Poor Relief Act 1601 facts for kids
| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Acte for the Releife of the Poore. |
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| Citation | 43 Eliz. 1. c. 2 |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales |
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Status: Repealed
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The Poor Relief Act 1601 was an important law passed in England and Wales in 1601. It is also known as the Elizabethan Poor Law or the Old Poor Law. This law created a system to help people who were poor or couldn't work.
Before this Act, different ways of helping the poor existed. This new law made things more official. It built on an earlier law from 1597 that created "Overseers of the Poor." The "Old Poor Law" wasn't just one law. It was a group of laws passed over many years. This system made local areas, called parishes, responsible for helping their poor. It also aimed to help people get back on their feet instead of just punishing them.
Several other laws became part of the Old Poor Law system. These included:
- 1662 – Poor Relief Act 1662 (Settlement Acts)
- 1723 – Workhouse Test Act
- 1782 – Gilbert's Act
- 1795 – Speenhamland
Contents
Why the Poor Law Started
The Old Poor Law began to take shape in the 1400s. This was when monasteries, which used to give a lot of charity, started to decline. The old ways of society were changing. Over time, helping the poor became a duty for local communities. They started collecting a special tax on land to pay for it.
How the 1601 Act Worked
The 1601 Act had clear rules for different groups of poor people:
- Able-bodied poor: People who could work were given jobs. They would work in special "houses of industry." Materials were provided for them to do this work.
- Idle poor and vagrants: People who refused to work or wandered around were sent to a "house of correction" or even prison.
- Pauper children: Children whose families couldn't support them would become apprentices. This meant they would learn a trade or skill.
You can read the original text of the Act here: Reginae Elizabethae Anno 43 Chapter 2.
Helping the Poor: Inside or Outside?
Under the Old Poor Law, help came in two main ways:
- Indoor relief: This meant getting help inside a workhouse. A workhouse was a building where poor people could live and work.
- Outdoor relief: This meant getting help outside a workhouse. This could be money, food, or even clothes.
Building many workhouses was very expensive. So, outdoor relief was the most common way people got help. Some older people might live in alms houses. These were usually set up by private charities. People who could work but refused were often sent to houses of correction. However, most workhouses that provided both housing and work became common later on. The 1601 Law also said that poor parents and children should help each other. For example, elderly parents might live with their children.
The 1601 Poor Law was very local. It was managed by the parish. A parish was a small area, usually centered around a church. There were about 1,500 parishes in England and Wales. This local system meant that the "Overseers of the Poor" knew the people they were helping. They could decide who truly deserved help. This was easier when the population was smaller and everyone knew each other. This way, people who were just lazy couldn't easily claim help.
The Act also created a "poor rate." This was a local tax collected in each parish. Property owners, or people living in properties, had to pay this tax.
The 1601 Act focused on people who were temporarily out of work. It was believed they would accept help, either inside or outside a workhouse. At this time, getting help wasn't seen as a bad thing. The law also aimed to control beggars, who were seen as a threat to public order. Many people believed that the fear of poverty made people work hard.
In 1607, a house of correction was set up in each county. This system was separate from the 1601 Poor Law. The 1601 law focused on the "settled poor" (people living in a parish) and "vagrants" (people who wandered).
Challenges and Criticisms
Different Rules in Different Places
The way the law was put into practice varied a lot. Some parishes gave more help than others. This meant that poor people sometimes moved to towns or places with more generous support. Because each parish made its own rules, there were no standard ways of doing things.
Some big cities, like Bristol and Liverpool, got special permission to control several parishes. Bristol even got a private law in 1696. This allowed the city to create a "manufactory." Profits from the work of poor people there could be used to fund the poor relief system.
Outdoor Relief Continued
Even though the law said the poor should be "set to work," outdoor relief remained very popular. It was often easier to manage. In 1795, the Speenhamland system was introduced in some areas. This system gave extra money to poor families based on the price of bread and the number of children they had. Again, there was no single rule. Some parishes gave food, others gave money. This system was popular in the south of England. Other systems, like the Roundsman and Labour rate, were used elsewhere.
The Old Poor Law was made for a time before factories and big cities. As industrialisation grew and more people moved around, it became harder to manage. Bad harvests in the 1790s and the Napoleonic Wars also put a lot of pressure on the system.
Where Do You Belong? Settlement Laws
The 1601 Act said each parish was responsible for its "own" poor. But what if someone moved? Arguments over which parish should help a poor person led to the Settlement Act 1662. This law said you could only get help if you were an "established resident" of a parish. This usually meant you were born there, married there, or had an apprenticeship there.
If a poor person couldn't prove they belonged, they were sent to the nearest parish where they had a connection. Some people were moved hundreds of miles! Parishes they passed through were supposed to give them food and shelter for at least one night.
