United Kingdom legislation
| Act of Parliament | |
 Parliament of England | |
| Long title | An Act for Burying in Woollen onely. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 18 & 19 Cha. 2. c. 4
|
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 18 January 1667 |
| Commencement | 25 March 1667 |
| Repealed | 28 July 1863 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Statute Law Revision Act 1863 |
| Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Act of Parliament | |
| Parliament of England | |
| Long title | An Act for burying in Woollen. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 30 Cha. 2. c. 3 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 15 July 1678 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repeals/revokes | Burying in Woollen Act 1666 |
| Repealed by | Burying in Woollen Act 1814 |
| Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Act of Parliament | |
| Parliament of England | |
| Long title | An Additionall Act for burying in Woollen. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 32 Cha. 2. c. 1 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 10 January 1681 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Burying in Woollen Act 1814 |
| Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Burying in Woollen Acts 1666–80 were acts of the Parliament of England (citation 18 & 19 Cha. 2. c. 4 (1666), 30 Cha. 2. c. 3 (1678) and 32 Cha. 2. c. 1 (1680)) which required the dead, except plague victims and the destitute, to be buried in pure English woollen shrouds to the exclusion of any foreign textiles.
Enforcement
It was a requirement that an affidavit be sworn in front of a justice of the peace (usually by a relative of the deceased), confirming burial in wool, with the punishment of a £5 fee for noncompliance. Burial entries in parish registers were marked with the word "affidavit" or its equivalent to confirm that affidavit had been sworn; it would be marked "naked" for those too poor to afford the woollen shroud.
United Kingdom legislation| Burying in Woollen Act 1814 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 Parliament of the United Kingdom | |
| Long title | An Act to repeal Two Acts of the Thirtieth and Thirty second Years of King Charles the Second, for burying in Woollen, and for indemnifying Persons against Penalties for Offences committed against the said Acts. |
| Citation | 54 Geo. 3. c. 108 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 23 July 1814 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repeals/revokes |
|
| Repealed by | Statute Law Revision Act 1873 |
| Status: Repealed | |
The legislation was in force until the passing of the Burying in Woollen Act 1814 (54 Geo. 3. c. 108), but was generally ignored after 1770. The 1666 act had been annulled by the passing of the 1688 act; it was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. c. 125).
Use in genealogy
Burial records so annotated can be a source of genealogical information, providing evidence of economic status and relationships that may be otherwise unavailable or ambiguous.
References
- "National Patterns, 1648–1815 > England, Scotland, and Ireland > England and Scotland > July 1664". The Encyclopedia of World History. bartleby.com. 2001. Archived from the original on 2 November 2002. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
- 'Charles II, 1666: An Act for Burying in Woollen only.', Statutes of the Realm: volume 5: 1628–80 (1819), p. 598. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=47386. Date accessed: 6 March 2007.
- 'Charles II, 1677 & 1678: An Act for burying in Woollen.', Statutes of the Realm: volume 5: 1628–80 (1819), pp. 885–886. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=47475. Date accessed: 6 March 2007.
- 'Charles II, 1680: An Additional Act for burying in Woollen.', Statutes of the Realm: volume 5: 1628–80 (1819), p. 940. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=47486. Date accessed: 6 March 2007.
- Rivoli, Pietra (2005). The Travels of a T-Shirt in The Global Economy (first ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. p. 155. ISBN 0-471-64849-3.
- Dolan, Alice. "The Fabric of Life: Linen and Life Cycle in England, 1678–1810" (PDF). University of Hertfordshire Research Archive. p. 274. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- Statute Law Revision Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict c 125) from Google Books
- Ancestral Trails: The Complete Guide to British Genealogy and Family History, Second Edition, by Mark Herber in association with the Society of Genealogists, Sutton Publishing Limited, Baltimore, MD 2004 pp. 362–363.
- Burial In Woollen Act 1666–1680 Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine from traceyourpast.co.uk