| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act containing divers Orders for Artificers, Labourers, Servants of Husbandry, and Apprentices. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 5 Eliz. 1. c. 4 |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 10 April 1563 |
| Commencement | 10 April 1563[a] |
| Repealed | 1 September 1875 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | |
| Repealed by | Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act 1875 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Statute of Artificers 1563 or the Artificers and Apprentices Act 1563 (5 Eliz. 1. c. 4), also known as the Statute of Labourers 1562,[1] was an act of the Parliament of England, under Queen Elizabeth I, which sought to fix prices, impose maximum wages, restrict workers' freedom of movement and regulate training. The causes of the measures were short-term labour shortages due to mortality from epidemic disease, as well as, inflation, poverty, and general social disorder.[2] Local magistrates had responsibility for regulating wages in agriculture. Guilds regulated wages of the urban trades. Effectively, it transferred to the newly forming English state the functions previously held by the feudal craft guilds.[3] The measure sought to make agriculture a trade and a national priority of employment.[1]
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- ^ a b Ilbert, Courtenay (1901). Legislative methods and forms. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 44. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
- ^ Holderness, B. A. (1976). Pre-industrial England: economy and society, 1500-1750. London : Totowa, N.J: Dent ; Rowman & Littlefield. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-87471-910-9.
- ^ Hunt, Emery K. (2002). History of economic thought: a critical perspective (2nd ed.). Armonk, NY: Sharpe. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-7656-0607-5.