Malicious Damage Act 1861

Injuries to Works of Art

39Destroying or damaging Works of Art in Museums, Churches, &c., or in Public Places.

Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously destroy or damage any Book, Manuscript, Picture, Print, Statue, Bust, or Vase, or any other Article or Thing kept for the Purposes of Art, Science, or Literature, or as an Object of Curiosity, in any Museum, Gallery, Cabinet, Library, or other Repository, which Museum, Gallery, Cabinet, Library, or other Repository is either at all Times or from Time to Time open for the Admission of the Public or of any considerable Number of Persons to view the same, either by the Permission of the Proprietor thereof or by the Payment of Money before entering the same, or any Picture, Statue, Monument, or other Memorial of the Dead, painted Glass, or other Ornament or Work of Art, in any Church, Chapel, Meeting House, or other Place of Divine Worship, or in any Building belonging to the Queen, or to any County, Riding, Division, City, Borough, Poor Law Union, Parish, or Place, or to any University, or College or Hall of any University, or to any Inn of Court, or in any Street, Square, Churchyard, Burial Ground, Public Garden or Ground, or any Statue or Monument exposed to Public View, or any Ornament, Railing, or Fence surrounding such Statue or Monument, shall be guilty of a Misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof shall be liable to be imprisoned for any Term not exceeding Six Months, with or without Hard Labour, and, if a Male under the Age of Sixteen Years, with or without Whipping; provided that nothing herein contained shall be deemed to affect the Right of any Person to recover, by Action at Law, Damages for the Injury so committed.