to apply to buildings built before the first day of January one thousand eight hundred and forty-five, or commenced before that day, and covered in and rendered fit for use within twelve months thereafter; and, used in reference to streets and alleys, to apply to all streets or alleys made or laid out before that day, and which shall be formed and rendered fit for use within twelve months thereafter:

General Provisions.

be built.

The term "hereafter to be built," used in reference to Hereafter to buildings, to apply to all buildings to be built or commenced after the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and forty-five, or which, being commenced, shall not be covered in within twelve months thereafter; and, used in reference to streets and alleys, to apply to all streets or alleys not laid out before the said first day of January, or which, being laid out, shall not be rendered fit for use within twelve months there

after :

The word "parish" to include all parochial districts and Parish.
extra-parochial places in which separate churchwardens,
overseers, or constables are appointed; and where two
parishes have been united for ecclesiastical purposes,
then to include such united parishes:

The word "owner," to apply generally to every person in Owner.
possession or receipt either of the whole or of any part
of the rents or profits of any ground or tenement, or in
the occupation of such ground or tenement, other than
as a tenant from year to year, or for any less term, or a
tenant at will:

The term "official referees" to mean the persons appointed Official
in pursuance of this act to be official referees of Metro- referees.
politan buildings:

The word "surveyor" to apply to all surveyors to be ap- Surveyor. pointed in pursuance of this act, or whose appointment

is confirmed by this act, and also to all deputy or assist

ant surveyors to be appointed under this act :

The words "the surveyor," used without any addition, to The surveyor. mean the surveyor in whose district the buildings,

General Provisions.

Month.

The commis.

sioners of

works and

buildings.

Justice of peace.

Local officers.

Singular and plural.

Masculine and feminine.

Corporate body.

Extent of

operation of act in reference to localities.

street, or alley, or other subject matter shall be, or any deputy or assistant surveyor duly acting in his behalf: The word "month" to mean a calendar month:

The expression "the commissioners of works and build-
ings" to mean the commissioners of her Majesty's woods
forests, land revenues, works, and buildings:

The expression "justice of the peace" to mean a justice
of the peace for the county, division, or liberty within
which the building or other subject matter, or any part
thereof, is situate; unless it be situate within the city
of London, or the liberties thereof, in reference to which
any matter or thing elsewhere required or authorized to
be done, either by one or by two or more justices of the
peace, may be done, either by the Lord Mayor of the
city of London, or by any one, two, or more justices of
the
peace for the said city; or unless the subject matter
be situate in the district of any police court of the Me-
tropolis, in reference to which any matter or thing else-
where required-or authorized to be done by two or more
justices may be done by one magistrate :

And, generally, whensoever the name of an officer having
local jurisdiction in respect of his office is referred to,
without mention of the locality to which the jurisdiction
extends, such reference is to be understood to indicate
the officer having jurisdiction in that place within
which is situated the building or other subject matter,
or any part thereof, to which such reference applies:
And, subject as aforesaid to the context and to the nature
of the subject matter, words importing the singular
number are to be understood to apply to a plurality of
persons or things, and words importing the masculine
gender are to be understood to apply to persons of the
feminine gender, and words importing an individual are
to be understood to apply to a corporation or company,
or other body of persons.

III. And be it enacted, with regard to this act generally, so far as relates to the operation thereof in reference to localities, that the operation of this act shall extend to all places within the following limits; (that is to say,)

To all such places lying on the north side or left bank of the river Thames as are within the exterior boundaries of the parishes of Fulham, Hammersmith, Kensington, Paddington, Hampstead, Hornsey, Tottenham, Saint Pancras, Islington, Stoke Newington, Hackney, Stratford-le-Bow, Bromley, Poplar, and Shadwell:

And to such part of the parish of Chelsea as lies north of
the said parish of Kensington:

And to all such parts and places lying on the south side
or right bank of the said river as are within the exte-
rior boundaries of the parishes of Woolwich, Charlton,
Greenwich, Deptford, Lee, Lewisham, Camberwell,
Lambeth, Streatham, Tooting, and Wandsworth:
And to all places lying within two hundred yards from
the exterior boundary of the district hereby defined,
except the eastern part of the said boundary which is
bounded by the river Lea (i).

