Cotton Mills and Factories Act 1819
| Act of Parliament | |
| Long title | An Act to make further Provisions for the Regulation of Cotton Mills and Factories, and for the better Preservation of the Health of young Persons employed therein. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 59 Geo. 3. c. 66 |
| Introduced by | Sir Robert Peel (Commons) |
| Territorial extent | United Kingdom |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 2 July 1819 |
| Commencement | 1 January 1820 |
| Repealed | 1 November 1831 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | Labour in Cotton Mills, etc. Act 1819 |
| Repealed by | Labour in Cotton Mills Act 1831 |
| Relates to |
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Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Cotton Mills and Factories Act 1819 (59 Geo. 3. c. 66) or the Labour in Cotton Mills, etc. Act 1819 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which was its first attempt to regulate the hours and conditions of work of children in the cotton industry. It was introduced by the industrialist Sir Robert Peel, who had first introduced a bill on the matter in 1815. The 1815 bill had been instigated by Robert Owen, but the act as passed was much weaker than the 1815 bill; the act forbade the employment of children under 9; children aged 9–16 years were limited to 12 hours' work per day and could not work at night. There was no effective means of its enforcement, but it established the precedent for Parliamentary intervention on conditions of employment which was followed by subsequent Factory Acts.