Law and Justice in the 1950s: Case Studies From a Neglected Decade

Author: Fiona Cownie; Rosemary Auchmuty
Publisher: University of London Press
ISBN: 9781911507543

Published In: January 2026
Format: Paperback
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only
Hardback Edition ISBN: 9781911507536

HKD 332.00

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The 1950s was a decade of considerable legal development in England and Wales, despite often being regarded as very conservative in contrast to the more radical 1960s and 1970s. This collection illustrates the breadth of those developments, providing a sociolegal perspective on a range of topics across criminal, property, family, commercial, environmental and public law, and legal education. It examines the social, political and economic context of the decade to reveal how legal developments in the 1950s have much greater significance than has generally been acknowledged to date. Drawing on case studies from the Great London Smog in 1952, the treatment of women in the Wolfenden Report and divorce law reform, to the takeover battle for the Savoy Hotel in 1953, law on the radio and more, the chapters throw new light on current debates about the relationship between law and issues of justice, inclusion and equality in different spheres of activity.

Written for historians and legal specialists alike, this book explores the stories behind the laws in this neglected decade. In revealing the historical context, arguments and controversies raised at the time and the different perspectives of the parties involved, it offers a greater understanding of why we have the law we have now and of these issues as they continue to be played out in the early twenty-first century.

Introduction, Rosemary Auchmuty & Fiona Cownie

Shaking Up the Savoy, Sally Wheeler

The Great London Smog of 1952; its consequences and contemporary relevance”, Sue Farran

Direct Line to Beeching and Beyond? The Failure of the 1950s Railway Modernisation Plan, Emma Jones

Professor Gower, Complacent Academics and Legal Education, Fiona Cownie

A University in (or of) Wales? Vaisey’s Folly and St. David’s College, Lampeter, R. Gwynedd Parry

Radio, The Listener and The Times: lessons from the 1950s in the public understanding of law, Simon Lee

Divorce Law Reform and Feminism in the 1950s, Rosemary Auchmuty

Mrs. Gladys Hutchinson, Lord Upjohn, and the case of the bankrupt “spendthrift…ne-er-do-well and… waster”, John Tribe

The Wolfenden Report, homosexuality, and women, Caroline Derry