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 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. ...

Former workhouse at Nantwich, dating from 1780

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. 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. This is a list of Acts of the Scottish Parliament. ... This is a list of Acts passed by the Parliament of Northern Ireland. ... 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 2007. ... This is a list of Measures of the National Assembly for Wales. ... The is a list of Orders in Council for Northern Ireland which are primary legislation for the province when the it is being directly ruled from London and also for those powers not devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly. ... Statutory Instruments (SIs) are parts of United Kingdom law separate from Acts of Parliament which do not require full Parliamentary approval before becoming law. ... Social security primarily refers to social welfare service concerned with social protection, or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This article is about the country. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... There are three main interpretations of the idea of a welfare state: the provision of welfare services by the state. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Former workhouse at Nantwich, dating from 1780 A workhouse 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. 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. 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.
• The 'vagrants' or 'beggars', sometimes termed 'sturdy rogues', were deemed those who could work but had refused to. 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 so-called 'House of Correction'. This group was also termed the idle poor.

Impotent poor was a classificiation of poverty used in Britain during the 1600s. ... The able-bodied poor was a classification of the poor widely used during the 1600s in Britain. ... CIA figures for world unemployment rates, 2006 Unemployment is the state in which a worker wants, but is unable, to work. ... John Everett Millais The Blind Girl: vagrant musicians See also vagrancy (biology) for an alternative use of the term. ... The House of Correction was a type of building built after the passing of the Elizabethan Poor Law (1601). ... The idle poor was a description used under the Poor Law system in Britain. ...

Origins of the Poor Law system

Main article: 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. This article deals with Poor Law provision in Britain before the 1601 Old Poor Law The Origins of the Poor Law system in Britain can be traced as far back as the fifteenth century with the decline of the monasteries and there eventually dissolution during the Reformation causing poor relief...

• 1552 - Parishes began to register those considered 'poor'.
• 1563 - Justices of the Peace began to collect money for poor relief. The poor were grouped for the first time into the impotent poor, idle poor and able-bodied poor (unemployed).
• 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. [1]
• 1595 'Buttock Mail', a Scottish Poor Rate is levied.^[1]

A Justice of the Peace (JP) is a magistrate appointed by a commission to keep the peace, dispense summary justice and deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions. ... Impotent poor was a classificiation of poverty used in Britain during the 1600s. ... In British history, an overseer of the poor was an official who administred poor relief such as money,food and clothing. ...

The Act of 1601

Main article: Elizabethan Poor Law 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. It created a collectivist national system, paid for by levying local rates (or property taxes). It made provision: The Poor Law Act 1601 also known as the Elizabethan Poor Law and Old Poor Law or 43rd Elizabeth formalised earlier practices of poor relief distribution in England and Wales. ... The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 () was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey that reformed the countrys poverty relief system. ... Under the terms of the Elizabethan Poor Law 1601 poor relief was help given to the poor. ... Collectivism, in general, is a term used to describe a theoretical or practical emphasis on the group, as opposed to (and seen by many of its opponents to be at the expense of) the individual. ...

• 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 helpless poor, was in the form of a payment or items of food ('the parish loaf') or clothing. 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. Assistance given to the deserving poor that did not involve an institution like the workhouse, was known as 'outdoor relief'. Impotent poor was a classificiation of poverty used in Britain during the 1600s. ... The able-bodied poor was a classification of the poor widely used during the 1600s in Britain. ... Former workhouse at Nantwich, dating from 1780 A workhouse was a place where people who were unable to support themselves could go to live and work. ... For specific national programs, see Social Security (United States), National insurance (UK), Social Security (Sweden) Social security mainly refers to a field of social welfare concerned with social protection, or protection against socially recognized needs, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment, families with children and others. ...

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. 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. The Poor Relief Act 1662 (13&14 Car. ...

