Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851

Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to prevent the assumption of certain Ecclesiastical Titles in respect of Places in the United Kingdom
Citation	14 & 15 Vict. c. 60
Territorial extent	United Kingdom
Other legislation
Repealed by	Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1871
Status: Repealed

Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1871

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to repeal an Act for preventing the assumption of certain Ecclesiastical Titles in respect of places in the United Kingdom.
Citation	34 & 35 Vict. c. 53
Territorial extent	United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent	24 July 1871
Commencement	24 July 1871
Other legislation
Repeals/revokes	Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1871 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1851 (14 & 15 Vict. c. 60) was an act of the British Parliament which made it a criminal offence for anyone outside the established "United Church of England and Ireland" to use any episcopal title "of any city, town or place ... in the United Kingdom". It provided that any property passed to a person under such a title would be forfeit to the Crown.^[1] The act was introduced by Prime Minister Lord John Russell in response to anti-Catholic reaction to the 1850 establishment of Catholic dioceses in England and Wales under the papal bull Universalis Ecclesiae. The 1851 act proved ineffective and was repealed 20 years later by the Ecclesiastical Titles Act 1871 (34 & 35 Vict. c. 53). Roman Catholic bishops followed the letter of the law but their laity ignored it. The effect was to strengthen the Catholic Church in England, but it also felt persecuted and on the defensive.^[2]