Disestablishment in Wales

Disestablishment in Wales

"An Act to terminate the establishment of the Church of England in Wales and Monmouthshire, and to make provision in respect of the Temporalities thereof, and for other purposes in connection with the matters aforesaid."

The 1914 Welsh Church Act provided for the disestablishment of the Church of England within Wales, and the creation of an independent but non-established Church of Wales. Due to the first world war, the Act did not take effect until 1920.

Previous Bills had been defeated in 1886, 1892, 1894, 1909 and 1912 contributing to increased opposition to the Conservative party.

The Act was a result of campaigning by secularists and nonconformists who objected to Wales having a state sponsored church and to paying tithes to the Church of England. The Act – sponsored by the Liberal party and opposed by the Conservative party – required the use of the Parliament Act to overcome opposition in the House of Lords.

The Church in Wales no longer received tithe money, but kept all of the properties that money had previously funded.