Poor law union facts for kids

A poor law union was a special area in Great Britain and Ireland. It was like an early local government group. These unions helped manage support for people who were poor or in need.

Poor law unions existed in England and Wales from 1834 to 1930. They were set up to manage "poor relief," which was help given to people who couldn't support themselves. Before 1834, each local church area, called a parish, handled its own poor relief. But parishes were very different in size and wealth.

The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 changed this. It grouped parishes together into larger "unions." These unions worked together to provide help. Each union was run by a group called a Board of guardians. If a parish was big enough to manage on its own, it was called a poor law parish. Together, unions and poor law parishes were known as poor law districts.

One big change was that unions built larger, central workhouses. These replaced the smaller places each parish used to have. Poor law unions were also used for other services later on. For example, they helped with registering births, marriages, and deaths from 1837. They also helped with sanitation (keeping areas clean) outside of cities from 1875. Poor law unions were finally ended in 1930 by the Local Government Act 1929. Their job of helping the poor then went to county councils.

Poor Law Unions in England and Wales

The English Poor Laws were a system of support for the poor. They existed in England and Wales for a very long time, from the time of Queen Elizabeth I. This system lasted until the modern welfare state (government support for citizens) began after World War II. Some historians say the Poor Law system was like a small welfare state. It helped older people, widows, children, the sick, disabled, and those without jobs.

How Poor Law Unions Were Managed

The poor law unions were run by groups called boards of guardians. Some of these guardians were elected by people who paid local taxes, called ratepayers. Other guardians were magistrates (local judges).

Some parishes, especially in London, didn't join unions at first. This was because they had their own special rules for managing poor relief. But later, a law in 1867 allowed these parishes to be included in unions.

Until 1894, the guardians included justices of the peace. Also, people who paid more taxes got more votes. In 1894, justices of the peace were removed, and everyone got one vote. However, people who were receiving poor relief were not allowed to vote.

Other Uses for Union Areas

The areas covered by poor law unions were also used for other important services:

• Civil registration: From 1837, all births, marriages, and deaths had to be officially recorded. The unions' areas were used for this.
• Rural sanitary districts: These were set up in 1875 to manage public health and cleanliness in the countryside. Their boundaries were based on the poor law unions.

In 1894, new local government areas were created: rural districts and urban districts. These were based on the sanitary districts, which meant they were indirectly based on the poor law unions. Finally, in 1930, the poor law unions were officially ended. Their duties were taken over by county councils and county boroughs.

Poor Law Unions in Ireland

In Ireland, a law in 1838 also set up poor law unions. These were created by special commissioners. Poor people in these unions would get help, paid for by a "poor rate" tax. This tax was based on the value of local property. The name "union" was kept from the English system, but the boundaries in Ireland were not based on old church parishes.

Each union was named after the main town in its area, usually where its workhouse was located. Unions were made up of smaller areas called "poor law electoral divisions." These divisions were groups of townlands (small land areas). People in the electoral divisions elected members to the board of guardians. Like in England, people who paid more taxes had more votes.

During and after the Great Famine, the poorer western parts of Ireland were divided into more unions. This made it easier to manage help and see where suffering was worst. When Ireland's main registration office started in 1864, each union became a district for registering events.

In 1898, new local government areas were created in Ireland: urban and rural districts. Each rural district matched the non-city part of a poor law union within a county. In the Irish Free State (which later became the Republic of Ireland), poor law unions and rural districts were ended in 1925. Their jobs were given to county councils. In Northern Ireland, poor law unions lasted until 1948, when the Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Service began.

Poor Law Unions in Scotland

The Poor Law in Scotland was changed by a law in 1845. In Scotland, poorhouses (like workhouses) were usually set up at the parish level. The 1845 law allowed parishes to join together to build and run poorhouses, but it didn't force them to. When parishes joined to run one poorhouse, it was called a "Combination."