| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act for preventing certain Abuses and Profanations on the Lord's Day called Sunday. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 21 Geo. 3. c. 49 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 19 June 1781 |
| Repealed | 24 November 2005[2] |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | Statute Law Revision Act 1888 |
| Repealed by | Licensing Act 2003, ss. 198(1) & 199 & Sch.6, para.3 & Sch.7 |
Status: Repealed | |
The Sunday Observance Act 1780 (21 Geo. 3. c. 49) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. Originally eight sections long, only sections 1 to 3 were still in force after the 1960s. These sections prohibited the use of any building or room for public entertainment or debate on a Sunday.
During November 1865, the National Sunday League (NSL) held a series of lectures for the general public entitled "Sunday Evenings for the People". This was fiercely opposed by the Lord's Day Observance Society (LDOS), who had the lectures cancelled after only four had been given. This was done by threatening the management of St Martin's Hall with legal action as lectures were forbidden under the Act.[3]
In 1931, Millie Orpen, a solicitor's clerk, brought an action as a common informer against a cinema chain for opening on a succession of Sundays, contrary to the Sunday Observance Act 1780, s.1. Orpen claimed £25,000 against the cinema company and individual members of its board of directors. The claim was based on a forfeit of £200 per performance per defendant. The judge, Mr Justice Rowlatt, expressed some distaste for the proceedings. He found against the cinema chain, awarding Orpen £5,000, with costs, but found for the individual directors on the grounds that there was no evidence that they were guilty on any particular Sunday. Costs were awarded to the directors against Orpen. The judge granted a stay pending an appeal by the company.[4] Later in the year, Orpen brought a claim against another chain, but was thwarted[clarification needed] by a change in the law legalising Sunday opening for cinemas before her case could be decided.[5]
- ^ The citation of this Act by this short title was authorised by the Short Titles Act 1896. (Some sources may refer to the Act as the Sunday Observance Act 1781, this being the year in which it was passed.)
- ^ Licensing Act 2003 (Commencement No. 7 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2005 article 2(2) (see article 1 for the meaning of "second appointed day")
- ^ Pope, Norris (1979). Dickens and Charity. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 91. ISBN 1349034363. OCLC 1033650826.
- ^ Orpen v. Haymarket Capital Ltd & Others, The Times, July 18, 1931, p.3, col E
- ^ Orpen v. New Empire Ltd and Others, The Times, October 20, 1931, p.4, col C