10 Crazy British Laws

1. It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament

2. It is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside-down

3. In Liverpool, it is illegal for a woman to be topless except as a clerk in a tropical fish store

4. Mince pies cannot be eaten on Christmas Day

5. In Scotland, if someone knocks on your door and requires the use of your toilet, you must let them enter

6. In the UK a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman's helmet

7. The head of any dead whale found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the King, and the tail of the Queen

8. It is illegal not to tell the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing

9. It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament in a suit of armour

10. In the city of York it is legal to murder a Scotsman within the ancient city walls, but only if he is carrying a bow and arrow

Others

In London, it is illegal to flag down a taxi if you have the plague.

In Chester, Welshmen are banned from entering the city before sunrise and from staying after sunset

In the UK, a man who feels compelled to urinate in public can do so only if he aims for his rear wheel and keeps his right hand on his vehicle.

In London, Freemen are allowed to take a flock of sheep across London Bridge without being charged a toll; they are also allowed to drive geese down Cheapside.

In England, all men over the age of 14 must carry out two hours of longbow practice a day.

Royal Navy ships that enter the Port of London must provide a barrel of rum to the Constable of the Tower of London.



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Well they certainly gave me a good laugh I love the laws about the scots and welshman, haha, what where they thinking when they wrote these ?

reply to post by Haydn_17


!

Thank you!!!

I've seen some of these before but am very grateful for the new-to-me ones!!

Hehe, funny indeed, but number 6 actually makes sense

And I love the longbow law, now that would be productive!

reply to post by Haydn_17


crazy and very old outdated laws which are no longer enforced!

a funny post, but makes our country look completly retarded imo!!

not one of them laws would EVER been enforced these days as plenty newer laws also cover these laws and make them defunct... but they are still in the old books as history cant be deleted!

for instance, how can it be against the law to die in a building ?!?!?! isint that a complete noncense!?!?1 you cant charge a corpse!

(all except for the pregnant one, im fairly sure thats the only one that actualy still counts!)

[edit on 14-2-2010 by boaby_phet]

Originally posted by Haydn_17


6. In the UK a pregnant woman can legally relieve herself anywhere she wants, including in a policeman's helmet

This one I would pay good money to see put to the test.

reply to post by Haydn_17


1. That's because anyone doing so, as it is in a Palace, is entitled to a state funeral.

2. There are no mentions of that in any treason law on the books. The newspaper that published the claim didn't provide a source.

3. The city of Liverpool says that's rubbish.

4. True!

5. No idea

6. Only in London, and it's due to an old bye-law.

7. Most likely due to the high price of ambergris.

8. It makes sense if you think about it, as the only things you don't want him to know are things that he could act on against you, which is tax avoidance.

9. It was purposefully not a violent place, so it makes sense

10. No, it would still be murder.

If anyone did die in the houses of parliment, who would notice?

Originally posted by boaby_phet

a funny post, but makes our country look completly retarded imo!!

Unlike the laws they make up these days which make them look totaly sane.

As for them ever being used...i firmly believe that any law, no matter how old, will be used by a politician should it be of benefit to them.

The MP who used his Commons expenses to clear his moat is refusing to pay back thousands of pounds, claiming he is protected by an ancient law brought to Britain by William the Conqueror.

Moat MP Douglas Hogg won't repay thousands - because of the Norman law of 'bung'

CX.

reply to post by Greenman1



ha! their all dead in the head anyways!


one I can think of:

I think?.. you can still be hung if you set fire to a naval dock during a war time, yet you can murder someone and just go to prison for 25 years..

reply to post by Majestic RNA


i think if during wartime you were to set fire or destroy a naval dock, you woudl deffinitelly be executed... wouldnt that be classed as mutiny or treason or something along those lines... (the navy is the queens navy, and it would be a crime against the crown)

reply to post by boaby_phet


Hmmm.. Apparently it's not the case anymore, I knew it was an offence punishable by death, but it has since been repealed by the Criminal Damage Act 1971.


Now I didn't know that...



source

reply to post by Haydn_17


Would you mind giving your source? I'd like to verify these laws for myself.

20th July 2009 and the crew of the visiting US warship USS Halyburton had to present a keg of rum to the Constable of the Tower of London, in grateful thanks for the protection afforded to them.

East London Advertiser

(my God, that ship's a mess ... has the USN run out of paint ?)

And you're not allowed to die in Parliament because you might be considered to be impersonating members of the Opposition front bench.

Some of the other laws, though, were repealed hundreds of years ago (no mince pies on Christmas Day, for example, an Act repealed in 1660). Others are just urban legends (topless clerks in Liverpudlian tropical fish stores). Treason to put a postage stamp on upside down ? It isn't mentioned in the Treason Act of 1351 (a law which is still in effect).

Funny stuff, though

[edit on 14-2-2010 by Ulala]