Assize of Bread and Ale

The Assize of Bread and Ale (Latin: Assisa panis et cervisiae) (temp. incert) was a 13th-century law in high medieval England, which regulated the price, weight and quality of the bread and beer manufactured and sold in towns, villages and hamlets. It was the first law in British history to regulate the production and sale of food.^[1][2] At the local level, this resulted in regulatory licensing systems, with arbitrary recurring fees, and fines and punishments for lawbreakers (see amercement).^[3] In rural areas, the statute was enforced by manorial lords, who held tri-weekly court sessions.^[4]

The law was amended by the Bread Acts of 1822 and 1836, which stipulated that loaves should be sold by the pound, or multiple thereof, and finally repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. c. 125).