Parishes wanted to keep their poor relief costs low. So, they sometimes tried to send poor people away. The Settlement Laws allowed parishes to remove strangers after 40 days if they weren't working. But removing people was expensive. So, they were often left alone until they tried to claim poor relief. In 1697, these laws became even stricter. People could be stopped from entering a parish unless they had a "Settlement certificate."
Impact on Jobs and Money
The Act was later criticized for affecting the job market. Parishes had the power to remove "undeserving" poor. Another criticism was that the Act only taxed land, not other types of wealth. This meant that businesses and traders sometimes paid less.
The Cost of Help
Building different types of workhouses was expensive. The Workhouse Act of 1772 allowed parishes to join together. They could also apply for a "workhouse test." This meant conditions in the workhouse were made worse than outside. This was to discourage people from seeking help there.
The 1601 Act suggested building separate places for different types of poor people. But it wasn't practical or cheap. So, parishes like Bristol combined these places. The money earned from the poor people's work helped pay for the system.
Relying on the Parish
The system's reliance on the local parish had both good and bad points. It could make the system more caring because local officials knew the people. But a local problem, like a bad harvest, could put a huge financial burden on that parish's "poor rate."
Changes to the System
Workhouses Grow
The idea of workhouses started to grow in the late 1600s. Bristol set up its "Corporation of the Poor" in 1696. This combined housing for the poor with a place for minor offenders. Other towns followed Bristol's example.
Smaller towns and parishes also started their own workhouses without special laws. This idea became more popular thanks to groups like the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge.
Knatchbull's Act (1723)
In 1723, Sir Edward Knatchbull helped pass the Workhouse Test Act. This law officially allowed parishes to set up workhouses, either alone or together. It also made the idea of workhouses more widely known. The Act aimed to make workhouses a deterrent. This meant conditions inside were supposed to be worse than outside. However, outdoor relief was still the most common way to help the poor because it was easier to manage.
By 1776, there were almost 2,000 workhouses in England and Wales. They housed nearly 100,000 poor people. Most people in workhouses were sick, elderly, or children. Their work often didn't make much money. Workhouses also became places that served many purposes. They acted as daycares, homeless shelters, nursing homes, and orphanages.
Gilbert's Act (1782)
Gilbert's Act was passed in 1782. It aimed to control the high costs of outdoor relief. However, outdoor relief continued to be used to help people who could work.
Why the System Needed a Big Change
The Industrial Revolution
The 1601 system was made for a time before factories. The huge increase in population during the Industrial Revolution put a lot of stress on the system. New machines meant more people lost their jobs. This made it harder to pay for poor relief.
The French Wars
The wars with France (from 1792 to 1815) also caused problems. Britain faced trade blockades, which stopped large amounts of grain from coming in. This made the price of bread go up. Bad harvests in 1813 and 1814 made food even more expensive.
After the wars, cheap imports returned. Many farmers went bankrupt because poor relief taxes remained high. Farmers also had to pay war-time taxes. This led to more rural workers losing their jobs or getting lower wages.
The Corn Laws were passed to protect British farmers. They stopped imports until prices were very high. This aimed to keep grain prices and wages stable. But it also kept prices artificially high, forcing more people to claim poor relief. Soldiers returning from war also added to the number of people needing help. Poor harvests in 1818 and 1819 made the cost of poor relief reach £8 million.
Concerns About Corruption
In 1819, special committees called "select vestries" were set up in each parish. They were in charge of poor law administration. But there were worries about corruption. Contracts for supplying food and beer often went to local traders or these committees themselves.
Rising Costs
The cost of the poor relief system kept increasing from the late 1700s into the 1800s. Even though outdoor relief was cheaper than building workhouses, more and more people claimed it. The number of people needing help peaked after the economic problems caused by the French Wars. At one point, it cost 12 shillings per person in the population. The population also grew from 9 million to 14 million during this time, putting more strain on the system.
Fear of Unrest
One big reason for changing the system was to prevent riots or even a revolution. Laws like Habeas Corpus were suspended, and the Six Acts were passed to stop possible riots. The Swing Riots, where agricultural workers protested, showed that rural areas were very unhappy.
Ideas from Thinkers
Important thinkers also criticized the system. Jeremy Bentham believed in a strict, punishing approach to social problems. Thomas Malthus worried about too many people and the growth of children born outside of marriage. David Ricardo argued that wages would always stay low. These reformers thought that poor relief actually stopped people from working hard and being independent.
A New Start: The 1834 Poor Law
A special group called the 1832 Royal Commission into the Operation of the Poor Laws wrote a report. It suggested big changes to the poor law. These changes became law with the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. This new law, often called the New Poor Law, aimed to limit help mostly to indoor relief in workhouses.
The End of the Old Law
The Poor Relief Act of 1601 was finally ended completely by the General Rate Act 1967.
See also
- UK labour law
- Poor Law
