| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act for encouraging the Establishment of Museums in Large Towns. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 8 & 9 Vict. c. 43 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 21 July 1845 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | Statute Law Revision Act 1875 |
TheMuseums Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c. 43), sometimes called theMuseums of Art Act 1845[2] or theMuseums of Art in Boroughs Act,[3] was anAct of theParliament of the United Kingdom which gave the town councils of largermunicipal boroughs the power to establish museums.
As to bequests under this Act, seeHarrison v The Corporation of Southampton.[4]
This Act was repealed by section 1 of thePublic Libraries Act 1850,[5] subject to section 9 of that Act.
This Act was retained for theRepublic of Ireland bysection 2(2)(a) of, and Part 4 of Schedule 1 to, theStatute Law Revision Act 2007.
In the 1830s, at the height of theChartist movement, there was a general tendency towards reformism in the United Kingdom. This prompted much new legislation to be passed, such as theParliamentary Reform Act 1832, theFactory Act 1833, the first instance of a government grant for education in the same year and thePoor Law Amendment Act 1834. Thecapitalist economic model had created shift patterns which left workers with free time, in contrast to the agrarian model, and the middle classes were concerned that the workers' free time was not being well-spent. This was prompted more byVictorian middle-classpaternalism rather than by demand from thelower social orders.[6] Campaigners felt that encouraging the lower classes to spend their free time on morally uplifting activities, such as reading, would promote greater social good.
In 1835, and against government opposition,James Silk Buckingham, MP for Sheffield and a supporter of thetemperance movement, was able to secure the chair of theselect committee which would examine "the extent, causes, and consequences of the prevailing vice of intoxication among the labouring classes of the United Kingdom" and propose solutions.Francis Place, a campaigner for the working class, agreed that "the establishment of parish libraries and district reading rooms, and popular lectures on subjects both entertaining and instructive to the community might draw off a number of those who now frequent public houses for the sole enjoyment they afford."[7] Buckingham introduced to Parliament a public institution Bill allowing boroughs to charge a tax to set up libraries and museums, the first of its kind. Although this did not become law, it had a major influence onWilliam Ewart andJoseph Brotherton, MPs, who introduced a Bill which would "[empower] boroughs with a population of 10,000 or more to raise a1⁄2d for the establishment of museums."[8] This became the Museums Act 1845.