The following timeline includes all major legislation and parliamentary material concerned with mental health issues in England and Wales from the Praerogativa Regis 1324 to the Mental Health Act 2007.
While including a few relevant cases, it focuses almost exclusively on Acts of the Parliament. Click on the image for an interactive version.
The following Table summarizes all statutes and cases included in the previous Timeline. The citation style refers to the Regnal Year of the English Crown as customary in historical research.
Click on the Statute’s name to Download the PDF version.
Reference for the list of Acts of the Parliament of England and the UK.
Reference for Statutes and Case Law in England and the UK.
| Year | Name | Regnal Reference |
| 1324 | Praerogativa Regis, Lands of Idiots Act | 17 Edward II, c. 9 |
| 1530 | Vagabonds Act | 22 Hen. VIII, c. 12 |
| 1535 | Vagabonds Act | 27 Hen. VIII, c. 25 |
| 1551 | Poor Act | 5 & 6 Edw. VI, c. II |
| 1555 | Poor Act | 2 & 3 Ph. & M., c. V |
| 1562 | Poor Act | 5 Eliz. I, c. III |
| 1572 | Hospitals for the Poor Act | 14 Eliz. I, c. 14 |
| 1572 | Vagabonds etc. Act | 14 Eliz. I, c. V |
| 1575 | Poor Act | 18 Eliz. I, c. III |
| 1597 | Hospitals for the Poor Act | 39 Eliz. I, c. 5 |
| 1597 | Poor Act | 39 Eliz. I, c. III |
| 1601 | Poor Relief Act | 43 Eliz., c. 2 |
| 1623 | Hospitals Act | 21 Ja. I, c. I |
| 1662 | Poor Relief Act | 14 Cha. II, c. XII |
| 1670 | Poor Act | 22 & 23 Cha. II, c. XVIII |
| 1691 | Poor Relief Act | 3 Will. & Mar., c. XI |
| 1696 | Relief of the Poor Act | 8 & 9 Will. III, c. XXX |
| 1697 | Poor Act | 9 Will. III, c. XI |
| 1712 | Poor Act | 12 Ann., c. XVIII |
| 1713 | Vagrants Act | 12 Ann., c. 23 |
| 1722 | Poor Relief Act | 9 Geo. I, c. VII |
| 1743 | Justices Commitment Act | 17 Geo. II, c. 5 |
| 1743 | Poor Relief Act | 17 Geo. II, c. XXXVIII |
| 1760 | Earl Ferrers Case | |
| 1762 | Poor Act | 2 Geo. III, c. XXII |
| 1763 | Select Committee of the House of Commons | |
| 1766 | Poor Act | 7 Geo. III, c. XXXIX |
| 1769 | Poor Relief Act | 9 Geo. III, c. XXXVII |
| 1774 | Madhouses Act | 14 Geo. III, c. 49 |
| 1776 | Poor Act | 16 Geo. III, c. XL |
| 1782 | Relief of the Poor Act | 22 Geo. III, c. LXXXIII |
| 1789 | George III’s Madness | |
| 1790 | Workhouses Act | 30 Geo. III, c. XLIX |
| 1795 | Poor Removal Act | 35 Geo. III, c. CI |
| 1795 | Relief of the Poor Act | 36 Geo. III, c. XXIII |
| 1800 | Hadfield Case | |
| 1800 | Criminal Lunatics Act | 39 & 40 Geo. III, c. 94 |
| 1800 | Poor Act | 41 Geo. III, c. IX |
| 1803 | Poor Act | 43 Geo. III, c. CXLIV |
| 1807 | Select Committee of the House of Commons on the State of Criminal and Pauper Lunatics in England and Wales | |
| 1808 | Lunatic Paupers or Criminal Act | 48 Geo. III, c. 96 |
| 1811 | Lunatic Paupers etc. | 51 Geo III, c. 79 |
| 1815 | House of Commons Select Committee on Madhouses | |
| 1815 | Paupers etc., Lunatics | 55 Geo III, c. 46 |
| 1816 | Workhouse Act | 56 Geo. III, c. CXXIX |
| 1819 | Pauper Lunatics (England) Act | 59 Geo. III, c. 127 |
| 1819 | Poor Relief Act | 59 Geo. III, c. XII |
| 1824 | Vagrancy Act | 5 Geo IV, c. 83 |
| 1827 | House of Commons Select Committee on Pauper Lunatics in Middlesex | |
| 1828 | County Lunatic Asylums (England) Act | 9 Geo. IV, c. 40 |
| 1828 | Madhouses Act | 9 Geo. IV, c. 41 |
| 1832 | Insane Persons (England) Act | 2 & 3 Will. IV, c. 107 |
| 1832 | Anatomy Act | 2 & 3 Will. IV, c. 75 |
| 1833 | Commissioners of Lunacy Act | 3 & 4 Will. IV, c. XXXVI |
| 1834 | Poor Law Amendment Act | 4 & 5 Will. IV, c. 76 |
| 1834 | Commission for Inquiring into the Administration and Practical Consequences of the Poor Laws | |
| 1836 | Coroner’s Act | 6 & 7 Will. IV, c. 89 |
| 1840 | Oxford Case | |
| 1840 | Insane Prisoners Act | 3 & 4 Vict., c. 54 |
| 1841 | Founding of the Association of Medical Officers of Asylums for the Insane | |
| 1842 | Lunacy Act | 5 & 6 Vict., c. 84 |
| 1842 | Lunatic Asylums Act | 5 & 6 Vict., c. 87 |
| 1843 | McNaughtan Case | |
