Cloth Act 1337
| Act of Parliament | |
| Long title | None shall wear any Cloth but such as is made in England. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 11 Edw. 3. c. 2 |
| Territorial extent | United Kingdom |
| Dates | |
| Commencement | 27 September 1337[a] |
| Repealed | 10 August 1872 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | |
| Repealed by | Statute Law Revision Act 1863 |
| Relates to | Importation Act 1337 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Cloth Act 1337 (11 Edw. 3. c. 2) was an act of the Parliament of England passed during the reign of Edward III.
The act legally obliged all English people to wear English-made cloth.[1] It was part of a group of Sumptuary Laws intended to preserve class distinctions.[2]
Text
Item, it is accorded, That no Man nor Woman great nor small of England, Ireland, nor Wales, nor of our Sovereign Lord the King's Power in Scotland, of what Estate or Condition he be, the King, Queen, and their Children only except, shall wear no Cloth, which shall be bought after the Feast of Saint Michael next Coming, Other than is made in England, Ireland, Wales, or Scotland within the King's Power, upon Pain of Forfeiture of the same Cloth, and further to be punished at the King's Will. And that in the said Lands of England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland within the King's Power, a Man may make the Clothes as long and as short as a Man will.
Legacy
The act was extended to Ireland by Poynings' Law 1495 (10 Hen. 7. c. 22 (I)).
The provisions of the act providing "What clothes may be worn" were repealed by section 1 of the Repeal of Acts Concerning Importation Act 1822 (3 Geo. 4. c. 41).
The whole act was repealed for England and Wales by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. c. 125) and for Ireland by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law (Ireland) Revision Act 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c. 98).
Notes
- ^ Start of session.
References
- ^ William Cunningham, The Growth of English Industry and Commerce during the Early and Middle Ages. Fifth Edition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1915), p. 308.
- ^ "Sumptuary laws of the middle ages". Lordsandladies.org. 8 April 2018.