- This article deals chiefly with the English Poor Laws covering England and Wales. For the laws regarding the other areas of the British Isles see Irish Poor Laws and Scottish Poor Law
The Poor Law was the system for the provision of social security in operation in England and Wales from the 16th century until the establishment of the Welfare State in the 20th century. The Irish Poor Laws describes a period of history concerning Poor relief in Ireland before during and after the Act of Union between Britain and Ireland The Scottish Poor Law described laws regarding poverty relief in Scotland during the 1800s and 1900s A workhouse, colloquially known as a spike was a place where people who were unable to support themselves could go to live and work This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament during that body's existence prior to the Act of Union of 1707 This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament during that body's existence prior to the Act of Union of 1707 This is a list of Ordinances and Acts of the Parliament of England from 1642 to 1660, during the English Civil War and the Interregnum. This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament during that body's existence prior to the Act of Union of 1707 This is a list of Acts of Parliament of the English Parliament during that body's existence prior to the Act of Union of 1707 List of Acts of the Scottish Parliament to 1707 is a list of Acts of Parliament of the Parliament of Scotland. This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Ireland for the years up to 1700. This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Ireland for the years 1701 to 1800. This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1707-1719 This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1720-1739 This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1740-1759 This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1760-1779 This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the years 1780-1800 This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1801-1819 This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1820-1839 This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1840-1859 This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1860-1879 This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1880-1899 This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1900-1919 This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1920-1939 This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1940-1959 This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1960-1979 This is an incomplete list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 1980-1999 This is a list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the years 2000 to the present "Acts of the Scottish Parliament" redirects here For pre-Union acts see List of Acts of the Scottish Parliament to 1707. This is a list of Acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland, from its first session in 1921 to suspension in 1972. This is a list of Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly passed by that body from its establishment in 2000 until its suspension in 2002 and from its re-establishment in |align=left| Contemporary Welsh Law English Law Courts of England and Wales ---- National Assembly The is a list of Orders in Council for Northern Ireland which are Primary legislation for the province when it is being directly ruled from London and also for A Statutory Instrument ( SI) is the principal form in which delegated or Secondary legislation is made in Great Britain. Social security primarily refers to a Social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions including poverty old England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland This article refers specifically to the Welfare state of the United Kingdom. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on It was made up of several Acts of Parliament and subsequent Amendments. The extreme longevity of the Poor Law meant that some of the generalisations made about it (for example, the use of workhouses) refer to only a part of its history. A workhouse, colloquially known as a spike was a place where people who were unable to support themselves could go to live and work
The classification of the poor
For much of the period of the Poor Law, the dependent poor were classified in terms of three groups:
- The impotent poor could not look after themselves or go to work. Impotent poor was a classification of Poverty used in Britain during the 1600s It referred to those poor who were unable to support themselves either through They included the ill, the infirm, the elderly, and children with no-one to properly care for them. It was generally held that they should be looked after.
- The able-bodied poor normally referred to those who were unable to find work - either due to cyclical or long term unemployment in the area, or a lack of skills. Unemployment occurs when a person is available to work and currently seeking work but the person is without work. Attempts to assist these people, and move them out of this category, varied over the centuries, but usually consisted of relief either in the form of work or money. An English Noun The English noun people has two distinct fields of application as a countable noun, a group of Humans
- The 'vagrants' or 'beggars', sometimes termed 'sturdy rogues', were deemed those who could work but had refused to. See also Vagrancy (biology for an alternative use of the term Such people were seen in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as potential criminals, apt to do mischief when hired for the purpose. They were normally seen as people needing punishment, and as such were often whipped in the market place as an example to others, or sometimes sent to houses of correction. The House of Correction was a type of building built after the passing of the Elizabethan Poor Law (1601. This group was also termed the idle poor. The idle poor was a classification of the poor used under the Poor Law system in the United Kingdom.
Origins of the Poor Law system
Tudor Poor Laws aimed to deal with vagrancy were harsh towards the able bodied poor who were not trying or looking for work - whippings and beatings were acceptable punishments. The origins of the Poor Law system in Britain can be traced as far back as the fifteenth century
- 1552 - Parishes began to register those considered 'poor'.
