Quirks · Published 13 September 2026
Checked 20 October 2026
Which weird London laws are actually still law?
Twelve of the laws people tell you about London, read against the statute book. Four are real, three never existed, and in 2015 Parliament deleted the versions that covered everywhere else.
Scroll across the chart on smaller screens, or open “Show the numbers” below.
Show the numbers
| Offence | Where | From | Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| beating a carpet | London | 1839 | still |
| beating a carpet | The rest of England and Wales | 1847 | 2015 |
| carrying a plank | London | 1839 | still |
| carrying a plank | The rest of England and Wales | 1847 | 2015 |
| flying a kite | London | 1839 | still |
| flying a kite | The rest of England and Wales | 1847 | 2015 |
| making an ice slide | London | 1839 | still |
| making an ice slide | The rest of England and Wales | 1847 | 2015 |
Sources: legislation.gov.uk revised statute book (OGL-3.0) · Changes to Legislation dataset (OGL-3.0) — full attribution
Latest 3 entries
- QuirksWhich weird London laws are actually still law?Twelve of the laws people tell you about London, read against the statute book. Four are real, three never existed, and in 2015 Parliament deleted the versions that covered everywhere else.Published Updated Checked
- HistoryWhich parts of London never came back?In the series ending with the 2021 census, London reaches its highest recorded population. Fifteen of its thirty-three boroughs remain below their earlier peaks, together two million people short of those figures.Published Updated Data to
- MapsHalf of London's street theft fits in fifty-nine wardsThe public ward data does not identify stolen phones. Across the two crime categories used here, 59 of 685 wards account for half the offences with a recorded ward in the year to September 2026.Published Updated Data to