The London Dungeon Marks 800 Years Of The Magna Carta

Special courtroom show puts Britain’s ludicrous laws in the dock

Guests who visit The London Dungeon this June will have to ‘fess up to their crimes, as the world famous attraction marks the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta by putting Britain’s most ludicrous laws in the dock with a special new courtroom show. Ludicrous Laws runs across the whole of June, and anyone who’s ever carried a plank of wood along a pavement or stuck a stamp on an envelope upside down should be mildly concerned.

Of the thousands of laws that have been passed since the signing of the Magna Carta in June 1215, there are some which remain on statute today that in their time may have been reasonable, but in 2015 are totally and utterly ludicrous. Judge Lord Wendy Farqhuar’s London Dungeon Court will put some of them on trial in a fast-paced, irreverent show where guests will be left wondering whether his madcap zeal is more disturbing than the loony laws his hapless defendants are accused of breaking.

Fond of dispensing the death penalty, defendants are most likely to find themselves on a short walk to Tyburn before being condemned to ‘take the drop’ on Drop Dead Drop Ride to Doom, a thrilling vertical free fall ride. And all petty criminals will be in good company throughout the Dungeon which is frequented by those who have committed truly treacherous crimes. From Jack the Ripper in Whitechapel to Sweeney Todd’s Fleet Street, Henry VIII’s deadly torture chamber and Guy Fawkes’ parliament, 1000 years of London’s murky past is brought to life in 18 shows, featuring 18 actors, two thrilling rides and plenty of edge of the seat surprises.


TWELVE MOST LUDICROUS LAWS OF ALL TIME:
1. It is against the law to carry a plank along a pavement (1839)

2. Under this same law it is illegal for any person to fly a kite or slide on ice or snow whilst in the street (1839)

3. Any dead whale or sturgeon found on the British coast automatically becomes the property of the Monarch (1322)

4. It is illegal not to tell the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing (2006)

5. It is illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament in a suit of armour (1313)

6. It is an offence for a pub landlord to allow drunkenness in their pub - in other words it is illegal to be drunk in a pub! (1872)

7. In London, it is illegal for a person (knowingly) with the Plague to ride on a bus (1984)

8. It is illegal to keep a pigsty in front of your house - unless duly hidden (1847)

9. It is an offence to be intoxicated and in charge of a horse or cow (1872)

10. It is illegal to handle a salmon in suspicious circumstances (1986)

11. It is illegal to beat or shake any carpet or rug in any street. However, beating or shaking a doormat is allowed before 8am (1839)

12. No person shall import into England potatoes which he knows to be or has reasonable cause to suspect to be Polish potatoes (2004)