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Statute of Marlborough
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Statute of Marlborough
The Statute of Marlborough (52 Hen. 3.) is a set of laws passed by the Parliament of England during the reign of Henry III in 1267. The laws comprised 29 chapters, of which four are still in force. Those four chapters constitute the oldest piece of statute law in the United Kingdom still in force as of 2026[update].
The statute is so named as it was passed at Marlborough in Wiltshire, where a Parliament was being held. The preamble dates it as "the two and fiftieth year of the reign of King Henry, son of King John, in the utas of Saint Martin", which would give a date of 18 November 1267; "utas" is an archaic term to denote the eighth day (in inclusive counting, so seventh day in normal English usage) after an event, in this case the feast day of Saint Martin.
The full title of the act passed that day was Provisiones fact[a]e ap[u]d Marleberg[em], p[rae]sent[e] D[omi]no Rege H[enrico] & R[icardo] Rege Ale[manoru]m, & D[omi]no Edwardo fil[io] ejusde[m] H[enrico] R[ege] Primogen[u]it, & D[omi]no Octobono tunc legato in Angli[a]} in Latin, yielding an English Provisions made at Marlborough in the Presence of our lord King Henry, and Richard King of the Romans, and the Lord Edward eldest son of the said King Henry, and the Lord Ottobon, at that Time Legate in England.
The preamble claimed that its purpose was peace, justice and the removal of dissent from the realm; and by taking up and reintroducing many of the previously repudiated Provisions of Oxford, went far to meet the demands of the baronial opposition.
The four extant chapters of the statute are now cited as two acts: the Distress Act 1267 and the Waste Act 1267.
Chapters 1, 4, and 15, which seek to govern the recovery of damages ("distresses") and make it illegal to obtain such distresses outside the legal system, are collectively referred to as the Distress Act 1267.
Chapter 1 announces the intention of the act, noting that a recent commotion had led to lords and several other persons refusing to submit to the King's courts and taking distresses at their own pleasure. It makes it illegal to obtain distresses for damages other than through the courts regardless of class or estate. It punishes extralegal attempts to obtain such distresses made after the passage of the act with a fine.
Chapter 4 makes it illegal to take a distress outside of the debtor's county, and punishes such behaviour with a fine in the case of a neighbour but with amercement in the case of a lord doing so with his tenant. It also requires that distresses be reasonable, subjecting takers of excessive distresses to amercement based on the excesses of such distresses.
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Statute of Marlborough
The Statute of Marlborough (52 Hen. 3.) is a set of laws passed by the Parliament of England during the reign of Henry III in 1267. The laws comprised 29 chapters, of which four are still in force. Those four chapters constitute the oldest piece of statute law in the United Kingdom still in force as of 2026[update].
The statute is so named as it was passed at Marlborough in Wiltshire, where a Parliament was being held. The preamble dates it as "the two and fiftieth year of the reign of King Henry, son of King John, in the utas of Saint Martin", which would give a date of 18 November 1267; "utas" is an archaic term to denote the eighth day (in inclusive counting, so seventh day in normal English usage) after an event, in this case the feast day of Saint Martin.
The full title of the act passed that day was Provisiones fact[a]e ap[u]d Marleberg[em], p[rae]sent[e] D[omi]no Rege H[enrico] & R[icardo] Rege Ale[manoru]m, & D[omi]no Edwardo fil[io] ejusde[m] H[enrico] R[ege] Primogen[u]it, & D[omi]no Octobono tunc legato in Angli[a]} in Latin, yielding an English Provisions made at Marlborough in the Presence of our lord King Henry, and Richard King of the Romans, and the Lord Edward eldest son of the said King Henry, and the Lord Ottobon, at that Time Legate in England.
The preamble claimed that its purpose was peace, justice and the removal of dissent from the realm; and by taking up and reintroducing many of the previously repudiated Provisions of Oxford, went far to meet the demands of the baronial opposition.
The four extant chapters of the statute are now cited as two acts: the Distress Act 1267 and the Waste Act 1267.
Chapters 1, 4, and 15, which seek to govern the recovery of damages ("distresses") and make it illegal to obtain such distresses outside the legal system, are collectively referred to as the Distress Act 1267.
Chapter 1 announces the intention of the act, noting that a recent commotion had led to lords and several other persons refusing to submit to the King's courts and taking distresses at their own pleasure. It makes it illegal to obtain distresses for damages other than through the courts regardless of class or estate. It punishes extralegal attempts to obtain such distresses made after the passage of the act with a fine.
Chapter 4 makes it illegal to take a distress outside of the debtor's county, and punishes such behaviour with a fine in the case of a neighbour but with amercement in the case of a lord doing so with his tenant. It also requires that distresses be reasonable, subjecting takers of excessive distresses to amercement based on the excesses of such distresses.
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