Calendar Reform in England

Calendar Reform in England,
1752
It is widely known that in September 1752, Great Britain
switched from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar. In
order to achieve the change, 11 days were 'omitted' from the
calendar - i.e. the day after 2 September 1752 was 14 September
1752.
This change was as a result of an Act of Parliament - the

"Calendar Act" of 1751 An Act for Regulating the
Commencement of the Year; and for Correcting the Calendar
now in Use.
What isn't so widely known is a second change which the Act

introduced - as named in the first part of the Act's title. The Act
changed the first day of the year (or, if you want to impress your
friends with a new word, the Supputation of the Year).
Prior to 1752 in England, the year began on 25 March (Lady

Day). Lady Day is one of the Quarter Days, which are still used
in legal circles. The Quarter Days divide the year in quarters
(hence the name :-), and the Quarter Days are: Lady Day (25
March), Midsummers Day (24 June), Michaelmas Day (29
September), and Christmas Day (25 December).
So, in England, the day after 24 March 1642 was 25 March

1643. The Act changed this, so that the day after 31 December
1751 was 1 January 1752. As a consequence, 1751 was a short
year - it ran only from 25 March to 31 December.
To throw some more confusion on the issue, Scotland had
changed the first day of the year to 1 January in 1600 (in 1600,
Scotland was a separate kingdom). When King James VI of
Scotland became also King James I of England in 1603, the
possibilities of date confusion must have been very large.
Historians have to be on their toes with dates prior to 1752. For

example, in The Tower of London there is some graffiti
scratched into a cell wall by someone imprisoned in January
1642 for his role in the Battle of Edgehill (which took place on
23 October 1642).
Some unanswered
questions
There is considerable evidence of contemporary dual dating. For example,
some essentially contemporary paintings of the execution of King Charles
I on Tuesday 30 January 1648 have a title bearing the date 30 January
1648/9. Samuel Pepys's diary begins on New Years Day (1 January) 1660,
but it is clear that this is actually the year 1659/60. So was the Calendar
Act in 1751 merely formalising common usage, or was it a radical
change ? The preface to one modern book of Samuel Pepys's diary states
that using 1 January as the start of the year was common practice at that
time - i.e. 1660.
I've seen a pamphlet at Broughton Castle which refers to a speech made on
Thursday 27 January 1658 - and the pamphlet states it was printed in 1659.
In order for the day to be a Thursday, this must be referring to 27 January
1658/9 (i.e. the pamphlet was printed some months after the speech),
however the year is specified as 1658 - and not as 1658/9.
So the year was commencing on 25 March in 1658, but on 1 January in
1660 ?
Perhaps the answer is connected with the coronation of King Charles II in
Scotland on 1 January 1651 - that's a Scottish date, for a Scottish king.
Perhaps the Royalist cause used 'Scottish' dates, and the Parliamentarian
cause used 'old style' dates ? Although this theory maybe doesn't sit well
with the fact that from 1654 Pepys had been steward to Edward Mountagu,
a General-at-Sea in Cromwell's Protectorate...
King Charles II did not become king of England until 8 May 1660
(coronation on 23 April 1661), after the start of Samuel Pepys's diary.
Leap Years in the Julian
Calendar
In the Julian Calendar, leap years occurred every 4 years, and in
leap years the 29 February was added.
But remember that 29 February was in the last quarter of the

year by the old reckoning.
It appears that leap years were those where the year number was
one less than an exact multiple of 4! The House of Commons
Journal for Wednesday, February 29th, 1659 would seem to bear
this out - remembering that this date is otherwise expressed as 29
February 1659/60, and appears in Samuel Pepys's diary as 29
February 1660 (just to add to the confusion).
House of Commons Journal for Thursday, 29 February 1643
(otherwise 29 February 1643/4) and House of Commons Journal
for Tuesday, 29 February 1647 (otherwise 29 February 1647/8)
confirm this, although note the Latin form of the dates which
was presumably dropped in the Commonwealth/Protectorate.
The Tax Year
Lady Day was one of the days when rents were traditionally due.
In fact, this practice must have continued will beyond the 18th
century as I've seen paintings of large meals for farm workers on
Lady Day. Taxes were also due on Lady Day. With the 'loss' of
11 days in September 1752 and the stories of riots on the street,
people weren't impressed with having to pay their taxes in
March 1753 like nothing had happened (in fact, as 25 March
1753 was a Sunday the taxes were due on Monday 26 March
1753 ) - so the taxman skipped the 11 days and decreed that
taxes were due on 6 April 1753. And, to this day, the UK tax
year starts on 6 April.
1752 in History
January 3 East Indies invasion "Geldermalsen" leaves at

Malakka: 92 killed
January 15 Tobias Smollett publishes pamphlet accusing
Fielding of plagiarism
February 3 Dutch States-General forbid export of windmills
February 11 Pennsylvania Hospital, the 1st hospital in the U.S.,
opened
March 23 Pope Stephen II elected to succeed Zacharias, died 2
days later
May 10 Benjamin Franklins 1st tests the lightning rod
May 11 1st U.S. fire insurance policy issued (Philadelphia)
June 3 Moscow houses and churchs destroyed by fire
June 5 Prince Willem van Orange becomes Knight of Garter
June 6 3rd great fire in Moscow in 2 weeks; 1/3 of city destroyed
June 9 French army surrenders to the English in Trichinopoly

India
June 10 Ben Franklin's kite is struck by lightning-what a shock!
June 15 Ben Franklin's performs his kite-flying experiment
September 1 Liberty Bell arrives in Phila
September 2 Last day of Julian calendar in Britain, British
colonies
September 2 Last Julian calender day in U.S. and England (no
Sept 3-Sept 13th)
September 3 This day never happened nor next 10 as England
adopts Gregorian Calendar. People riot thinking the government
stole 11 days of their lives
September 3 U.S. adopts Gregorian calender (becomes Sept 14)
September 14 U.S. and England adopts Gregorian calender (no
Sept 3-Sept 13th)
October 18 Premiere of Rousseau's opera "Le Devin du Village"
November 3 Georg Friedrich Handel undergoes (failed) eye
operation
November 11 Theresianische Military Academy opens in Vienna
Sieur de la Roque 1752 Census for Prince Edward

Island/Ile Saint Jean

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What changes did the Calendar Act of 1751 introduce regarding the start of the new year?

What were some of the issues with the Julian calendar that led to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in Britain and its colonies in 1752?

Calendar Reform in England,

This change was as a result of an Act of Parliament - the

What isn't so widely known is a second change which the Act

Prior to 1752 in England, the year began on 25 March (Lady

So, in England, the day after 24 March 1642 was 25 March

Historians have to be on their toes with dates prior to 1752. For

But remember that 29 February was in the last quarter of the

January 3 East Indies invasion "Geldermalsen" leaves at

June 9 French army surrenders to the English in Trichinopoly

Sieur de la Roque 1752 Census for Prince Edward

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