The Strange Laws Of Old England
By (Author) Nigel Cawthorne
Little, Brown Book Group
Piatkus Books
14th May 2013
2nd May 2013
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
European history
Humour
349.42
Paperback
272
Width 128mm, Height 196mm, Spine 20mm
220g
Did you know that: It's against the law to check into a hotel in London under assumed names for the purpose of lovemaking Under a statute of Edwards II all whales washed up on the shore belong to the monarch Under a Tudor law Welshmen are not allowed into the city of Chester after dark
In THE STRANGE LAWS OF OLD ENGLAND, Nigel Cawthorne unearths an extraordinary collection of the most bizarre and arcane laws that have been enacted over the centuries. Some of the laws, incredibly, are still in force. It is still illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament in a suit of armour. . . This elegant and amusing book is perfect for everyone fascinated by the eccentric history of these islands.Because of doubts about their moral character, there is an ordinance in Great Yarmouth in Norfolk banning the naming of streets after Shakespeare, Chaucer Byron or any other great poet; at St Peter's . . . a law forbids ladies showing their ankles in public on pain of being put in the stocks . . . This light-hearted trawl through statute books, both past and present, unearths dozens of similar laws, some of which, bizarrely, are still in force . . . Who said the law was dull--This England
Nigel Cawthorne has been a writer for nearly 30 years, writing a number of successful popular history books. He lives in London.