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 Poor Relief Act 1662 (13&14 Car. ... The Workhouse Test Act also known as Knatchbulls Act was poor relief legislation passed by the British government by Sir Edward Knatchbull in 1723. ... Gilberts Act (1782) also known as The Relief of the Poor Act 1782 was a poor relief Act which aimed to organise poor relief on a county basis, these counties would be grouped into parishes which could set up workhouses between them. ... // Speenhamland was an English system of outdoor relief intended to mitigate rural poverty during the early 19th century. ...

The eighteenth century

The eighteenth-century workhouse movement began at the end of the seventeenth century with the establishment of the Bristol Corporation of the Poor, founded by Act of Parliament in 1696. The corporation established a workhouse which combined housing and care of the poor with a house of correction for petty offenders. Following the example of Bristol some twelve further towns and cities established similar corporations in the next two decades. Because 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. These were concentrated in the South Midlands and in the county of Essex. From the late 1710s the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge began to promote the idea of parochial workhouses. 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. 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. This was the basis for the development of the Speenhamland system, which made financial provision for low-paid workers.

The reform of the Poor Law

Main article: Opposition to the Poor Law

Dissatisfaction with the system grew at the beginning of the 19th century. 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. David Ricardo argued that there was an "iron law of wages". The effect of poor relief, in the view of the reformers, was to undermine the position of the "independent labourer". 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 workers; to the landed gentry and academics. ... Jeremy Bentham (IPA: ) (26 February [O.S. 15 February 15] 1748) – June 6, 1832) was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. ... Thomas Robert Malthus, FRS (13th February, 1766 – 29th December, 1834), was an English demographer and political economist. ... David Ricardo (18 April 1772–11 September 1823), a political economist, is often credited with systematizing economics, and was one of the most influential of the classical economists, along with Thomas Malthus and Adam Smith. ... The Iron Law of Wages was an alleged law of economics that asserted that wages can never rise above the minimum level that will enable the laborer to survive. ...

In the period following the Napoleonic Wars, several reformers altered the function of the "poorhouse" into the model for a deterrent workhouse. 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

Main article: 1832 Royal Commission into the Operation of the Poor Laws

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 report was prepared by a commission of nine, including Nassau William Senior, and served by Edwin Chadwick as Secretary. 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. 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 1832 Royal Commission into the Operation of the Poor Laws was a group set up to decide how to change the system of poor relief 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 relief in Britain. ... The Swing Riots were a widespread uprising by the rural workers of the arable south and east of England in 1830. ... Nassau William Senior (September 26, 1790 - June 4, 1864), English economist, was born at Compton, Berkshire, the eldest son of the Rev. ... Sir Edwin Chadwick (January 24, 1800–July 6, 1890) was an English social reformer, noted for his work to reform the Poor Laws and improve sanitary conditions and public health. ... Illegitimacy is the status that was once commonly ascribed to individuals born to parents who were not married. ... 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 employ the applicants for relief at a rate of wages fixed by the parish. ... Speenhamland was an English system of outdoor relief intended to mitigate rural poverty 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. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

• "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.
• the "workhouse test", that relief should only be available in the workhouse. 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. Less eligibility was a condition of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. ... A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows his find. ... The workhouse test - was a condition of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. ... For specific national programs, see Social Security (United States), National insurance (UK), Social Security (Sweden) Social security mainly refers to a field of social welfare concerned with social protection, or protection against socially recognized needs, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment, families with children and others. ...

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 bill gained Royal Assent in 1834. 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. 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 the mid 19th centuries. ... The term Tory derives from the Tory Party, the ancestor of the modern UK Conservative Party. ... Year 1834 (MDCCCXXXIV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... This article discusses utilitarian ethical theory. ...

The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act

Main article: Poor Law Amendment Act 1834

The Bill established a Poor Law Commission to oversee the national operation of the system. 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 Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 () was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey that reformed the countrys poverty relief system. ... The Poor Law Commission was a body established to administrate poor relief after the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act (1834). ...

