Act by [https://books.google.com/books?id=VuRgAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA419 section 1] of this Act.</ref>
| type = Act
| parliament = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title = An Act for the better administration of the Laws respecting the regulation of Public Worship.
| year = 1874
| citation = [[37 & 38 Vict.]] c. 85
| introduced_commons =
| introduced_lords = [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] [[Archibald Campbell Tait]], 20 April 1874, private member's Bill<ref name="hansard" />
| territorial_extent = {{ubli|England|[[Channel Islands]]|[[Isle of Man]]}}<ref name="PWRA.S3" />
| royal_assent = 7 August 1874
| commencement = {{start date|1875|7|1|df=y}}<ref name="PWRA.S2" />
| expiry_date =
| repeal_date = 1 March 1965
| amends =
| replaces =
| amendments =
| repealing_legislation = [[Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1963]] (No. 1), art 87, Sch 5
| related_legislation =
| status = repealed
| legislation_history =
| theyworkforyou =
| millbankhansard =
| original_text =
| revised_text =
| use_new_UK-LEG =
| UK-LEG_title =
| collapsed =
}}

The '''Public Worship Regulation Act 1874''' ([[37 & 38 Vict.]] c. 85) was an [[Act of Parliament (UK)|Act]] of [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]], introduced as a [[Private Member's Bill]] by [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] [[Archibald Campbell Tait]], to limit what he perceived as the growing [[ritualism in the Church of England|ritualism]] of [[Anglo-Catholicism]] and the [[Oxford Movement]] within the [[Church of England]].{{sfnp|Murray|2005|pp=212–4|ps=}} The Bill was strongly endorsed by Prime Minister [[Benjamin Disraeli]], and vigorously opposed by [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] leader [[William Ewart Gladstone]]. [[Queen Victoria]] strongly supported it.{{sfn|Bebbington|1993|p=226}} The law was seldom enforced, but at least five clergymen were imprisoned by judges for contempt of court, which greatly embarrassed the Church of England archbishops who had vigorously promoted it.{{sfn|Chadwick|2010|pp=348-350}}

== Tait's Bill ==
Tait's Bill was controversial. It was given government backing by [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] Benjamin Disraeli, who called it "a bill to put down [[Ritualism in the Church of England|ritualism]]". He referred to the practices of the [[Oxford Movement]] as "a [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] in masquerade". [[Queen Victoria]] was supportive of the Act's [[Protestantism|Protestant]] intentions.{{sfnp|Murray|2005|p=214|ps=}} [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] leader [[William Ewart Gladstone]], a [[high church]] Anglican whose sympathies were for [[separation of church and state]], felt disgusted that the [[liturgy]] was made, as he saw it, "a parliamentary football".{{sfnp|Jenkins|1995|pp=383–84|ps=}}

== The Act ==
Before the Act, the Church of England regulated its [[worship]] practices through the [[Arches Court]] with an appeal to the [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]]. The Act established a new court, presided over by former [[High Court of Justice of England and Wales|Divorce Court]] judge [[James Plaisted Wilde, Baron Penzance|Lord Penzance]]. Many citizens were scandalised by parliamentary interference with worship and, moreover, by its proposed supervision by a secular court. The Act gave [[bishop]]s the discretionary power to order a [[stay of proceedings]].{{sfnp|Yates|1999|p=237|pp=}}

Section 8 of the Act allows an [[archdeacon]], [[church warden]], or three adult male [[parishioner]]s of a [[parish]] to serve on the [[bishop]] a representation, in their opinion:{{sfnp|Douglas|1996|p=396|ps=}}

{{quote|
#That in such church any alteration in or addition to the fabric, ornaments, or furniture thereof has been made without lawful authority, or that any decoration forbidden by law has been introduced into such church; or,
#That the incumbent has within the preceding twelve months used or permitted to be used in such church or burial ground any unlawful ornament of the minister of the church, or neglected to use any prescribed ornament or vesture; or,
#That the incumbent has within the preceding twelve months failed to observe, or to cause to be observed, the directions contained in the [[Book of Common Prayer]] relating to the performance, in such church or burial ground, of the services, rites and ceremonies ordered by the said book, or has made or has permitted to be made any unlawful addition to, alteration of, or omission from such services, rites and ceremonies}}

