{{Short description|Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}} {{Use British English|date=April 2017}} {{Infobox UK legislation | short_title = Highways Act 1750 | type = Act | parliament = Parliament of Great Britain | long_title = An Act for the more effectual Preservation of the Turnpike Roads in that Part of Great Britain called England; and for the Disposition of Penalties given by Acts of Parliament relating to Highways; and for the more effectual preventing the Mischiefs occasioned by the Drivers riding upon Carts, Drays, Cars, and Waggons, in the City of London and within Ten Miles thereof. | year = 1750 | citation = [[24 Geo. 2]]. c. 43 | territorial_extent = [[England and Wales]]] | royal_assent = 25 June 1751 | commencement = {{ubli|25 March 1752{{efn|Section 6.}}|1 July 1752{{efn|Section 1.}}}} | repeal_date = 30 July 1948 | amendments = {{ubli|[[Highways Act 1773]]|[[Highway Act 1835]]}} | repealing_legislation = [[Statute Law Revision Act 1948]] | related_legislation = {{ubli|[[Preservation of Roads Act 1740]]}} | status = Repealed | original_text = https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=rLsuAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA274 | use_new_UK-LEG = no }}
The '''Highways Act 1750''' ([[24 Geo. 2]]. c. 43) was an [[Act of Parliament (United Kingdom)|act]] of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] concerning the maintenance and management of public [[highway]]s in [[England]] and [[Wales]]. It formed part of a sequence of 18th-century statutes intended to improve the condition of roads prior to the widespread use of [[turnpike trust]]s.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Pickering |first=Danby |title=The Statutes at Large |url=https://archive.org/details/statutesatlarge67britgoog |journal=Magna Charta to the End of the Eleventh Parliament of Great Britain, Anno 1761 |location=Cambridge |volume=20 |pages=}}</ref> The Act amended earlier highway legislation and sought to strengthen local administrative obligations for road upkeep.
== Background == Road conditions in mid-18th-century Britain were governed primarily by the [[Highways Act 1555]] ([[2 & 3 Ph. & M.]] c. 8) and later [[United Kingdom traffic laws|amendments]]. Responsibility for repairs rested with [[parish]]es, which were required to provide labour and materials. By the early 1700s, this system was widely considered inefficient. Parliament introduced a series of reforms to increase compliance and clarify obligations, including the [[Highways Act 1715]] ([[1 Geo. 1. St. 2]]. c. 52) and subsequent amendments.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Angell |first=Joseph K. |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=miun.aft5971.0001.001&seq=3 |title=A Treatise on the Law of Highways |last2=Durfee |first2=Thomas |publisher=Alpha Editions |year=1857 |publication-place=Boston}}</ref> The 1750 Act continued this process by tightening enforcement and adjusting procedural requirements.
== Provisions == {| class="wikitable" |+ !Provision !Description !Source |- |Preservation of turnpike roads |The Act focused on the more effectual preservation of turnpike (toll) roads in England. Duties and powers were kept to keep them repaired. | rowspan="4" |<ref name=":0" /> |- |Disposition of penalties |Makes provision for the disposition (recovery/use) of penalties given by earlier Highway Acts and enforces their recovery. |- |Prevention of drivers riding on carts in London |Includes measures "for the more effectual preventing the Mischiefs occasioned by the Drivers riding upon Carts, Drays, Cars, and Waggons, in the [[City of London]] and within Ten Miles thereof." |- |Enforcement procedures/recovery |Provisions to enforce recovery of penalties and ensure compliance by local officers/surveyors. |}
== Subsequent developments == The act was later superseded by later 18th-century reforms, including the [[Highways Act 1766]] ([[6 Geo. 3]]. c. 43) and [[Highways Act 1773]] ([[13 Geo. 3]]. c. 78), which continued restructuring parish-based road administration.<ref name=":0" />
The whole act was repealed by section 1 of, and the first schedule to, the [[Statute Law Revision Act 1948]] ([[11 & 12 Geo. 6]]. c. 62).
== Notes == {{Notelist}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{GB legislation}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1750]] [[Category:Repealed Great Britain Acts of Parliament]] [[Category:United Kingdom planning law]] [[Category:Roads in England]] [[Category:1750 in transport]] [[Category:Transport legislation in Great Britain]] [[Category:History of transport in England]] [[Category:Highway Acts]]