Baths and Washhouses Act 1846
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1846 c. 74 |
| Year | 1846 |
(9 & 10 Vict.) C A P. LXXIV.
[26th August 1846]
'WHEREAS it is desirable for the Health, Comfort, and Welfare of the Inhabitants of Towns and populous Districts to encourage the Establishment therein of public Baths and Wash-houses and open Bathing Places:' Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authorityof the same, That this Act may be adopted for any incorporated Borough inEngland which is regulated under an Act passed in the Sixth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty, to provide for the Regulation of Municipal Corporations, or any Charter granted in pursuance of the said Act, or any Act passed for the Amendment thereof, and also, with the Approval of One of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, for any Parish in England not within any such incorporated Borough.
II Interpretation of Act.
II. And be it enacted, That in this Act the following Words and Expressions shall have the several Meanings hereby assigned to them, unless there be something in the Subject or Context repugnant to such Construction; that is to say,
‘Parish’ shall mean every Place having separate Overseers of the Poor, and separately maintaining its own Poor:
‘Borough’ shall mean City, Borough, Port, Cinque Port, or Town Corporate:
‘Rate-payers’ shall mean such of the Persons for the Time being assessed to and paying Rates for the Relief of the Poor of the Parish as for the Time being shall be duly qualified to vote for the Election of Overseers for the Parish:
‘Churchwardens’ shall mean also Chapelwardens, or other Persons discharging the Duties of Churchwardens:
‘Overseers’ shall mean also any Persons authorized and required to make and collect or cause to be collected the Rate for the Relief of the Poor of the Parish, and acting instead of Overseers of the Poor:
‘Vestry’ shall mean the Inhabitants of the Parish lawfully assembled in Vestry, or for any of the Purposes for which Vestries are holden, except in those Parishes in which there is a Select Vestry elected under an Act passed in the Fifty-ninth Year of the Reign of KingGeorge the Third, intituled AnAct to amend the Laws for the Relief of the Poor , or elected under an Act passed in the Second Year of the Reign of His late Majesty, intituled AnAct for the better Regulation of Vestries, and for the Appointment of Auditors of Accounts, in certain Parishes of England and Wales, or elected under the Provisions of any local Act of Parliament for the Government of any Parish by Vestries, in which Parishes it shall mean such Select Vestry:
‘Commissioners’ shall mean the Commissioners appointed in accordance with this Act for any Parish, and for the Time being in Office and acting as such Commissioners:
‘Clerk’ shall mean, as regards an incorporated Borough, the Town Clerk of such Borough; and, as regards a Parish, the Clerk appointed pursuant to this Act by the Commissioners:
‘Justice’ shall mean Justice of the Peace for the County, Riding, Division, Liberty, Borough, or Place where the Matter requiring the Cognizance of Justices shall arise:
‘Lands’ shall mean Lands, Tenements, and Hereditaments, of whatsoever Nature or Tenure:
Words importing the Masculine Gender shall include the Feminine:
Words of the Plural Number shall include the Singular, and Words of the Singular Number shall include the Plural.
III Council of any Borough may adopt the Provisions contained in this Act, if they think fit.
III. And be it enacted, That the Council of any such Borough as aforesaid may, if they think fit, determine that this Act shall be adopted for such Borough, and then and in such Case such of the Provisions of this Act as are applicable in that Behalf shall thenceforth take effect and come into operation in such Borough, and this Act shall be carried into execution in such Borough in accordance with such Provisions and the Laws for the Time being in force relating to the Municipal Corporation of such Borough.
IV Expences of carrying this Act into execution shall be charged upon the Borough Fund, and Income arising carried to same.
