Cloth Act 1337 Explained

Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of England
Long Title:None shall wear any Cloth but such as is made in England.
Year:1337
Citation:11 Edw. 3. c. 2
Territorial Extent:England, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland
Repealing Legislation:Statute Law Revision Act 1863
Status:repealed

The Cloth Act 1337 (11 Edw. 3. c. 2) was an Act of the Parliament of England passed during the reign of Edward III.

The act legally obliged all English people to wear English-made cloth.[1] It was part of a group of Sumptuary Laws intended to preserve class distinctions.[2]

Notes and References

  1. William Cunningham, The Growth of English Industry and Commerce during the Early and Middle Ages. Fifth Edition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1915), p. 308.
  2. Web site: Sumptuary laws of the middle ages. 8 April 2018. Lordsandladies.org.