- 1563 - Justices of the Peace began to collect money for poor relief. A Justice of the Peace ( JP) is a Puisne Judicial officer appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace The poor were grouped for the first time into the impotent poor, idle poor and able-bodied poor (unemployed). Impotent poor was a classification of Poverty used in Britain during the 1600s It referred to those poor who were unable to support themselves either through
- 1572 - First local poor tax to fund poor relief.
- 1576 - Idea of a workhouse first suggested. It is first suggested that JPs could provide materials for which the able-bodied could work in return for relief.
- 1579 - Justices of the Peace authorised to collect funds for poor relief. The post of Overseer of the Poor was created. In British History, an Overseer of the poor was an official who administered Poor relief such as money food and clothing [1]
- 1595 'Buttock Mail', a Scottish Poor Rate is levied. [2]
The Act of 1601
The Poor Law Act 1601 also known as the Elizabethan Poor Law and Old Poor Law (after the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834) formalised earlier practices of poor relief. The Poor Law Act 1601 was also known as the Elizabethan Poor Law, 43rd Elizabeth Old Poor Law after the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 sometimes abbreviated to PLAA was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig Under the terms of the Elizabethan Poor Law 1601 poor relief was help given to the poor It created a collectivist national system, paid for by levying local rates (or property taxes). Collectivism is a term used to describe any moral political or social outlook that stresses human Interdependence and the importance of a Collective, rather than It made provision:
- To board out (making a payment to families willing to accept them) those young children who were orphaned or whose parents could not maintain them,
- To provide materials to "set the poor on work"
- To offer relief to people who were unable to work -- mainly those who were "lame, impotent, old, blind", and
- "The putting out of children to be apprentices".
Relief for those too ill or old to work, the so called impotent poor, was in the form of a payment or items of food ('the parish loaf') or clothing. Impotent poor was a classification of Poverty used in Britain during the 1600s It referred to those poor who were unable to support themselves either through Some aged people might be accommodated in parish alms houses, though these were usually private charitable institutions. Meanwhile able-bodied beggars who had refused work were often placed in houses of correction. However, provision for the many able-bodied poor in the workhouse, which provided accommodation at the same time as work, was relatively unusual, and most workhouses developed later. A workhouse, colloquially known as a spike was a place where people who were unable to support themselves could go to live and work Assistance given to the deserving poor that did not involve an institution like the workhouse, was known as 'outdoor relief'. This article refers to Britain's welfare provision after the 1601 Poor Law
There was much variation in the application of the law and there was a tendency for the destitute to migrate towards the more generous parishes, usually situated in the towns. This led to the Settlement Act 1662 also known as the Poor Relief Act 1662 - this allowed relief only to established residents of a parish - mainly through birth, marriage and apprenticeship. The Poor Relief Act 1662 (13&14 Car II c12 was an Act of the Parliament of England. A pauper applicant had to prove a 'settlement'. If they could not, they were removed to the next parish that was nearest to the place of their birth, or where they might prove some connection. Some paupers were moved hundreds of miles. Although each parish that they passed through was not responsible for them, they were supposed to supply food and drink and shelter for at least one night. The Act was criticised in later years for its effect in distorting the labour market, through the power given to parishes to let them remove 'undeserving' poor.
Some of the legislation was punitive. In 1697 an act was passed requiring the poor to wear a "badge" of red or blue cloth on the right shoulder with an embroidered letter "P" and the initial of their parish. However, this was often disregarded.
Amendments to the 1601 Act
- 1662 -Poor Relief Act 1662 (Settlement Acts)
- 1723 -Workhouse Test Act
- 1782 -Gilbert's Act
- 1795 -Speenhamland
The 18th century
The 18th century workhouse movement began at the end of the 17th century with the establishment of the Bristol Corporation of the Poor, founded by Act of Parliament in 1696. The Poor Relief Act 1662 (13&14 Car II c12 was an Act of the Parliament of England. The Workhouse Test Act also known as the General Act or Knatchbull's Act was poor relief legislation passed by the British government by Sir Edward Knatchbull The Relief of the Poor Act 1782 (also known as Gilbert's Act) was a British poor relief Act proposed by Thomas Gilbert which aimed to organise poor The Speenhamland system was a form of Outdoor relief intended to mitigate Rural Poverty in England during the early 19th century The corporation established a workhouse which combined housing and care of the poor with a house of correction for petty offenders. A workhouse, colloquially known as a spike was a place where people who were unable to support themselves could go to live and work Following the example of Bristol, some twelve further towns and cities established similar corporations in the next two decades. Bristol ( ˈbrɪstəl is a city, Unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London As these corporations required a private Act, they were not suitable for smaller towns and individual parishes.
Starting with the parish of Olney, Buckinghamshire in 1714 several dozen small towns and individual parishes established their own institutions without any specific legal authorization. Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. These were concentrated in the South Midlands and in the county of Essex. The South Midlands is an area of England. The term is not widely used and it is not one of the English administative regions. Essex is a county in the East of England. The County town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common From the late 1710s the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge began to promote the idea of parochial workhouses. The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (earlier known as the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge and more commonly known as SPCK) is the oldest Anglican The Society published several pamphlets on the subject, and supported Sir Edward Knatchbull in his successful efforts to steer the Workhouse Test Act through parliament in 1723. Sir Edward Knatchbull 9th Baronet, PC, FRS ( 20 December 1781 &ndash 24 May 1849) was a British Conservative The Workhouse Test Act also known as the General Act or Knatchbull's Act was poor relief legislation passed by the British government by Sir Edward Knatchbull The act gave legislative authority for the establishment of parochial workhouses, by both single parishes and as joint ventures between two or more parishes. More importantly, the Act helped to publicise the idea of establishing workhouses to a national audience. By 1776 some 1912 parish and corporation workhouses had been established in England and Wales, housing almost 100,000 paupers. Although many parishes and pamphlet writers expected to earn money from the labour of the poor in workhouses, the vast majority of people obliged to take up residence in workhouses were ill, elderly, or children whose labour proved largely unprofitable. The demands, needs and expectations of the poor also ensured that workhouses came to take on the character of general social policy institutions, combining the functions of creche, and night shelter, geriatric ward and orphanage.
In 1782, Thomas Gilbert finally succeeded in passing an act that established poor houses solely for the aged and infirm and introduced a system of outdoor relief for the able-bodied. Thomas Gilbert is known was one of the earliest advocate of poor relief in British history and the father of the Relief of the Poor Act of 1782 This was the basis for the development of the Speenhamland system, which made financial provision for low-paid workers. The Speenhamland system was a form of Outdoor relief intended to mitigate Rural Poverty in England during the early 19th century
The reform of the Poor Law
Dissatisfaction with the system grew at the beginning of the 19th century. Both the Elizabethan Poor Law and the Poor Law Amendment Act attracted a great deal of opposition from a wide range of people in society from paupers and The 1601 system was felt to be too costly and was widely perceived as encouraging the underlying problems - pushing more people into poverty even while it helped those who were already in poverty. Jeremy Bentham argued for a disciplinary, punitive approach to social problems, whilst the writings of Thomas Malthus focused attention on the problem of overpopulation, and the growth of illegitimacy. Jeremy Bentham ( IPA: or) (15 February 1748&ndash6 June 1832 was an English Jurist, Philosopher, and legal and Social reformer Thomas Robert Malthus FRS (13 February 1766 – 23 December 1834 was an English political economist and demographer who expressed views David Ricardo argued that there was an "iron law of wages". David Ricardo (18 April 1772 &ndash 11 September 1823 was an English political economist, often credited with systematizing economics and was one of the most influential The Subsistence Theory of Wages, also known as the "Iron Law of Wages" was a law of economics that asserted that real wages in the long run would trend toward the value needed The effect of poor relief, in the view of the reformers, was to undermine the position of the "independent labourer".
In the period following the Napoleonic Wars, several reformers altered the function of the "poorhouse" into the model for a deterrent workhouse. The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions The first of the deterrent workhouses in this period was at Bingham, Notts. The second was Becher's workhouse in Southwell, now maintained by the National Trust. George Nicholls, the overseer at Southwell, was to become a Poor Law Commissioner in the reformed system. The 1817 Report of the Select Committee on the Poor Laws condemned the Poor Law as causing poverty itself.
The Royal Commission on the Poor Law
The 1832 Royal Commission into the Operation of the Poor Laws was set up following the widespread destruction and machine breaking of the Swing Riots. The 1832 Royal Commission into the Operation of the Poor Laws was a group set up to decide how to change the system of Poor Law systems in Britain The 1832 Royal Commission into the Operation of the Poor Laws was a group set up to decide how to change the system of Poor Law systems in Britain The Swing Riots were a widespread uprising by the rural workers of the arable south and east of England in 1830. The report was prepared by a commission of nine, including Nassau William Senior, and served by Edwin Chadwick as Secretary. Nassau William Senior ( September 26, 1790 - June 4, 1864) English Economist, was born at Compton Berkshire Sir Edwin Chadwick (24 January 1800&ndash6 July 1890 was an English social reformer noted for his work to reform the Poor Laws and improve sanitary conditions The Royal Commission's primary concerns were with illegitimacy (or "bastardy"), reflecting the influence of Malthusians, and the fear that the practices of the Old Poor Law were undermining the position of the independent labourer. In Common law, legitimacy is the status of a Child that is born to parents who are legally married to one another or that is born shortly after the Two practices were of particular concern: the "roundsman" system, where overseers hired out paupers as cheap labour, and the Speenhamland system, which subsidised low wages with out relief. The Roundsman System (sometimes termed the billet or ticket or item system in the English poor law a plan by which the Parish paid the occupiers of property to The Speenhamland system was a form of Outdoor relief intended to mitigate Rural Poverty in England during the early 19th century
Findings of the Commission
The 13 volume report pointed to the conclusion that the poor law itself was the cause of poverty. The report differentiated between poverty, which was seen as necessary, as it was fear of poverty which made people work, and indigence - the inability to earn enough to live on. Impotent poor was a classification of Poverty used in Britain during the 1600s It referred to those poor who were unable to support themselves either through
- "less eligibility": that the position of the pauper should have to enter a workhouse with conditions worse than that of the poorest 'free' labourer outside of the workhouse. Less eligibility was a condition of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. Poverty (also called penury) is deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life including food clothing shelter and safe Drinking water, and
- the "workhouse test", that relief should only be available in the workhouse. The workhouse test - was a condition of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. The reformed workhouses were to be uninviting, so that anyone capable of coping outside them would choose not to be in one.
When the act was introduced however it had been partly watered down. The workhouse test and the idea of "less eligibility" were never mentioned themselves and the recommendation of the Royal Commission - that 'outdoor relief' (relief given outside of a workhouse) should be abolished - was never implemented. This article refers to Britain's welfare provision after the 1601 Poor Law
The report recommended separate workhouses for the aged, infirm, children, able-bodied females and able-bodied males. The report also stated that parishes should be grouped into unions in order to spread the cost of workhouses and a central authority should be established in order to enforce these measures.
The Poor Law Commission took two years to write its report, the recommendations passed easily through Parliament support by both main parties the Whigs and the Tories. The Poor Law Commission was a body established to administrate poor relief after the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. The Whigs (with the Tories) are often described as one of two political parties in England and later the United Kingdom from the late 17th to In the political tradition of some English-speaking countries, the term Tory has referred to a variety of political parties and Creeds since it was The bill gained Royal Assent in 1834. Year 1834 ( MDCCCXXXIV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Of those who opposed the Bill - of whom there were few - were more concerned about the centralisation which the bill would bring rather than the underpinning philosophy of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is the idea that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its contribution to overall Utility, that is its contribution to happiness
The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act
The Bill established a Poor Law Commission to oversee the national operation of the system. The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 sometimes abbreviated to PLAA was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig This included the forming together of small parishes into Poor Law Unions and the building of workhouses in each union for the giving of poor relief.
The act stated that:[3]
- (a) no able-bodied person was to receive money or other help from the Poor Law authorities except in a workhouse;
- (b) conditions in workhouses were to be made very harsh to discourage people from wanting to receive help;
- (c) workhouses were to be built in every parish or, if parishes were too small, in unions of parishes;
- (d) ratepayers in each parish or union had to elect a Board of Guardians to supervise the workhouse, to collect the Poor Rate and to send reports to the Central Poor Law Commission;
- (e) the three man Central Poor Law Commission would be appointed by the government and would be responsible for supervising the Amendment Act throughout the country.
The Amendment Act did not ban all forms of outdoor relief. This article refers to Britain's welfare provision after the 1601 Poor Law Not until the 1840s would the only method of relief be for the poor to enter a Workhouse. The Workhouses were to be made little more than prisons and families were normally separated upon entering a Workhouse.
When the new Amendment was applied to the industrial North of England (an area the law had never considered during reviews), the system failed catastrophically as many found themselves temporarily unemployed, due to recessions or a fall in stock demands, so called 'cyclical unemployment' and were reluctant to enter a Workhouse, despite it being the only method of gaining aid. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland
The abuses and shortcomings of the system are documented in the novels of Charles Dickens and Frances Trollope. Frances Trollope ( March 10, 1780 &ndash October 6, 1863) was an English Novelist and miscellaneous writer who published as Mrs Despite the aspirations of the reformers, the New Poor Law was unable to make the Workhouse as bad as life outside. The primary problem was that in order to make the diet of the Workhouse inmates "less eligible" than what they could expect outside, it would be necessary to starve the inmates beyond an acceptable level. It was for this reason that other ways were found to deter entrance to the Workhouses. These measures ranged from the introduction of prison style uniforms to the segregation of 'inmates' into yards - there were normally male, female, boy and girls yards.
Fierce hostility and organised opposition from workers, politicians and religious leaders eventually lead to the Amendment Act being amended, removing the very harsh measures of the Workhouses to a certain degree. The Andover workhouse scandal, where conditions in the Andover Union Workhouse were found to be inhumane and dangerous, prompted a government review and the abolishment of the Poor Law Commission which was replaced with a Poor Law Board. The Andover workhouse scandal occurred following events at the Workhouse in Andover, United Kingdom, in the 19th century Andover is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is situated on the River Anton some 18 The Poor Law Commission was a body established to administrate poor relief after the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. The Poor Law Board was established in the United Kingdom in 1847 as a successor body to the Poor Law Commission overseeing the administration From now on a Committee of Parliament was to administer the Poor Law, with a cabinet minister as head.
There were a number of provisions that aimed at stopping previous discrimination against non-conformists and Roman Catholics. Nonconformism is the refusal to conform to common standards conventions rules customs traditions norms or laws [4]
Amendments to the Amendment Act
The Poor Laws in Ireland, Scotland and Wales
In 1838 the Poor Laws were extended into Ireland, although a few poorhouses had been built before that time. The Outdoor Labour Test Order was a piece of policy issued by the Poor Law Commission on 13 April 1842 which allowed the use of Outdoor relief The Outdoor Relief Prohibitory Order was an Order from the Poor Law Commission issued on 21 December 1844 which aimed to finally end the distribution of Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world The workhouses were supervised by a Poor Law Commissioner in Dublin. The Irish Poor Laws were even harsher on the poor than the English Poor Laws; furthermore, the Irish unions were underfunded, and there were too few workhouses in Ireland. The Irish Poor Laws describes a period of history concerning Poor relief in Ireland before during and after the Act of Union between Britain and Ireland As a result, the Irish Potato Famine became a humanitarian catastrophe.
Scotland launched its own Poor Law system in 1579. As the Act of Union which united England and Scotland did not alter Scotland's legal system, the Scottish Poor Law system did not disappear after 1707. The Acts of Union were a pair of Parliamentary Acts passed during 1706 and 1707 by the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland to put into The Scottish Poor Law described laws regarding poverty relief in Scotland during the 1800s and 1900s Reforms similar in intent to the English reforms of 1834 were made in 1845. The English Poor Laws applied in Wales.
Poor Law Policy 1847-1900
Commission replaced with a Board
After 1847 the Poor Law Commission was replaced with a Poor Law Board. The Poor Law Commission was a body established to administrate poor relief after the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. The Poor Law Board was established in the United Kingdom in 1847 as a successor body to the Poor Law Commission overseeing the administration This was because of the Andover workhouse scandal and the criticism of Henry Parker who was responsible for the Andover union as well as the tensions in Somerset House caused by Chadwicks failure to become a Poor Law Commissioner. The Andover workhouse scandal occurred following events at the Workhouse in Andover, United Kingdom, in the 19th century Henry Parker Headline text Henry Parker was born into slavery The Poor Law Commission was a body established to administrate poor relief after the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834.
Union Chargeability Act
The Poor Law had been altered in 1834 because of increasing costs. The Union Chargeability Act was passed in 1865 in order to make the financial burden of pauperism be placed upon the whole unions rather than individual parishes. The Union Chargeability Act 1865 was a piece of British Legislation passed after the Poor Law Amendment Act. Most Boards of Guardians were middle class and committed to keeping Poor Rates as low as possible
Increasing powers for local government
After the Reform Act 1867 there was increasing welfare legislation. The Reform Act 1867 (also known as the Second Reform Act, and formally titled the Representation of the People Act 1867) 30 & 31 Vict As this legislation required local authorities' support the Poor Law Board was replaced with a Local Government Board in 1871. The President of the Local Government Board was a ministerial post frequently a Cabinet position in the United Kingdom, established in 1871 County Councils were formed in 1888, District Councils in 1894. This meant that public housing, unlike health and income maintenance, developed outside the scope of the Poor Law. The infirmaries and the workhouses remained the responsibility of the Guardians until 1930. This change was in part due to changing attitudes on the nature and causes of poverty - there was for the first time an attitude that society had a responsibility to protect its more vulnerable members.
Demise and abolition
The reforms of the Liberal Government 1906-14 (see Liberal reforms) made several provisions to provide social services without the stigma of the Poor Law, including Old age pensions and National Insurance, and from that period fewer people were covered by the system. A pension is a steady income given to a person upon Retirement, typically in the form of a guaranteed annuity. National Insurance (NI is a system of taxes and related Social security benefits in the United Kingdom. Means tests were developed during the inter-war period, not as part of the Poor Law, but as part of the attempt to offer relief that was not affected by the stigma of pauperism. The term means test refers to an investigative process undertaken to determine whether or not an individual or family is eligible to receive certain types of benefits from the Poverty (also called penury) is deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life including food clothing shelter and safe Drinking water, and
One aspect of the Poor Law that continued to cause resentment was that the burden of poor relief was not shared equally by rich and poor areas but, rather, fell most heavily on those areas in which poverty was at its worst. This was a central issue in the Poplar Rates Rebellion led by George Lansbury and others in 1921. The Poplar Rates Rebellion, or Poplar Rates Revolt was a Tax protest that took place in Poplar London, England, in 1921 George Lansbury ( 21 February 1859 &ndash 7 May 1940) was a British Politician, socialist, Christian pacifist
Workhouses were officially abolished by the Local Government Act 1929, which from 1 April 1930 abolished the Unions and transferred their responsibilities to the county councils and county boroughs. The Local Government Act 1929 (19 & 20 Geo V c 17 made changes to poor law and local government in England and Wales Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A County council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a County. County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (excluding Scotland) to refer to a Borough or a City Some however persisted into the 1940s. The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949 Events and trends The 1940s was a period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s which also leads the period to be The remaining responsibility for the Poor Law was given to local authorities before final abolition in 1948. Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
See also
References
- ^ The 1601 Elizabethan Poor Law
- ^ British social policy, 1601-1948
- ^ 1834 Poor Law
- ^
"Poor Laws". A workhouse, colloquially known as a spike was a place where people who were unable to support themselves could go to live and work Catholic Encyclopedia. The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia (1913). New York: Robert Appleton Company.
External links
- History/chronology of poor law, transcripts of main Acts, much on workhouses, unions etc.
- Article on the Poor Laws from EH.NET's Encyclopedia
- Annotated text of an Act of 1598 of which the 1601 Act was a revision (scroll down to (H))
- Report of the Royal Poor Law Commission 1834
- Poor Law - 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article
- Poor Law Unions at visionofbritain.org.uk
- List of Poor Law Unions in England
- The Poor Law at a Web of English History
- A famous depiction of women in the Victorian workhouse - 'A scene in the Westminster Union, 1878'
- British Social Policy 1601-1948
- Poor Law research guide from The National Archives, UK
- Southwell Workhouse - National Trust
- Workhouse - The Story of Workhouses
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