Tewkesbury Bye Laws of 1852

A recent acquisition at the museum [2021] is a copy of the bye laws and regulations of Tewkesbury Borough Council and Board of Health, printed in 1852. These make interesting reading, and the first eight are reproduced below. These rules seem to cover every aspect of life in the town; there are penalties for all manner of misdemeanours, many of which would be considered trivial today.

I. - THAT the fine to be paid for not accepting, or vacating by absence or otherwise, unless with the consent of three-fourths of the council, the office of Mayor of the said Borough, by every Alderman or Councillor who is elected to that office, shall be Thirty Pounds; that the fine to be paid for not accepting, or vacating by absence or otherwise, unless with such consent as aforesaid, the office of Alderman of the said Borough, but every person duly qualified who shall be elected to that office, shall be Fifteen Pounds; and that the fine to be paid for not accepting, or vacating by absence or otherwise, unless with such consent as aforesaid, the office of Councillor, Auditor, or Assessor of the said Borough, by every person duly qualified who shall be elected to either of the last-mentioned offices, shall be Ten Pounds.

II. - That if any person that shall suffer any ferocious dog to be at large unmuzzled within the said Borough, or if after public notice given by the Mayor, or two Justices of the Peace, directing dogs to be confined on suspicion of canine madness, any person who shall suffer any dog to go at large within the said Borough, every person so offending shall for every such offence forfeit and pay for the first offence the sum of Two shillings and Sixpence; for the second offence the sum of Five shillings; and for the third and every subsequent offence, any sum not exceeding Forty shillings.

III. - That every person who shall offer for sale within the said Borough any unsound, putrid, or unwholesome meat, fish, or other provisions, unfit for the food of man, shall for every such offence forfeit and pay, for the first offence, the sum of Ten Shillings; for the second offence, any sum not exceeding Forty Shillings; and for the third and every subsequent offence, any sum not exceeding Five Pounds.

IV. - That if any person, riding any horse or beast, or driving any sort of carriage, shall ride or drive the same furiously, so as to endanger the life or limb of any person or passenger; or if any person shall lead or drive any vicious beast through, or suffer the same to remain in, any of the public streets or thoroughfares of the said Borough, without the same being fettered in such a manner as to prevent danger to the life or limb of any person; every person, in either of the cases aforesaid, upon being convicted of such offence before any two Justices of the Peace, shall, for every such offence, forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding Five Pounds.

V. - That every person who shall wilfully and wantonly disturb any inhabitant of the said Borough, by pulling or ringing any doorbell or knocking at any door, without reasonable cause, shall, for every such offence, forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding Five Shillings.

VI. - That every person who in any of the public streets or thoroughfares of the said borough (except in a place lawfully appointed for that purpose,) shall, to the annoyance of the inhabitants of passengers, show any caravan containing any animal, or any other show or public entertainment, or show or expose any Stallion or Stone Horse, shall, for every such offense, forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding Forty Shillings.

VII. - that every common prostitute or nightwalker, loitering or being in any of the public streets or thoroughfares of the said Borough for the purpose of prostitution, or being there for the purpose of solicitation, to the annoyance of the inhabitants or passengers, shall, for every such offence, forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding Ten Shillings.

VIII. - That every person who, in any street or public place in the said Borough, shall wilfully and indecently expose his person, or who shall behave in any public situation in the said Borough so as to expose his person, shall, for every such offence, forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding Ten Shillings.

IX. - That every person who, in any of the public streets or thoroughfares of the said Borough, shall fly any kite, trundling hoop, or play at any game to the annoyance of the inhabitants or passengers, or who shall make or use any slide upon ice or snow to the common danger of the passengers, shall, for every such offence, forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding five shillings.

X. - That every person who shall stand, loiter or remain on any carriage or footway, in any street, lane or public place within the said Borough, without some reasonable or good and sufficient cause, so as in any manner to obstruct or incommode, hinder or prevent the free passage along any such carriage or footway, shall, for every such offence, for fitting pay any sum not exceeding five shillings .

That every person who in or near any street, passage, or other public place within the borough of Tewkesbury, shall be guilty of any of the following offences, shall be liable to a penalty of not more than £5, no less than one shilling for every such offence, besides costs, (that is to say):-

XI. - Every person who shall sell, or distribute, or offer for sale or distribution, or exhibit to public view any profane, indecent, or obscene book, paper, print, drawing, painting or representation, or present any indecent printed or written paper relating to any disease or cure, or sing any profane, indecent, or obscene song or ballad, or write or draw any indecent or obscene word, figure, or representation, or use any profane, indecent, or obscene language, to the annoyance of the inhabitants or passengers.

