Metropolitan Houseless Poor Act 1864

The Metropolitan Houseless Poor Act 1864 (27 & 28 Vict. c. 116) was a short-term piece of legislation that imposed a legal obligation on Poor Law unions in London to provide temporary accommodation for "destitute wayfarers, wanderers, and foundlings".^[1] The Metropolitan Board of Works was given limited authority to reimburse the unions for the cost of building the necessary casual wards, an arrangement that was made permanent the following year by the passage of the Metropolitan Houseless Poor Act 1865 (28 & 29 Vict. c. 34).^[2]

Metropolitan Houseless Poor Act 1864^[a]

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to make Provision for distributing the Charge of Relief of certain Classes of poor Persons over the whole of the Metropolis.
Citation	27 & 28 Vict. c. 116
Territorial extent	United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent	29 July 1864
Commencement	30 September 1864[b]
Expired	23 March 1865[c]
Repealed	1 October 1927
Other legislation
Amended by	Metropolitan Houseless Poor Act 1865
Repealed by	Poor Law Act 1927
Relates to	Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

Metropolitan Houseless Poor Act 1865[d]
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to make the Metropolitan Houseless Poor Act perpetual.
Citation	28 & 29 Vict. c. 34
Territorial extent	United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent	2 June 1865
Commencement	2 June 1865[e]
Repealed	1 October 1927
Other legislation
Amends	Metropolitan Houseless Poor Act 1864
Amended by	Statute Law Revision Act 1875
Repealed by	Poor Law Act 1927
Relates to	Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

Most provincial Poor Law unions followed London's example, and by the 1870s, of the 643 then in existence, 572 had established casual wards for the reception of vagrants.^[3]

Legacy

The whole act was repealed by section 245(1) of, and the eleventh schedule to, Poor Law Act 1927 (17 & 18 Geo. 5. c. 14).

Notes

1. Section 8.
2. Section 1.
3. Section 6.
4. Section 6.
5. The Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793.