River boards were authorities who controlled land drainage , fisheries and river pollution and had other functions relating to rivers, streams and inland waters in England and Wales between 1950 and 1965.
21-594: Prior to the 1930s, land drainage in the United Kingdom was regulated by the Statute of Sewers , passed by King Henry VIII in 1531, and several further acts which built upon that foundation. However, the administrative bodies with responsibility for managing the drainage of low-lying areas did not have sufficient resources to do this effectively. Complaints to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries made during
42-612: A rate on any person "who hath or holdeth any lands or tenements or common of pasture or profit of fishing or hath or may have any hurt loss or disadvantage" who lived within the area of responsibility of the Commissioners. This was the principle of benefit, and was challenged in the courts in 1609 at Keighley and the Isle of Ely . The courts on those occasions upheld the concept that rates could be levied for land that derived or would derive benefit, or had avoided or would avoid danger as
63-528: A result of the work of the Commissioners. This principle was consistently upheld in the courts by a number of cases that were contested between 1788 and 1905, and remained the case until the passing of the Land Drainage Act 1930 . Although the act legitimised or created commissions of sewers for most of the areas of marshland within the country, Romney Marshes in Kent were specifically excluded, and
84-459: Is a list of acts of the Parliament of England for the year 1531 . For acts passed during the period 1707–1800, see the list of acts of the Parliament of Great Britain . See also the list of acts of the Parliament of Scotland , and the list of acts of the Parliament of Ireland . For acts passed from 1801 onwards, see the list of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . For acts of
105-582: The List of ordinances and acts of the Parliament of England, 1642–1660 for ordinances and acts passed by the Long Parliament and other bodies without royal assent , and which were not considered to be valid legislation following the Restoration in 1660. The number shown after each act's title is its chapter number. Acts are cited using this number, preceded by the years of the reign during which
126-521: The 1920s by existing drainage boards and those who lived and worked in the areas they covered led to the government deciding that a thorough review of the situation should be carried out. A royal commission was set up, under the chairmanship of Lord Bledisloe , which produced a final report on 5 December 1927. The report described the existing laws as "vague and ill-defined, full of anomalies, obscure, lacking in uniformity, and even chaotic." It recommended that any replacement should have powers to carry out
147-456: The Lords, Bailiff and Jurats of Romney Marsh continued to operate as they had previously done. The act was also intended to remove obstructions from rivers, such as mills, weirs and fish traps, with Thomas Cromwell , the king's chief minister at the time stating: "An Act that never weir nor water-mill shall hereafter be erected or made within this realm." The implementation of the act resulted in
168-683: The Royal Commission. River boards were established by the River Boards Act 1948 , and replaced the catchment boards that had been created following the passing of the 1930 Act. Although the Act proposed river board areas, the precise details were not included in the legislation, and a consultative committee was convened to resolve issues with the boundaries for the areas. This involved liaising with catchment boards, fishery boards , county councils and county boroughs . By 19 May 1949,
189-406: The basis for a subsequent bill , which became the Land Drainage Act 1930 ( 20 & 21 Geo. 5 . c. 44) when it became law on 1 August 1930. It repealed most of the legislation that had preceded it, with 16 acts dating from 1531 to 1929 falling into this category, and another three were amended. When the Act was published, however, it contained only 47 catchment areas of the original 100 suggested by
210-492: The borders of 17 areas had been settled, and a draft order to create the first river board, that for the River Severn , had been deposited before Parliament. A total of 32 boards were eventually created, covering the whole of England and Wales, with responsibilities for land drainage, fisheries and river pollution. Where there were existing catchment boards, they inherited these powers, and where there were not, they took over
231-526: The city asking Parliament to allow them to rebuild four mills in 1555, as their destruction had caused unemployment and poverty. Their request was granted, and the Bishop of Winchester's Woodmill was reconstructed around 1570. This legislation in England article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . 23 Hen. 8 Interregnum (1642–1660) Rescinded (1639–1651) This
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#1732780808962252-511: The destruction of large numbers of such structures between 1535 and 1539, with the king himself suffering a loss of income when his own mills and weirs were destroyed. The commission of sewers for Hampshire was set up on 28 January 1535, and demolition of mills on the River Itchen started in mid- or late-1535. The mayor and citizens of Winchester wrote to Cromwell in 1536 to express their thanks that young salmon were once again appearing in
273-563: The devolved parliaments and assemblies in the United Kingdom, see the list of acts of the Scottish Parliament , the list of acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly , and the list of acts and measures of Senedd Cymru ; see also the list of acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland . For medieval statutes, etc. that are not considered to be acts of Parliament, see the list of English statutes . See also
294-624: The duties of flood prevention on main rivers from local authorities. The provisions of the 1930 Act ceased to apply to the new river boards. The exceptions were the River Thames Catchment Board and the Lee Conservancy Catchment Board , which did not become river boards, and still operated under the older powers. Each river board area had a board which was partly nominated by county councils and county borough corporations, and partly appointed by
315-414: The government. The Act allowed that "orders defining river board areas and establishing river boards may be made at different times for different areas" . It was not until 1955 that all the boards had been established. The powers of river boards were extended by the Land Drainage Act 1961 , which allowed them to raise additional finance and to act as an internal drainage board (IDB) where land drainage
336-524: The last session of the Parliament of Great Britain and the first session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom are both cited as "41 Geo. 3". Acts passed by the Parliament of England did not have a short title ; however, some of these acts have subsequently been given a short title by acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (such as the Short Titles Act 1896 ). Acts passed by the Parliament of England were deemed to have come into effect on
357-485: The powers of various commissions of sewers permanent, whereas previously, each parliament had to renew their powers. It is noted as one of the earliest occurrences in English legal history of a Henry VIII power . The statute gave the commissions of sewers legislative powers, the power to impose taxation upon landowners, and the power to impose penalties for the non-payment of those taxes. Specifically, they could charge
378-460: The relevant parliamentary session was held; thus the Union with Ireland Act 1800 is cited as "39 & 40 Geo. 3. c. 67", meaning the 67th act passed during the session that started in the 39th year of the reign of George III and which finished in the 40th year of that reign. Note that the modern convention is to use Arabic numerals in citations (thus "41 Geo. 3" rather than "41 Geo. III"). Acts of
399-532: The river, and that areas of land which had previously been flooded were now dry. However, not everyone was keen on the measures, with the letter noting that the Bishop of Winchester was unhappy about the destruction of his installation at Woodmill, and that there was opposition to carrying out the objects of the act in Hampshire by "the great lords and their officials". This approach was relatively short-lived, with officials at Hereford Cathedral and residents of
420-403: The work necessary for efficient drainage, together with the provision of financial resources to enable them to carry out their duties. At the time there were 361 drainage authorities covering England and Wales, and the proposed solution was the creation of catchment boards responsible for each main river , with powers over the individual drainage boards within each catchment. The report formed
441-598: Was necessary for the improvement of agricultural land, but no IDB existed. The river boards were replaced by twenty-seven river authorities on 1 April 1965, under the Water Resources Act 1963 . The new authorities comprised the area of one or two river boards. Statute of Sewers The Statute of Sewers ( 23 Hen. 8 . c. 5) was a 1532 law enacted by the English Reformation Parliament of King Henry VIII . It sought to make
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