Book cover for Law and Justice in the 1950s

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Copyright: © Authors 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.63674/yqyj7969

Number of pages: 252

Publication date: 22 January 2026

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Law and Justice in the 1950s

Case Studies From a Neglected Decade

Fiona Cownie (Editor), Rosemary Auchmuty (Editor)

Series: Reimagining Law and Justice

Published in association with: Institute of Advanced Legal Studies

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The 1950s was a decade of considerable legal development in England and Wales, despite often being regarded as very conservative in contrast to the more radical 1960s and 1970s. This collection illustrates the breadth of those developments, providing a sociolegal perspective on a range of topics across criminal, property, family, commercial, environmental and public law, and legal education. It examines the social, political and economic context of the decade to reveal how legal developments in the 1950s have much greater significance than has generally been acknowledged to date. Drawing on case studies from the Great London Smog in 1952, the treatment of women in the Wolfenden Report and divorce law reform, to the takeover battle for the Savoy Hotel in 1953, law on the radio and more, the chapters throw new light on current debates about the relationship between law and issues of justice, inclusion and equality in different spheres of activity.

Written for historians and legal specialists alike, this book explores the stories behind the laws in this neglected decade. In revealing the historical context, arguments and controversies raised at the time and the different perspectives of the parties involved, it offers a greater understanding of why we have the law we have now and of these issues as they continue to be played out in the early twenty-first century.

This ground-breaking book provides an exciting new perspective on the role of law in England and Wales during the 1950s. New stories not already recorded in standard legal histories are carefully examined, including an eye-opening series on education, and the conjunction between women and the home. Wide-ranging and engaging, it is a fine achievement.

—David Sugarman, Professor Emeritus, Law School, Lancaster University, UK.

This collection adopts an innovative approach to legal history, demonstrating the rich insights that can emerge when attention is concentrated on a single decade. By juxtaposing diverse perspectives on law and justice in the 1950s, it not only deepens our historical understanding but also raises important questions about socio-legal methodologies more broadly. It is a thought-provoking volume that is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand both the period itself and the broader potential of decade-focused legal historical inquiry.

—Sharon Thompson, Professor of Law, Cardiff University, UK

Introduction
Rosemary Auchmuty & Fiona Cownie
1 Shaking Up the Savoy
Sally Wheeler
2 The Great London Smog of 1952; its consequences and contemporary relevance”
Sue Farran
3 Direct Line to Beeching and Beyond? The Failure of the 1950s Railway Modernisation Plan
Emma Jones
4 Professor Gower, Complacent Academics and Legal Education
Fiona Cownie
5 A University in (or of) Wales? Vaisey’s Folly and St. David’s College, Lampeter
R. Gwynedd Parry
6 Radio, The Listener and The Times: lessons from the 1950s in the public understanding of law
Simon Lee
7 Divorce Law Reform and Feminism in the 1950s
Rosemary Auchmuty
8 Mrs. Gladys Hutchinson, Lord Upjohn, and the case of the bankrupt “spendthrift…ne-er-do-well and… waster”
John Tribe
9 The Wolfenden Report, homosexuality, and women
Caroline Derry

PDF: 9781911507567

EPUB: 9781911507574

Read Online: 9781911507550

Hardback: 9781911507536 / 252 pages / 240mm x 160mm

Paperback: 9781911507543 / 252 pages / 234mm x 156mm

Fiona Cownie (Editor)

Fiona Cownie is Professor of Law Emerita at Keele University. She has published widely in the field of legal education, and is the lead editor of the Elgar Concise Encyclopaedia of Legal Education. A former Pro Vice Chancellor (Education and Student Experience), she is currently researching the life of Claire Palley, the UK’s first female professor of law.

Rosemary Auchmuty (Editor)

Rosemary Auchmuty is Professor of Law Emerita at the University of Reading. Her research focuses on feminist approaches to property law, legal history, sexuality, marriage, legal education and girls’ school stories. With Erika Rackley, she co-edited Women’s Legal Landmarks: Celebrating Women and the Law in the UK and Ireland (Hart, 2019) and is now co-editing a follow-up volume on the Interwar Years.

—David Sugarman, Professor Emeritus, Law School, Lancaster University, UK.

—Sharon Thompson, Professor of Law, Cardiff University, UK

Subject: History, Law

BISAC codes: HIS037070, LAW060000

Thema codes: LN, NHTB

Keywords: 1950s, England, London, Wales, Wolfenden Report, divorce law, environmental law, family law, justice, legal education, legal history, social

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