| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An act for the further and better regulation of buildings and party-walls; and for the more effectually preventing mischiefs by fire within the cities of London and Westminster, and the liberties thereof, and other the parishes, precincts, and places, within the weekly bills of mortality, the parishes of Saint Mary-le-bon, Paddington, Saint Pancras, and Saint Luke at Chelsea, in the county of Middlesex; and for indemnifying, under certain conditions, builders and other persons against the penalties to which they are or may be liable for erecting buildings within the limits aforesaid contrary to law. |
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| Citation | 14 Geo. 3. c. 78 |
| Introduced by | Robert Taylor and James Adam |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | |
| Repealed by |
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Status: Partially repealed | |
| Text of the Fires Prevention (Metropolis) Act 1774 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
The Building Act 1774 (formally known as the Fires Prevention (Metropolis) Act 1774) was an Act passed in 1774 by the Parliament of Great Britain to consolidate earlier legislation and to regulate the design and construction of new buildings in London. The provisions of the Act regulated the design of new buildings erected in London and elsewhere in Great Britain and Ireland in the late Georgian period.
The 1774 Act standardised the quality and construction of buildings and made the exterior of a building as fire-proof as possible, by restricting any superfluous exterior timber ornamentation except for door frames and shop fronts. The Act placed buildings into classes or "rates" defined by size and value, with a code of structural requirements for the foundations and external and party walls for each of the rates. It mandated inspection of new buildings by building surveyors to ensure rules and regulations were applied. The Act also brought into being the first legislation that dealt with human life and escape, rather than just building safety, and made parishes responsible for permanent provision of working fire fighting equipment.
Professor Sir John Summerson, one of the leading British architectural historians of the 20th century, described it as "the great Building Act of 1774, a milestone in the history of London 'improvement'".[1] It was the leading reason for the appearance of the many Georgian houses, terraces and squares which remain important features of some parts of London and other cities and towns within the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and elsewhere.[2]
- ^ Summerson 1945, p. 124.
- ^ Ayres 1998.