An act for the further and better regulation of buildings and party-walls; and for the more effectually preventing mischiefs by fire within the cities of London and Westminster, and the liberties thereof, and other the parishes, precincts, and places, within the weekly bills of mortality, the parishes of Saint Mary-le-bon, Paddington, Saint Pancras, and Saint Luke at Chelsea, in the county of Middlesex; and for indemnifying, under certain conditions, builders and other persons against the penalties to which they are or may be liable for erecting buildings within the limits aforesaid contrary to law.
Text of the Fires Prevention (Metropolis) Act 1774 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
Bedford Square, Bloomsbury. London's first entirely symmetrical square, built between 1775 and 1783, entirely of "First Rate" houses, according to the 1774 Act.A terrace of "Fourth Rate" houses: 35-43 Sekforde Street, Clerkenwell
The Building Act 1774 (formally known as the Fires Prevention (Metropolis) Act 1774) was an Act passed in 1774 by the Parliament of Great Britain to consolidate earlier legislation and to regulate the design and construction of new buildings in London. The provisions of the Act regulated the design of new buildings erected in London and elsewhere in Great Britain and Ireland in the late Georgian period.
The 1774 Act standardised the quality and construction of buildings and made the exterior of a building as fire-proof as possible, by restricting any superfluous exterior timber ornamentation except for door frames and shop fronts. The Act placed buildings into classes or "rates" defined by size and value, with a code of structural requirements for the foundations and external and party walls for each of the rates. It mandated inspection of new buildings by building surveyors to ensure rules and regulations were applied. The Act also brought into being the first legislation that dealt with human life and escape, rather than just building safety, and made parishes responsible for permanent provision of working fire fighting equipment.
Professor Sir John Summerson, one of the leading British architectural historians of the 20th century, described it as "the great Building Act of 1774, a milestone in the history of London 'improvement'".[1] It was the leading reason for the appearance of the many Georgian houses, terraces and squares which remain important features of some parts of London and other cities and towns within the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and elsewhere.[2]
The BuildingAct1774 (formally known as the Fires Prevention (Metropolis) Act1774) was an Act passed in 1774 by the Parliament of Great Britain to consolidate...
Peel came into force. The BuildingAct1774, which imposed restrictions on exterior decoration, was also known as the Black Act. Following the 1720 South...
houses, out-houses, barns, or other buildings, as he shall think necessary to be taken... — Quartering Act1774 The act expired on 24 March 1776. During...
particular act was passed. The seventh session of the 13th Parliament of Great Britain, which met from 13 January 1774 until 22 June 1774. Land Tax Act1774 (14...
that no buildings were to exceed five storeys. The Fires Prevention (Metropolis) Act, also known as the BuildingAct1774, placed buildings into seven...
founded in 1774 by the Regulating Act of 1773. It replaced the Mayor's Court of Calcutta and was British India's highest court from 1774 until 1862,...
a public space for everyone's enjoyment, through the Roosevelt Memorial Act 1946 It was then managed by the Royal Parks until 2018, when Grosvenor Britain...
Parliament in 1774 after the Boston Tea Party. The laws aimed to punish Massachusetts colonists for their defiance in the Tea Party protest of the Tea Act, a tax...
December 1, 1774. Trade between the colonies and Britain subsequently fell sharply. The British soon responded with the New England Restraining Act which escalated...
The BuildingAct 1984 is a United Kingdom statute consolidating previous legislation concerning the construction process, and the design and specifications...
intensify colonial support for the American Revolution. Parliament responded in 1774 with the Intolerable Acts, or Coercive Acts, which, among other provisions...
The Residence Act of 1790, officially titled An Act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States (1 Stat. 130)...
Nassau Hall in Princeton, New Jersey, and Trenton, New Jersey. In September 1774, the First Continental Congress brought together delegates from the colonies...
Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 - 1875". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) Link to full text of the Act at the Library of Congress...
The Stamp Act 1765, also known as the Duties in American Colonies Act 1765 (5 Geo. 3. c. 12), was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which imposed...
still owned by the royal family, was due to expire in 1774. Under the new royal ownership, the building was originally intended as a private retreat for Queen...
on the River Tamar. It gained parliamentary approval for construction in 1774, but financial problems and the Napoleonic Wars frustrated the proposal....
made on September 9, 1774, by the leaders of Suffolk County, Massachusetts. The declaration rejected the Massachusetts Government Act and resulted in a boycott...
Library was founded by Nawab Faizullah Khan in 1774. It was taken over by the Government of India in 1975 by an act of Parliament. It is functioning under the...
Friends Act and the Sedition Act expired after a set number of years, and the Naturalization Act was repealed in 1802. The Alien Enemies Act is still...
Global Information