| 1844 | Report of the Metropolitan Commissioners in Lunacy to the Lord Chancellor | |
| 1844 | Poor Law Amendment Act | 7 & 8 Vict., c. 101 |
| 1845 | Lunatics Acts | 8 & 9 Vic., c. 100 |
| 1845 | Lunatic Asylums Act | 8 & 9 Vic., c. 126 |
| 1848 | Publication of the Journal of Psychological Medicine and Mental Science | |
| 1853 | Lunacy Regulation Act | 16 & 17 Vict., c. 70 |
| 1853 | Care and Treatment of Lunatics Act | 16 & 17 Vict., c. 96 |
| 1853 | Lunatic Asylums Act | 16 & 17 Vict., c. 97 |
| 1853 | Publication of the Asylum Journal | |
| 1855 | Lunacy Act | 18 & 19 Vic., c. 13 |
| 1855 | Lunacy Regulation Act | 18 & 19 Vic., c. 110 |
| 1858 | Medical Act | 21 & 22 Vic., c. 60 |
| 1860 | Criminal Lunatics Act | 23 & 24 Vict., c. 75 |
| 1860 | Select Committee on the Care and Treatment of Lunatics | |
| 1862 | Lunacy Acts Amendment Act | 25 & 26 Vict., c. 111 |
| 1862 | Lunacy Regulation Act | 25 & 26 Vict., c. 86 |
| 1864 | Insane Prisoners Amendment Act | 27 & 28 Vict., c. 29 |
| 1865 | Lunacy Act Amendment Act | 28 & 29 Vic., c. 80 |
| 1867 | Metropolitan Poor Act | 30 & 31 Vict., c. VI |
| 1867 | Poor Law Amendment Act | 30 & 31 Vict., c. 106 |
| 1877 | Select Committee on the Operation of the Lunacy Law, so far as it Reads Security afforded by it Against Violations of Personal Liberty | |
| 1877 | Inspection of the Metropolitan Asylums Commissioned by The Lancet | |
| 1883 | Trial of Lunatics Act | 46 & 47 Vict., c. 38 |
| 1884 | Criminal Lunatics Act | 47 & 48 Vict., c. 64 |
| 1885 | Lunacy Acts Amendment Act | 48 & 49 Vic., c. 52 |
| 1886 | Idiots Act | 49 & 50 Vict., c. 25 |
| 1886 | Lunacy Vacating Seats | 49 & 50 Vict., c. 16 |
| 1889 | Lunacy Acts Amendment Act | 52 & 53 Vict., c. 41 |
| 1890 | Lunacy Act | 53 Vict., c. 5 |
| 1891 | Lunacy Act | 54 & 55 Vic., c. 65 |
| 1897 | Special Report of the Commissioners in Lunacy on the Alleged Increase of Insanity | |
| 1904 | Royal Commission on the Care of the Feeble-Minded (Radnor Commission) | |
| 1909 | Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief Distress | |
| 1911 | Lunacy Act | 1 & 2 Geo V, c. 40 |
| 1913 | Mental Deficiency Act | 3 & 4, Geo V, c. 28 |
| 1914 | Elementary Education (Defective and Epileptic Children) Act | 4 & 5 Geo. V, c. 45 |
| 1919 | Mental Deficiency and Lunacy Amendments | 9 & 10 Geo V, c. 85 |
| 1919 | Ministry of Health Act | 9 & 10 Geo. V, c. 21 |
| 1922 | Lunacy Act | 12 & 13 Geo V, c. 60 |
| 1922 | Report of the Committee on the Administration of Public Mental Hospitals | |
| 1922 | Report of the Proceedings of the Conference convened by Sir Frederick Willis on Lunacy Reform | |
| 1923 | Report of the Committee on Insanity and Crime | |
| 1925 | Mental Deficiency Amendment | 15 & 16 Geo V. 53 |
| 1926 | Report of Royal Commission on Lunacy and Mental Disorder (Macmillan Commission) | |
| 1926 | Report of the National Society for Lunacy Reform | |
| 1927 | Mental Deficiency | 17 & 18 Geo. V, c. 33 |
| 1930 | Mental Treatment Act | 20 & 21 Geo V, c. 23 |
| 1936 | Public Health Act | 26 Geo. V & 1 Edw. 8, c. 49 |
| 1941 | Report of the Committee on Social Insurance and Allied Services | |
| 1946 | Founding of the National Association of Mental Health | |
| 1946 | National Health Service Act | 9 & 10 Geo. VI, c. 81 |
| 1946 | National Insurance Act | 9 & 10 Geo. VI, c. 67 |
| 1948 | National Assistance Act | 11 & 12 Geo. VI, c. 29 |
| 1957 | Report of Royal Commission on the Law relating to Mental Illness and Mental Deficiency (Percy Commission) | |
| 1959 | Mental Health Act | Mental Health Act, 1959
or 7 & 8 Eliz. II, c. 72 |
| 1975 | Report of the Committee on Mentally Abnormal Offenders | |
| 1982 | Mental Health Amendment Act | Mental Health Amendment Act, 1982
or 29 & 30 Eliz. II, c. 51 |
| 1983 | Mental Health Act | Mental Health Act, 1983
or 30 & 31 Eliz. II, c. 20 |
| 2005 | Mental Capacity Act | Mental Capacity Act, 2005
or 52 & 53 Eliz. II, c. 9 |
| 2007 | Mental Health Act | Mental Health Act, 2007
or 55 & 56 Eliz II, c. 12 |
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