The Amendment Act did not ban all forms of outdoor relief. 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. For specific national programs, see Social Security (United States), National insurance (UK), Social Security (Sweden) Social security mainly refers to a field of social welfare concerned with social protection, or protection against socially recognized needs, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment, families with children and others. ...

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. For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

The abuses and shortcomings of the system are documented in the novels of Charles Dickens and Frances Trollope. 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. Dickens redirects here. ... Frances Trollope (1780–1863) was an English novelist and miscellaneous writer who wrote under the name Fanny Trollope. ...

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. From now on a Committee of Parliament was to administer the Poor Law, with a cabinet minister as head. The Andover workhouse scandal occurred following events at the workhouse in Andover, United Kingdom, in the 19th century. ... Statistics Population: 52,000 Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SU3645 Administration District: Test Valley Region: South East England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Hampshire Historic county: Hampshire Services Police force: Hampshire Constabulary Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: South Central Post office and telephone Post town... 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 triumvirate of Poor Law Commissioners overseeing the administration of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act. ...

Amendments to the Amendment Act

• Outdoor Labour Test Order
• Outdoor Relief Prohibitory Order

The Outdoor Labour Test Order was a piece of policy issued by the Poor Law Commission on 13th April 1842 which allowed the use of outdoor relief to the able-bodied poor. ... This article should appear in one or more categories. ...

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 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. As a result, the Irish Potato Famine became a humanitarian catastrophe. 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. ... For other uses, please see Great Famine. ...

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. Reforms similar in intent to the English reforms of 1834 were made in 1845. The English Poor Laws applied in Wales. Act of Union can mean: United Kingdom The Act of Union is a name given to several acts passed by the English, Scottish and British Parliaments from 1536 onwards. ... The Scottish Poor Law described laws regarding poverty relief in Scotland during the 1800s and 1900s. ...

Poor Law Policy 1847-1900

Commission replaced with a Board

After 1847 the Poor Law Commission was replaced with a Poor Law Board. 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 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 triumvirate of Poor Law Commissioners overseeing the administration of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act. ... The Andover workhouse scandal occurred following events at the workhouse in Andover, United Kingdom, in the 19th century. ... Sir Henry Watson Parker (Born Lewisham, June 1, 1808; Died Richmond-upon-Thames, February 2, 1881. ... 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. Most Boards of Guardians were middle class and committed to keeping Poor Rates as low as possible The Union Chargeability Act was a piece of British legislation passed after the Poor Law Amendment Act. ...

Increasing powers for local government

After the Reform Act 1867 there was increasing welfare legislation. As this legislation required local authorities' support the Poor Law Board was replaced with a Local Government Board 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. Contemporary cartoon of Disraeli outpacing Gladstone. ... The President of the Local Government Board was a ministerial post, frequently a Cabinet position, in the United Kingdom, established in 1871. ...

The end of the Poor Law

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. 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. David Lloyd George was one the New Liberals who passed welfare legislation The Liberal reforms (1906-1914) collectively describes legislation passed by the British Liberal Party after the 1906 General Election. ... A pension (also known as superannuation) is a retirement plan intended to provide a person with a secure income for life. ... Tax rates around the world Tax revenue as % of GDP Part of the Taxation series        UK Income Tax and National Insurance (2005–2006) UK Income Tax and National Insurance as a % of Salary (2005–2006) National Insurance (NI) is a system of taxes and related social security benefits in the... 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 government. ... A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows his find. ...

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 in 1921. ... George Lansbury (21 February 1859 – 7 May 1940) was a British politician, socialist, Christian pacifist and newspaper editor. ...

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. Some however persisted into the 1940s. The remaining responsibility for the Poor Law was given to local authorities before final abolition in 1948. The Local Government Act, 1929 (19 &20 Geo V, c17) made changes to poor law and local government in England and Wales. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... In the British Isles, a county council is a council that governs a county. ... County borough was a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom to refer to a borough or a city independent of county administration. ... The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Workhouse

Former workhouse at Nantwich, dating from 1780 A workhouse was a place where people who were unable to support themselves could go to live and work. ...

