Burying in Woollen Acts
The Burying in Woollen Acts 1666–80 were acts of the Parliament of England, 30 Cha. 2. c. 3 and 32 Cha. 2. c. 1 ) which required the dead, except plague victims and the destitute, to be buried in pure English woollen shrouds to the exclusion of any foreign textiles.
Enforcement
It was a requirement that an affidavit be sworn in front of a justice of the peace, confirming burial in wool, with the punishment of a £5 fee for noncompliance. Burial entries in parish registers were marked with the word "affidavit" or its equivalent to confirm that affidavit had been sworn; it would be marked "naked" for those too poor to afford the woollen shroud.The legislation was in force until the passing of the , but was generally ignored after 1770. The 1666 act had been annulled by the passing of the 1680 act; it was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1863.