Making of Bread, etc. Act 1800
Encyclopedia
The Making of Bread, etc. Act 1800 (41 Geo. III c. 16), also known as the Brown Bread Act or the Poison Act, was a British
Act of Parliament
that prohibited millers from producing any flour other than wholemeal flour. The Act was introduced as one of a series of measures to deal with a severe food shortage, caused at least partly by the poor wheat harvest of 1799. Labourers and their families at that time lived very largely on bread, the price of which could account for more than half of their weekly wages. The Act proved to be very unpopular, and impossible to enforce. So concerned was the government by the civil unrest that resulted, the Act was repealed after less than two months. One account from Horsham
, in Sussex
, demonstrates the depth of public feeling:
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
that prohibited millers from producing any flour other than wholemeal flour. The Act was introduced as one of a series of measures to deal with a severe food shortage, caused at least partly by the poor wheat harvest of 1799. Labourers and their families at that time lived very largely on bread, the price of which could account for more than half of their weekly wages. The Act proved to be very unpopular, and impossible to enforce. So concerned was the government by the civil unrest that resulted, the Act was repealed after less than two months. One account from Horsham
Horsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
, in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, demonstrates the depth of public feeling: