The Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 (45 & 46 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (as it then was). It was introduced by John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury, recognising the need for a governmental administration on the protection of ancient monuments, and was finally passed after a number of failed attempts on heritage protection acts. The gradual change towards a state-based authority responsible for the safeguarding of the Kingdom's national heritage manifested itself through the appointment of the first Inspector of Ancient Monuments in 1882, General Pitt Rivers.^[1]

According to Halfin, "Lubbock's Bill came at a time when England was among the last of the European nations to be completely without protective legislation for cultural property. Many of his ideas were borrowed from a long history of royal and aristocratic interest in preservation that was prevalent in Europe during the nineteenth century. In particular, Lubbock was strongly influenced by the Abbé Gregoire, who had so successfully championed the cause of cultural preservation in France."^[2]

The first introduction of the bill in 1873 was controversial because it envisioned the government being able to compulsorily purchase monuments on privately owned land if the owner decided to develop the land. By the Act's passage in 1882, these provisions had been removed from the bill.^[2]

The 1882 Act contains a schedule of the initial 68 sites that were covered by the legislation. These are almost all pre-historic monuments, some of the most famous such sites in the country among them, alongside some that were felt to be at particular risk at the time.

• Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1900
• Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1910
• Ancient Monuments Consolidation and Amendment Act 1913
• Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979
• Reproduced copy of 1882 Act
• List of prehistoric structures in Great Britain