IV. And forasmuch as, partly by the rapid increase of population in the neighbourhood of the districts to which this act is to apply, and partly by the tendency of this act to induce building speculation in such neighbourhoods in order to evade the provisions thereof, the evils which have arisen in the districts not now subject to regulations will in all probability arise in such neighbourhoods, it is expedient to make provision for the prevention of such evils, and, if they should arise, for the remedy thereof; now for those purposes be it enacted, with regard to this act generally, so far as relates to the application thereof to other parts and places in the neighbourhood of the districts appointed by this act, whether such districts immediately adjoin such parts or places or not, that if, from the growing increase of the population or otherwise, it shall appear to her Majesty in council to be expedient that the provisions of this act should be extended to any place within twelve miles from Charing Cross in the city of Westminster, then it shall be lawful for her Majesty in council to direct, by order in council, that at

(i) A large extent of jurisdiction beyond the old limits under 14 Geo. 3, c. 78, s. 1.

General

Provisions.

Power to extend the

limits of act.

General Provisions.

Publication

of notice of intention to extend limits of act.

Buildings, new and old.

Regulation of buildings.

or from a time to be named in such order the provisions of this act shall apply to such places; and at or from such time all such provisions, of whatever nature, whether penal or otherwise, so far as they shall be capable of application to such places, shall be and are hereby declared to apply thereto as if such places were expressly named herein; and that notice of the time when it shall please her Majesty to order any such extension to be taken into consideration by her privy council shall be published by royal proclamation in the London Gazette one month at the least before such extension shall be so taken into consideration; and that three weeks at the least before such matter shall be so considered it shall be the duty of the official referees, and the overseers of the parishes within which such parts or places are situate, to cause copies of such proclamation to be fixed on the doors of the churches and chapels within such parishes; and that every order in council made in pursuance of this enactment shall be published in the London Gazette.

V. And now generally, for the purpose of regulating the building and the rebuilding upon sites of former buildings, and the enlarging and altering of all buildings of what nature soever, within the limits aforesaid, be it enacted, with regard to every such building hereafter to be built, (except the buildings comprised in schedule (B.) hereto annexed, and except sewers made by or under the direction of any commissioners of sewers,) so far as relates to building the same, and with regard to every such building either already or hereafter built, (except the said buildings comprised in the said schedule (B.), and except the said sewers,) so far as relates to the rebuilding and the enlarging or altering the same, and that whether such buildings he built or rebuilt on old or new foundations, or partly on old and partly on new foundations, that, notwithstanding any thing contained to the contrary in any act of Parliament now in force, every such building shall be built, rebuilt, enlarged, or altered in reference to the walls, whether external or party walls, and to the number and height of the stories or rooms therein, and to the chimneys, and to the roofs, and to the timbers, and to the drains, and to the projections, and to any other

thicknesses

rules concern

parts or appendages of every such building, in the manner Rates of and of the materials, and in every other respect in confor- buildings, and mity with the several particulars, rules, and directions which of walls and are specified and set forth in the several schedules (C.), (D.), footings, and (E.), (F.), (G.), (H.), (I.), (K.) to this act annexed, accord- ing buildings. ing to the classes of buildings, and the rates of such classes to which such buildings are by the schedule (C.) declared to belong; subject nevertheless to any other rules and directions in this act contained in the same behalf; and subject in every case of doubt, difference, or dissatisfaction in respect thereof, either between any parties concerned or between any party concerned and the surveyor of the district (j), to the determination of the official referees, upon a reference of the matter in question, according to the provisions of this act in that behalf (k).

VI. And be it enacted, with regard to all buildings of the Buildings first rate of the second or warehouse class, and to all build- under ings of the third or public building class (except the buildings of official supervision herein-before excepted), so far as relates to the supervision referees, thereof, that, subject to the provisions in schedule (C.) (1) and elsewhere in this act made in respect thereof, every such building shall be built under the special supervision of the official referees, according to the provisions of this act in that behalf, as well as under the ordinary supervision of the surveyor; and if any difference arise as to whether any such building be liable to such special supervision, the same shall be determined by the official referees; subject nevertheless to an appeal, at the instance of any party interested, to the commissioners of works and buildings, whose decision in the matter shall be final.

VII. And whereas by several acts now in force certain Special superbuildings and structures have been exempted from the vision of exempted operation of the act mentioned in the schedule (A.) hereto buildings. annexed, for the regulation of buildings and party walls within the cities of London and Westminster, and the liberties thereof, and other the parishes and places therein men

(j) The fees of the surveyor will be found under scehdule L. (k) See 14 Geo. 3, c. 78, ss. 2. to 21 inclusive.

(1) Schedule C., Part V.