The Poor Law Board was established in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 in 1847 as a successor body to the Poor Law Commission

Poor Law Commission

The Poor Law Commission was a body established to administrate poor relief after the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. The commission was made up of three commissioners who became known as "The Bashaws of Somerset House", their secretary and nine clerks or assistant commissioners...

overseeing the administration of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act. The new body was headed by a President, and with the Lord President of the Council

Lord President of the Council

The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above the Lord Privy Seal. The Lord President usually attends each meeting of the Privy Council, presenting business for the monarch's approval...

, the Lord Privy Seal

Lord Privy Seal

The Lord Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. The office is one of the traditional sinecure offices of state...

, the Home Secretary and the Chancellor of the Exchequer

Chancellor of the Exchequer

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...

 now added to the board as ex officio members. The board was abolished in 1871 and replaced by the Local Government Board

President of the Local Government Board

The President of the Local Government Board was a ministerial post, frequently a Cabinet position, in the United Kingdom, established in 1871. The Local Government Board itself was established in 1871 and took over supervisory functions from the Board of Trade and the Home Office, including the...

.

Presidents of the Poor Law Board, 1847-1871

• Charles Buller
  Charles Buller
  Charles Buller , was a British barrister, politician and reformer.-Background and education:Born in Calcutta, British India, Buller was the son of Charles Buller , a member of a well-known Cornish family, and Barbara Isabella Kirkpatrick, daughter of General William Kirkpatrick, considered an...
  
   1847-1849
• Matthew Talbot Baines
  Matthew Talbot Baines
  Matthew Talbot Baines QC, DL was a British lawyer and Liberal politician. He most notably served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in Lord Palmerston's 1855 to 1858 administration.-Background and education:...
  
   1849-1852
• Sir John Trollope, Bt
  John Trollope, 1st Baron Kesteven
  John Trollope, 1st Baron Kesteven PC , known as Sir John Trollope, Bt, between 1820 and 1868, was a British Conservative politician...
  
   1852
• Matthew Talbot Baines
  Matthew Talbot Baines
  Matthew Talbot Baines QC, DL was a British lawyer and Liberal politician. He most notably served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in Lord Palmerston's 1855 to 1858 administration.-Background and education:...
  
   1852-1855
• Edward Pleydell Bouverie 1855-1858
• Thomas Sotheron-Estcourt 1858-1859
• Charles Pelham Villiers
  Charles Pelham Villiers
  Charles Pelham Villiers was a British lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1835 to 1898, making him the longest-serving Member of Parliament .-Background and education:...
  
   1859-1866
• Gathorne Hardy 1866-1867
• William Courtenay, 11th Earl of Devon
  William Courtenay, 11th Earl of Devon
  William Reginald Courtenay, 11th Earl of Devon PC , styled Lord Courtenay between 1835 and 1859, was a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1866 to 1867 and as President of the Poor Law Board from 1867 to 1868.-Background and education:Devon was the eldest son...
  
   1867-1868
• George Goschen 1868-1871
• James Stansfeld 1871

Parliamentary Secretaries to the Poor Law Board, 1847-1871

• Viscount Ebrington
  Hugh Fortescue, 3rd Earl Fortescue
  Hugh Fortescue, 3rd Earl Fortescue , known as Viscount Ebrington from 1841 to 1861, was a British peer and occasional politician.He entered the House of Commons in 1841 as a member for Plymouth...
  
   1847-1851
• Ralph William Grey
  Ralph William Grey
  Ralph William Grey was a British Whig politician.At the 1847 general election he was elected unopposed as the Member of Parliament for Tynemouth and North Shields, but in 1852 he narrowly lost the seat to his Conservative opponent,...
  
   1851-1852
• Frederick Knight 1852
• Grenville Berkeley 1853-1856
• Ralph Grey 1856-1858
• Frederick Knight 1858-1859
• Charles Gilpin
  Charles Gilpin (politician)
  Charles Gilpin was a Quaker, orator, politician, publisher and railway director. Amongst his many causes were the movement to repeal the Corn Laws, to establish world peace through the Peace Society, abolition of the death penalty and the anti-slavery movement, enfranchisement by providing...
  
   1859-1865
• Viscount Enfield
  George Byng, 3rd Earl of Strafford
  George Henry Charles Byng, 3rd Earl of Strafford , styled Viscount Enfield between 1860 and 1886, was a British Liberal politician.-Background and education:...
  
   1865-1866
• Ralph Anstruther Earle
  Ralph Anstruther Earle
  Ralph Anstruther Earle was a British Conservative Party politician.He was elected at the 1859 general election as a Member of Parliament for Berwick-upon-Tweed, but resigned from the House of Commons the same year through appointment as Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds on 12 August 1859.He...
  
   1866-1867
• George Sclater-Booth
  George Sclater-Booth, 1st Baron Basing
  George Limbrey Sclater-Booth, 1st Baron Basing PC, FRS, DL , known as George Sclater-Booth before 1887, was a British Conservative politician...
  
   1867-1868
• Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Bt 1868
• Arthur Peel 1868-1871