XII. - Every person who shall wilfully and unlawfully extinguish the light of, or break or injure any lamp used for lighting any street, passage or other public place, or for the convenience of the inhabitants.

XIII. Every person who shall leave any wagon, cart, sledge, truck, barrow, or private carriage, with or without horses, To stand longer than may be necessary for loading or unloading, or for taking up or setting down passengers, (except any Hackney carriages standing for hire in any place appointed for that purpose) or who by means of any wagon, carts, sledge, truck, barrow, or carriage, or any horse or other animal, shall wilfully cause any obstruction in any thoroughfare.

XIV. - Every person who shall lead or ride, or drive any horse or other animal, or draw, drive or wheel any carts or carriage, sledge, truck or barrow, or carry or wheel any sedan, wheel or other chair, or fly, upon any footway or curbstone, (unless in conveying an invalid,) or fasten any horse or other animal, so that it stand across or upon any footway.

XV. - Every person who shall roll, draw, or carry any cask, tub, hoop, or wheel, or any bag containing soot or other articles, or any timber, ladder, plank, pole, showboard, placard, or any burthen suspended on both sides the carrier, upon any footway, except for the purpose of loading or unloading any cart or carriage, or of crossing the footway.

XVI. - Every person who shall place or leave any furniture, goods, wares, coal, or merchandise, or any cask, crates, tub, baskets, pail, or buckets, or any other thing, or use any standing place, stool, bench, stall, or showboard, on any public way, so as in any way to cause any obstruction or impediment to passengers, or shall place any blind, shade, covering or awning over or along any footway at a height less than seven feet from the curbstone.

XVII. - Every person who shall place, hang up, or otherwise expose for sale any goods, wares, merchandise, matter, or thing whatsoever, so that the same shall protect into or over any footway, or beyond the line of any house, shop or building, at which the same shall be exposed.

XVIII. - Every person who shall keep any swine or pig-stye within 20 yards of any dwelling house situated in either of the three principal streets, namely, High Street, Church Street, and Barton Street, or any lane, court, alley, or other avenue branching out of the same.

XIX. - Every person who, in any thoroughfare, Shall burn, dress, or cleanse any cask or hoop; cleanse, Fire, wash, or skulls any cask or tub; or hew, saw, bore, or cut any timber or stone; or slake, sift, or screen any lime; or burn any rags, or other offensive substance, so as to be a public nuisance.

XX. - Every person who shall shoe, or bleed, or farry, cleanse, dress, turn, or drive loose any horse or other animal, or kill or slaughter, singe, scald, or dress any animal or carcass in any part thereof, (except in case of accident,) or clean, make or repair any part of any cart or a carriage, except in case of accident, where repair on the spot is necessary.

XXI. - Every person who shall beat or shake any carpet, rug, or Mat, or any soot bag or sack, (except doormats before eight in the morning).

XXII. - Every person having the care of any cart or carriage and not using reins, who shall ride on the shaft, or any horse or other animal drawing the same, or who shall not be in attendance on the near side of the horse or horses, or other animal or animals drawing such a cart or carriage, so as to have complete and immediate control over every such horse or animal by means of the bridle or reins, or who shall not keep the same on the left or near side of the road, except in cases of actual necessity, or some sufficient reason for deviation, or shall wilfully prevent any person from passing in any carriage under his care, or in any manner wilfully, or by negligence, or misbehaviour prevent or hinder the free passage of any carriage, or any of her Majesty subjects.

XXIII. - Every person who without the consent of the owner or occupier shall write upon, soil, or deface, or mark any building, wall, fence, or pale with chalk or paint, or in any other Way whatsoever.

XXIV. - Every person who shall wantonly discharge any firearms, or throw or discharge any stone, snow, or other missile, to the damage or danger of any person, or make any bonfire or throw or set fire to any fireworks, or carry, expose, or burn an effigy.

XXV. - Every person who shall maliciously or wantonly pulldown, deface, or damage any public authorised notice  affixed upon a door, or against any public or private building, or any boards where on any such notice shall be put or painted.

XXVI. - Every occupier of the house whose chimney shall be set on fire by reason of his neglect or default.

XXVII. - Every person who shall use as a covering to any cellar, vault, coal hole, or other underground apartment, any iron, wood, or other underground apartment not properly roughed; and every occupier of a house who, to the danger of passengers in any thoroughfare, shall leave open any vault or cellar therein, or the entrance from any thoroughfare to any cellar or room under ground, without a sufficient fence or handrail; or leave in a dilapidated or dangerous state the door, window, or other covering of any fault or cellar, or who shall not sufficiently fence any area, pit, or sewer left open in or adjoining any thoroughfare, or shall leave open any such area, pit, or sewer without a sufficient light after sunset, to warn and prevent persons from falling therein.