IV. And be it enacted, That the Expences of carrying this Act into execution in any such Borough in which the Council shall have resolved to adopt this Act for their Borough shall be chargeable upon and paid out of the Borough Fund, and for that Purpose the Council may levy with and as Part of the Borough Rate, or by a separate Rate to be assessed, levied, paid, and recovered in like Manner and with the like Powers and Remedies in all respects as the Borough Rate, such Sums of Money as shall be from Time to Time necessary for defraying such Expences, and shall apply the same accordingly as if the Expence of carrying this Act into execution were an Expence necessarily incurred in carrying into effect the Provisions of the said Act of the Sixth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty; and the Income arising from the Baths and Wash-houses and open Bathing Places in any Borough shall be paid to the Credit of the Borough Fund thereof, and the Council shall keep distinct Accounts of their Receipts, Payments, Credits, and Liabilities, with reference to the Execution of this Act, to be called ‘The public Baths and Wash-houses Account.’
V On the Requisition of Ten Rate-payers, Churchwardens, &c. to convene Vestry Meeting to determine whether this Act shall be adopted;
V. And be it enacted, That upon the Requisition in Writing of Ten or more Rate-payers of any such Parish as aforesaid, not being within any such incorporated Borough, the Churchwardens or other Persons to whom it belongs to convene Meetings of the Vestry in such Parish shall convene a Meeting of the Vestry for the special Purpose of determining whether this Act shall be adopted for the Parish, after public Notice of such Vestry, and the Place and Hour of holding the same, and the special Purpose thereof, given in the usual Manner in which Notice of the Meetings of the Vestry is given at least Seven Days before the Day to be appointed for holding such Vestry; and if thereupon it shall be resolved by the Vestry that this Act ought to be adopted for the Parish, a Copy of such Resolution extracted from the Minutes of the Vestry, and signed by the Chairman, shall be sent to One of Her Majesty'sPrincipal Secretaries of State for his Approval, and as soon as such Approval shall have been signified in Writing under the Hand of any such Secretary of State, such of the Provisions of this Act as are applicable in that Behalf shall thenceforth take effect and come into operation in the Parish: Providedalways, that no such Resolution of the Vestry shall be deemed to be carried unless at least Two Thirds of the Number of Votes given on the Question according to the usual Manner of voting at such Vestry shall have been given for such Resolution.
VI Where Act adopted Vestry to appoint Commissioners, &c.
VI. And be it enacted, That in such Case the Vestry shall appoint not less than Three nor more than Seven Persons, being Rate-payers of the Parish, Commissioners for carrying this Act into execution in the Parish, of whom One Third, or as nearly as may be One Third (to be determined among themselves), shall go out of Office yearly, but shall be eligible for immediate Re-appointment.
VII Resignation of Commissioners.
VII. And be it enacted, That any Commissioner may at any Time resign his Office as a Commissioner on giving Seven Days Notice in Writing of his Intention to resign to the Clerk, and also to the Churchwardens.
VIII Vacancies to be filled by Vestry.
VIII. And be it enacted, That any Vacancies in the Commissionership may be filled up by the Vestry when and as the Vestry shall think fit.
IX Meetings of the Commissioners.
IX. And be it enacted, That the Commissioners shall meet at least once in every Calendar Month at their Office, or some other convenient Place previously publicly notified.
X Special Meetings of Commissioners.
X. And be it enacted, That the Commissioners may meet at such other Time as at any previous Meeting shall be determined upon, and it shall be at all Times competent for any One Commissioner, by Writing under his Hand, to summon, with at least Forty-eight Hours Notice, the Commissioners for any special Purpose, therein named, and to meet at such Times as shall be therein named.
XI Quorum of Meetings of Commissioners.
XI. And be it enacted, That at all Meetings of the Commissioners any Number not less than One Third of the whole Number when more than Three Commissioners shall have been appointed, and when only Three Commissioners shall have been appointed then any Number not less than Two Commissioners, shall be a sufficient Number for transacting Business, and for exercising all the Powers of the Commissioners.
XII Commissioners may appoint and remove Officers, &c.
XII. And be it enacted, That the Commissioners shall appoint, and may remove at Pleasure, a Clerk and such other Officers and Servants as shall be necessary for effecting the Purposes of this Act, and, with the Approval of the Vestry, may appoint reasonable Salaries, Wages, and Allowances...
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