- Statute of Merton
Infobox Legislation
Name= Statute of Merton
Parliament/Congress/Senate it was passed in=Parliament of England
Logo of that parliament or congress=
Kilty's English Statutes, 1811; Volume 143, Page 262. Extracts from the Statute of Merton.
longtitle= Ancient Statute of Merton
introducedby=Barons of thePeerage of England
datepassed=1235
datesigned=1235 byHenry III of England
amendments= None
relatedlegislation=Magna Carta
The Statute of Merton, or Ancient Statute of Merton, agreed in1235 , begins the list of EnglishStatute s [ [http://83.1911encyclopedia.org/S/ST/STATUTE.htm Statute - LoveToKnow 1911 ] ] , being the first item in the Statutes of the Realm [http://pages.britishlibrary.net/tooting/merton.html Termination of British Library Net internet service ] ] . It was agreed at Merton between Henry III [ [http://chi.gospelcom.net/DAILYF/2002/05/daily-05-03-2002.shtml May 3: Merton Priory; Christian History Institute ] ] in the 20th year of his reign, and the barons of England. Signed 20 years afterMagna Carta , the Statute of Merton was in essence another limitation of the rights of the King. Formally, it allowed Lords of the Manor to enclose common land providing sufficient pasture remained for his tenants - setting out in what cases, and in what manner, Lords may approve part of the wastes, woods, and pastures, belonging to their Manors, against the tenants [http://www.bopcris.ac.uk/bop1700/ref13697.html] . It was observed in Ireland in1236 . It quickly became a basis for Englishcommon law , developing and clarifying legal concepts of ownership [ [http://www.bilderberg.org/land/levitcus.htm Returning land to its rightful owner ] ] .In January
1550 , inEdward VI 's reign, long after the Statute had fallen out of use, it was revived underJohn Dudley , theDuke of Northumberland , to enable lords to enclose their land at their own discretion - out of keeping with the traditional Tudor anti-enclosure attitude. It was, in fact, only finally repealed in1948 [ [http://www.met.police.uk/merton/Normans.htm Merton - Metropolitan Police Service ] ] .The Statute also dealt with illegitimacy [ [http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/web/common.nsf/key/HistoryBeforeEuropeanSettlement Resources - 1788 - Before European Settlement ] ] - stating that "He is a bastard that is born before the marriage of his parents". It also dealt with women's rights - dowries ("A woman shall recover damages in a writ of dower"), and widows' right to bequeath land ("Widows may bequeath the crop of their lands")http://djs.state.md.us/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2900/sc2908/000001/000143/html/am143--262.html] .
Extracts
* "A woman shall recover damages in a writ of dower."
* "Widows may bequeath the crop of their lands."
* "He is a bastard that is born before the marriage of his parents."ee also
*
List of English statutes
*Henry de Bracton References
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