Saint Olave's Law Society Journal ; Issue 01 (Autumn 2013) | Page 9
Saint
Olave’s
Law
Society
Journal
OUTDATED,
INTERESTING
AND
STRANGE
LAWS
GRACE
ANTEYI
Did
you
know
that
it
was
once
illegal
for
women
to
eat
chocolate
on
a
public
conveyance
(public
transport)?
Or
that
under
the
Salmon
Act
of
1986
(yes,
this
was
a
real
act),
it
was
made
illegal
to
'handle
salmon
under
suspicious
circumstances'.
These
laws,
although
now
archaic
and
disused,
are
a
window
to
the
past
and
show
not
only
what
was
once
acceptable
but
also
how
far
we've
come
from
such
times.
Although
some
laws
may
seem
silly
to
us
now,
they
were
created
to
serve
a
purpose,
and
some
still
do
now.
In
1835
it
was
made
legal
that
if
you
are
granted
the
freedom
of
the
City
of
London,
you
are
permitted
to
'herd
a
flock
of
sheep
across
London
Bridge'
and
in
2009,
500
freemen
led
a
flock
of
ewes
over
the
River
Thames
to
raise
money
for
charity!
The
basis
of
English
law
is
the
Magna
Carta
(Latin
for
Great
Charter),
which
was
issued
in
1215
and
was
the
first
of
its
kind
to
attempt
to
limit
the
King's
powers
by
law.
It
was
the
foundation
of
liberty
in
Britain,
and
later,
America;
however,
only
three
of
the
original
sixty
clauses
are
still
in
force.
Revision
of
the
charter
began
early
on,
with
the
omission
of
clauses
relating
to
forests.
These
were
transferred
into
a
separate
forestry
charter
in
1217.
As
time
went
on,
more
clauses
were
removed
as
the
way
of
living
changed.
For
example,
by
1969,
the
clause
that
guaranteed
townsmen
and
freemen
the
right
to
build
bridges
wherever
they
like,
as
in
Henry
III's
time,
was
removed
because
it
simply
wasn't
practical
for
people
to
build
bridges
wherever
they
pleased.
So,
of
the
60
original
clauses,
the
3
that
remain
are:
(1)
First,
We
have
granted
to
God,
and
by
this
our
present
Charter
have
confirmed,
for
Us
and
our
Heirs
for
ever,
that
the
Church
of
England
shall
be
free,
and
shall
have
all
her
whole
Rights
and
Liberties
inviolable.
We
have
granted
also,
and
given
to
all
the
Freemen
of
our
Realm,
for
Us
and
our
Heirs
for
ever,
these
liberties
under-written,
to
have
and
to
hold
them
and
their
Heirs,
of
Us
and
our
Heirs
for
ever.
(9)
The
City
of
London
shall
have
all
the
old
Liberties $4?
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