Bank Holidays Act 1871
The Bank Holidays Act 1871 established additional public holidays (known as bank holidays) in addition to those customarily recognised in the United Kingdom.
| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Act to make provision for Bank Holidays, and respecting obligations to make payments and do other acts on such Bank Holidays.[1] |
|---|---|
| Citation | c. 17 |
| Introduced by | Sir John Lubbock [2] (Commons) |
| Territorial extent | United Kingdom |
| Dates | |
| Repealed | 16 December 1971 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 |
Status: Repealed | |
The Act designated four bank holidays in England, Wales and Ireland (Easter Monday; Whit Monday; First Monday in August; Boxing Day in England and Wales and St Stephen's Day in Ireland), and five in Scotland (New Year's Day; Good Friday; First Monday in May; First Monday in August and Christmas Day.[3][4]
In England, Wales and Ireland, Good Friday and Christmas Day were considered traditional days of rest (as were Sundays) and therefore it was felt unnecessary to include them in the Act; especially as the Act extended the existing law relating to those days to the new bank holidays.
The Act was repealed in 1971 and superseded by the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971, which remains in force.
References
- Parliamentary Archives (26 December 2020). Happy Boxing Day! Here is the original Bank Holidays Act from 1871 which introduced the first four bank holidays including the August Bank Holiday and Boxing Day. #TowerXmas (Image in tweet (via Twitter)). Archived from the original on 26 December 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- "Bank Holidays Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 204. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 21 February 1871. col. 661–662.
- "Bank holidays and British Summer Time : Directgov - Government, citizens and rights". Direct.gov.uk. 29 April 2011. Archived from the original on May 15, 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
- "Bank Holiday On The Last Monday In August". The Times Digital Archive. 5 Mar 1964. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
"History of Bank & Public Holidays". Department for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform. Archived from the original on 2008-12-07. Retrieved 14 December 2008.