Highway Act 1835 Explained

Short Title:	Highway Act 1835
Type:	act
Parliament:	Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long Title:	An Act to consolidate and amend the Laws relating to Highways in England.
Year:	1835
Citation:	5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 50
Territorial Extent:	England and Wales
Royal Assent:	31 August 1835
Commencement:	20 March 1836
Status:	partially_repealed
Original Text:	https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Will4/5-6/50/contents/enacted
Use New Uk-Leg:	yes

The Highway Act 1835^[1] ^[2] (5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 50) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was one of the Highway Acts 1835 to 1885.^[3]

Most of the Act has been repealed;, only three sections remain in force.^[4]

Parish boards

The Highway Act 1835 placed highways under the direction of parish surveyors, and allowed them to pay for the costs involved by rates levied on the occupiers of land. The surveyor's duty is to keep the highways in repair, and if a highway is out of repair, the surveyor may be summoned before the courts and ordered to complete the repairs within a limited time. The surveyor is also charged with the removal of nuisances on the highway. A highway nuisance may be abated by any person, and may be made the subject of indictment at common law.

The board consists of representatives of the various parishes, called way wardens together with the justices for the county residing within the district. Salaries and similar expenses incurred by the board are charged on a district fund to which the several parishes contribute; but each parish remains separately responsible for the expenses of maintaining its own highways.

The amending acts, while not interfering with the operation of the principal act, authorize the creation of highway districts on a larger scale. The justices of a county may convert it or any portion of it into a highway district to be governed by a highway board, the powers and responsibilities of which will be the same as those of the parish surveyor under the former act.

New road offences

The Highway Act 1835 specified as offences for which the driver of a carriage on the public highway might be punished by a fine, in addition to any civil action that might be brought against him:

Riding upon the cart, or upon any horse drawing it, and not having some other person to guide it, unless there be some person driving it.^[5]
Negligence causing damage to person or goods being conveyed on the highway^[6]
Quitting his cart, or leaving control of the horses, or leaving the cart so as to be an obstruction on the highway.^[6]
Not having the owner's name painted up.^[7]
Refusing to give the same.^[7]
Driving animals or a 'carriage of any description' on the footway.^[8]
Not keeping on the left or near side of the road, when meeting any other carriage or horse. This rule does not apply in the case of a carriage meeting a foot-passenger, but a driver is bound to use due care to avoid driving against any person crossing the highway on foot. At the same time a passenger crossing the highway is also bound to use due care in avoiding vehicles, and the mere fact of a driver being on the wrong side of the road would not be evidence of negligence in such a case.^[6]
The playing of football on public highways,^[9] with a maximum penalty of forty shillings.^[10]

Section 72

Section 72 provides: "If any person shall wilfully ride upon any footpath or causeway by the side of any road made or set apart for the use or accommodation of foot passengers; or shall wilfully lead or drive any horse, ass, sheep, mule, swine, or cattle or carriage of any description, or any truck or sledge, upon any such footpath or causeway; or shall tether any horse, ass, mule, swine, or cattle, on any highway, so as to suffer or permit the tethered animal to be thereon."

This clause is referred to by the current Highway Code: (The offence of driving on a bridleway is covered by a later act)(The Department for Transport cited this section in 2006 when it ruled that Segways could not be legally used on pavements in the United Kingdom.^[11]) 1973

Related and subsequent acts

The Public Health Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vict. c. 55) vested the powers and duties of surveyors of highways and vestries in urban authorities,

The Local Government Act 1888 gave the responsibility of maintaining main roads to county councils.

References

Documents referenced from 'Notes' section

Web site: The Highway Act 1835. Office of Public Sector Information. 1835.

Other references for article

Notes and References

This short title was conferred on this Act by section 1 of the Highway Act 1864 (27 & 28 Vict. c. 101).
The citation of this Act by this short title was authorised by the Short Titles Act 1896, section 1 and the first schedule. Due to the repeal of those provisions it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpretation Act 1978.
The Short Titles Act 1896, section 2(1) and Schedule 2
Web site: Highway Act 1835. legislation.gov.uk. 30 May 2023.
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Web site: Origins of Rugby. Rugby Football History. 2010-04-14. "football for the common man was being suppressed, notably by the 1835 Highways Act which forbade the playing of football on highways and public land - which is where most games took place".
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Web site: Regulations for Self-balancing Scooters. Department for Transport. Under the Highway Act 1835 no-one may ride or drive on the footway. Certain vehicles used by disabled drivers are exempted from these requirements but only where they use Class 2 or Class 3 "invalid carriages". These vehicles are restricted to a speed of 4 mph on the footway and, apart from those involved in the demonstration, training or repair of these vehicles, the users must have a physical disability. Self-balancing scooters are not classified as "invalid carriages" so cannot be used on pavements.. 2010-03-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091202041311/http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/vehicles/vssafety/regulationsforselfbalancings4565 . 2009-12-02.