Artisans' and Labourers' Dwellings Improvement Act 1875
| Act of Parliament | |
| Long title | An Act for facilitating the Improvement of the Dwellings of the Working Classes in Large Towns. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 38 & 39 Vict. c. 36 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 29 June 1875 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Housing of the Working Classes Act 1890 (53 & 54 Vict. c. 70), s 102 and Sch 7. |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Artisans' and Labourers' Dwellings Improvement Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vict. c. 36) or the Cross Act was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom designed by Richard Cross, Home Secretary during Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli's second Conservative Government, which involved allowing local councils to buy up areas of slum dwellings in order to clear and then rebuild them. It formed part of Disraeli's social reform initiative aimed at the "elevation of the people" (the working class), a policy stated in his 1872 speeches at Manchester and Crystal Palace, and associated with his doctrine of One Nation Conservatism. Also, key individuals, such as the philanthropist Octavia Hill, helped pressurise the government into passing the Act.