[[File:enraghtinprison.jpg|thumb|right|Illustration of Fr. Richard Enraght entering Warwick Prison in 1880]]

The bishop had the discretion to stay proceedings but, if he allowed them to proceed, the parties had the opportunity to submit to his direction with no right of appeal. The bishop was able to issue a [[monition]], but if the parties did not agree to his jurisdiction, then the matter was to be sent for trial (section 9).{{sfnp|Douglas|1996|p=397|ps=}}

The Act provided a ''[[casus belli]]'' for the [[Anglo-Catholic]] [[The Church Union|English Church Union]] and the [[Low church|evangelical]] [[Church Association]]. Many clergy were brought to trial, and five were ultimately imprisoned for [[contempt of court]].{{sfnp|Yates|1999|pp=247–275|ps=}}

== List of clergy imprisoned ==
* [[Arthur Tooth]], vicar of St James's, [[Hatcham]], 1877{{sfn|Cross|1959|p=1123}}
* [[T. Pelham Dale]], rector of [[St Vedast Foster Lane]], in the [[City of London]], 1880
* [[Richard William Enraght]], rector of Holy Trinity, [[Bordesley, West Midlands]], 1880
* [[Sidney Faithorn Green]], rector of St John's, [[Miles Platting]], Manchester, 1881–82
* [[James Bell Cox]], vicar of [[Church of St Margaret of Antioch, Liverpool|St Margaret's]], [[Liverpool]], 1887{{sfn|Simpson|1933|p=51}}

These clergy were supported financially by [[George Boyle, 6th Earl of Glasgow]], who donated considerable sums to their defence and compensation.{{sfn|Howell|Saint|2017|p=88}}

Prosecutions ended when a [[Royal Commission]] in 1906 recognised the legitimacy of pluralism in worship,<ref>Royal Commission on Ecclesiastical Discipline (1906) ''[https://anglicanhistory.org/pwra/ Report of the Royal Commission on Ecclesiastical Discipline]''</ref> but the Act remained in force for 91 years until it was repealed on 1 March 1965 by the [[Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1963]].<ref name="EJM1963" />

== Territorial extent ==
The Act extended to England, the [[Channel Islands]] and the [[Isle of Man]].<ref name="PWRA.S3" />

== See also ==
*[[Anglican eucharistic theology]]

== References ==

===Citations===
{{reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name="PWRA.S2">The Public Worship Regulation Act 1874, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ANVKAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA419 section 2]</ref>
<ref name="PWRA.S3">The Public Worship Regulation Act 1874, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ANVKAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA419 section 3]</ref>
<ref name="EJM1963">{{UK-LEG|title=Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1963 (No.1), (art. 87)|path=ukcm/1963/1/section/87}}<br />{{UK-LEG|title=Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1963 (No.1), Sch. 5 |path=ukcm/1963/schedule/FIFTH}}</ref>
<ref name="hansard">{{cite web|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1874/apr/20/presented-first-reading#S3V0218P0-03470 |title=Divine Service In The Church Of England.—Public Worship Regulation Bill. HL Deb 20 April 1874 vol 218 cc786-808|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312203811/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1874/apr/20/presented-first-reading|date=20 April 1874|archive-date=12 March 2017}}</ref>
}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin|2|indent=yes}}
*{{cite book|last=Bebbington|first=David |author-link=David Bebbington|title=William Ewart Gladstone: Faith and Politics in Victorian Britain|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jEzV7PYYe5kC&pg=PA226|year=1993|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans |isbn=978-0-8028-0152-4}}
*{{cite book |last=Chadwick |first=Owen |author-link=Owen Chadwick|title=The Victorian Church |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CHVMAwAAQBAJ|volume=Part Two: 1860-1901 |year=2010 |publisher=Wipf & Stock |isbn=978-1-60899-262-1}}
*{{cite book |editor-last=Cross |editor-first=F.L. |date=1959 |title=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church |location=London |publisher=Oxford University Press}}
*{{cite book |last=Douglas |first=David Charles |title=English Historical Documents |year=1996 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-14374-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jWbEVvqB3zwC&pg=PA396}}
*{{cite book |title=Butterfield Revisited: Studies in Victorian Architecture and Design |volume=6 |date=2017 |publisher=[[The Victorian Society]] |editor1-first=Peter |editor1-last=Howell |editor2-first=Andrew|editor2-last=Saint}}
*{{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=R. |author-link=Roy Jenkins |title=Gladstone |publisher=Macmillan |year=1995 |isbn=0-333-60216-1}}
*{{cite book |last=Murray |first=D.L. |title=Disraeli |orig-year=1927 |year=2005 |publisher=Kessinger |isbn=0-7661-9892-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_xnKhAkmacEC&pg=PA214}}
*{{cite book |last=Simpson |first=W.J. Sparrow|editor1-first=Norman Powell |editor1-last=Williams |editor2-first=Charles |editor2-last=Harris |title=Northern Catholicism: centenary studies in the Oxford and parallel movements |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xok5AAAAMAAJ |year=1933 |publisher=SPCK |chapter=The revival from 1845 to 1933}}
* {{cite book |last=Yates |first=N. |title=Anglican Ritualism in Victorian Britain, 1830–1910 |year=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-826989-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=55aaZGqqh6oC&pg=PA244}}
{{refend}}