References

1. ^ http://www2.rgu.ac.uk/publicpolicy/introduction/historyf.htm

This article deals with Poor Law provision in Britain before the 1601 Old Poor Law The Origins of the Poor Law system in Britain can be traced as far back as the fifteenth century with the decline of the monasteries and there eventually dissolution during the Reformation causing poor relief... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1200x924, 454 KB)[edit] Summary Former workhouse at Nantwich, Cheshire, constructed in 1780. ... The Poor Law Act 1601 was also known as the Elizabethan Poor Law, 43rd Elizabeth[1] or Old Poor Law after the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act in 1834. ... The Poor Relief Act 1662 (13&14 Car. ... The Workhouse Test Act also known as Knatchbulls Act was poor relief legislation passed by the British government by Sir Edward Knatchbull in 1723. ... Gilberts Act (1782) also known as The Relief of the Poor Act 1782 was a poor relief Act which aimed to organise poor relief on a county basis, these counties would be grouped into parishes which could set up workhouses between them. ... The House of Correction was a type of building built after the passing of the Elizabethan Poor Law (1601). ... In British history, an overseer of the poor was an official who administred poor relief such as money,food and clothing. ... In Britain, under the 1601 Elizabethan Poor Law the poor rate was a tax on property levied on the parish whch was used to provide poor relief to the parish poor. ... After the passing of the 1601 Elizabethan Poor Law, indoor relief was poor relief that took place within a workhouse or almshouse. ... Former workhouse at Nantwich, dating from 1780 A workhouse was a place where people who were unable to support themselves could go to live and work. ... For specific national programs, see Social Security (United States), National insurance (UK), Social Security (Sweden) Social security mainly refers to a field of social welfare concerned with social protection, or protection against socially recognized needs, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment, families with children and others. ... // Speenhamland was an English system of outdoor relief intended to mitigate rural poverty during the early 19th century. ... The Labour Rate was a system of poor relief (outdoor relief) where workers were paid at a given rate. ... 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 employ the applicants for relief at a rate of wages fixed by the parish. ... The able-bodied poor was a classification of the poor widely used during the 1600s in Britain. ... The idle poor was a description used under the Poor Law system in Britain. ... Impotent poor was a classificiation of poverty used in Britain during the 1600s. ... 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 system in Britain. ... The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 () was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey that reformed the countrys poverty relief system. ... Less eligibility was a condition of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. ... Former workhouse at Nantwich, dating from 1780 A workhouse was a place where people who were unable to support themselves could go to live and work. ... The workhouse test - was a condition of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. ... Boards of Gurdians were committees elected after the Poor Law Amendment Act by those who had to pay a poor rate. ... The Outdoor Labour Test Order was a piece of policy issued by the Poor Law Commission on 13th April 1842 which allowed the use of outdoor relief to the able-bodied poor. ... This article should appear in one or more categories. ... The Anti-Poor Law League should not be confused with the Anti-Corn Law League The Anti-Poor Law League were a group that in Britain opposed the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, an act of Parliament which built workhouses for the poor and discrouaged the use of outdoor relief... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... 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 workers; to the landed gentry and academics. ... 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 triumvirate of Poor Law Commissioners overseeing the administration of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act. ... The President of the Local Government Board was a ministerial post, frequently a Cabinet position, in the United Kingdom, established in 1871. ... The Andover workhouse scandal occurred following events at the workhouse in Andover, United Kingdom, in the 19th century. ... The Union Chargeability Act was a piece of British legislation passed after the Poor Law Amendment Act. ... The Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress 1905-09 was a body set up by the British Parliament in order to investigate how the Poor Law system should be changed. ... The majority report was a report published by the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws published in 1909. ... The minority report was one of two reports published by the Royal Commission into the Operation of the Poor Laws 1905-09, the other being The majority report. ... David Lloyd George was one the New Liberals who passed welfare legislation The Liberal reforms (1906-1914) collectively describes legislation passed by the British Liberal Party after the 1906 General Election. ...

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