Timeline of the Poor Law system
Encyclopedia
The following article presents a Timeline of the Poor Law system from its origins in the Tudor and Elizabethan era to its abolition in 1948.
1300s
- 1344- Royal Ordinance stated that lepers should leave London.
- 1388- Statute of CambridgeStatute of CambridgeThe Statute of Cambridge 1388 was a piece of legislation passed in 1388 in England which placed restrictions on the movements of labourers and beggars. Each Hundred became responsible for relieving its own impotent poor. Servants wishing to move out of the district needed a letter from the "good...
passed.
1500s
- 1597 - The Act for the Relief of the Poor 1597Act For the Relief of the Poor 1597The Act for the Relief of the Poor of 1597 was a piece of poor law legislation in England and Wales. It provided the first complete code of poor relief and was later amended in 1601 in the Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601 which formed the basis of poor relief for the next two centuries.The Act...
provides the first complete code of Poor Relief
1600s
- 1601 - Old Poor Law passed. This would remain the basis of the Poor Law system until 1834
- 1662 - Poor Relief Act 1662Poor Relief Act 1662The Poor Relief Act 1662 was an Act of the Cavalier Parliament of England. It was an Act for the Better Relief of the Poor of this Kingdom and is also known as the Settlement Act or, more honestly, the Settlement and Removal Act. The purpose of the Act was to establish the parish to which a person...
passed to deal with the problems of settlement
1700s
- 1723 - Workhouse Test Act passed to encourage the building of workhouses.
- 1782 - Relief of the Poor Act 1782Relief of the Poor Act 1782The Relief of the Poor Act 1782 , also known as Gilbert's Act, was a British poor relief law proposed by Thomas Gilbert which aimed to organise poor relief on a county basis, counties being organised into parishes which could set up workhouses between them. However, these workhouses were intended...
passed.
1800s
- 1815 - The French Wars come to an end.
- 1830 - The Swing RiotsSwing RiotsThe Swing Riots were a widespread uprising by agricultural workers; it began with the destruction of threshing machines in the Elham Valley area of East Kent in the summer of 1830, and by early December had spread throughout the whole of southern England and East Anglia.As well as the attacks on...
highlight the possibility of agricultural unrest. - 1832 - The Royal Commission into the Operation of the Poor LawsRoyal Commission into the Operation of the Poor Laws 1832The 1832 Royal Commission into the Operation of the Poor Laws was a group set up to decide how to change the Poor Law systems in England and Wales. The group included Nassau Senior, a professor from Oxford University who was against the allowance system, and Edwin Chadwick, who was a Benthamite...
begins its investigation into the Poor Law system - 1834 - Poor Law Amendment Act passed
- 1842 - Outdoor Labour Test OrderOutdoor Labour Test OrderThe 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 to the able-bodied poor. The order was issued after there was some opposition to the Commission's previous order stating that only indoor relief should be...
allows outdoor relief despite the Poor Law Amendment Act's ban on it - 1844 - Outdoor Relief Prohibitory OrderOutdoor Relief Prohibitory OrderThe 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 outdoor relief to the able-bodied poor.-External links:*...
issued to further discourage outdoor relief - 1847 - The Poor Law CommissionPoor Law CommissionThe 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...
is abolished and replaced by the Poor Law BoardPoor Law BoardThe Poor Law Board was established in the United Kingdom in 1847 as a successor body to the Poor Law Commission overseeing the administration of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act... - 1848 - The Huddersfield workhouse scandal occurs.
- 1865 - The Union Chargeability Act 1865Union Chargeability Act 1865The Union Chargeability Act 1865 was a piece of British legislation passed after the Poor Law Amendment Act. Under the PLAA parishes were to group together to form unions so that the cost of building expensive workhouses was shared - the Union Chargeability Act was passed so that the financial...
is passed - 1867 - The Second Reform Act
- 1871 - The Local Government BoardLocal Government BoardThe Local Government Board was a British Government supervisory body overseeing local administration in England and Wales from 1871 to 1919.The LGB was created by the Local Government Board Act 1871 The Local Government Board (LGB) was a British Government supervisory body overseeing local...
takes the powers of the Poor Law BoardPoor Law BoardThe Poor Law Board was established in the United Kingdom in 1847 as a successor body to the Poor Law Commission overseeing the administration of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act...
1900s
- 1905 - Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress 1905-09Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress 1905-09The 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...
set up by the outgoing Conservative government. - 1906 - The Liberal Government is elected and begins an ambitious programme of welfare reforms.
- 1909 - The Minority reportMinority report (Poor Law)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 Majority report. Headed by the Fabian socialist Beatrice Webb, it called for a system that was radically different from the existing Poor Law...
- 1929 - The workhouse system is abolished by the Local Government Act 1929Local Government Act 1929The Local Government Act 1929 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made changes to the Poor Law and local government in England and Wales....
. - 1948 - The Poor Law system abolished by the National Assistance Act 1948National Assistance Act 1948The National Assistance Act 1948 was an Act of Parliament passed in the United Kingdom by the Labour government of Clement Attlee.-Overview:It formally abolished the Poor Law system which had existed since the reign of Elizabeth I, and established a social safety-net for those who didn’t pay...
.