===Further reading===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Bayfield Roberts |first=Rev. G. |url=https://anglicanhistory.org/england/ecu/roberts/ |title=The History of the English Church Union 1859–1894 |year=1895}}
* {{cite book |last=Bentley |first=J. |title='Ritualism and Politics in Victorian Britain: The Attempt to Legislate for Belief |year=1987 |isbn=0-19-826714-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/ritualismpolitic0000bent}}, a standard scholarly history of the act.
* {{cite book |last=Brooke |first=W.G. |title=The Public Worship Regulation Act, 1874, with Introduction, Notes and Index |year=1874 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=setfAAAAcAAJ&q=Public+Worship+Regulation+1874&pg=PA27}}
* Graber, Gary W. ''Ritual Legislation in the Victorian Church of England: Antecedents and Passage of the Public Worship Regulation Act, 1874'' (1993) [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4261168 online review]; a standard scholarly history of the Act.
* Janes, Dominic. "The 'Modern Martyrdom' of Anglo-Catholics in Victorian England." ''Journal of Religion and Society'' 13 (2011) [https://web.archive.org/web/20110328194019/http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2011/2011-16.html online].
* Janes, Dominic. ''Victorian Reformation: The Fight over Idolatry in the Church of England, 1840-1860'' (Oxford University Press, 2009).
* [[Kenneth Scott Latourette|Latourette, Kenneth Scott]]. ''Christianity in a Revolutionary Age: The 19th century in Europe volume 2'' (1959) p. 270-279.
* Reed, John Shelton. ''Glorious Battle: The Cultural Politics of Victorian Anglo-Catholicism'' (London: Tufton Books, 1998).
* Roberts, Andrew. ''Salisbury: Victorian Titan'' (1999) pp. 135–138.
* Royal Commission on Ecclesiastical Discipline (1906) ''[https://anglicanhistory.org/pwra/ Report of the Royal Commission on Ecclesiastical Discipline]''
* Shannon, Richard. ''The Age of Disraeli, 1868-1881: The Rise of Tory Democracy'' (1992) pp. 199–210.
* {{cite book|author=Great Britain|title=The Public General Statutes passed in the thirty-seventh & thirty-eighth years of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ANVKAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA419|year=1874|publisher=Eyre and Spottiswoode at the Queen’s Printing Office|location=London|chapter =Ch. 85}}
{{Refend}}

{{Anglican liturgical books|state=expand}}
{{Portalbar|Books|Christianity|England|Law|Politics}}

[[Category:1874 in Christianity]]
[[Category:1874 in British law]]
[[Category:Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning England]]
[[Category:Anglicanism]]
[[Category:Anglo-Catholicism]]
[[Category:Christianity and law in the 19th century]]
[[Category:History of the Church of England]]
[[Category:Law about religion in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1874]]

Public Worship Regulation Act 1874 - Revision history

YourUsername: 1 revision imported

wikipedia>Folkezoft: /* top */ Adding {{Use British English}} with date