Elizabethan Rich and Poor

• During whose reign did the landowning class increase their wealth?

  Elizabeth's reign
• What were the characteristics of Elizabethan mansions?

  • Made of stone
  • Large glass windows
  • Long gallery
  • Servant quarters
• What materials did the rich wear during Elizabethan times?

  Silk, linen, and velvet
• How were the sons and daughters of nobles educated during Elizabethan times?

  Sons were tutored at home in classics and languages, while daughters were taught to run a large house
• How did the gentry attempt to emulate the nobles?

  • Modernised and re-fashioned their houses
  • Wore more modern, stylish outfits
  • Sons attended grammar school and some went to university
• What type of homes did the lower class live in during Elizabethan times?

  Smaller homes with little more than one room, sometimes shared with animals
• What type of clothing did the lower class possess?

  They possessed few clothes made of rough twilled cloth
• What was the level of education for the lower class during Elizabethan times?

  They received very little education and had little time to socialize
• What activities did the lower class engage in when they socialized?

  They usually went to the local inn and gambled on bear baiting or cock fighting
• How was poverty classified in Elizabethan times?

  • Impotent/deserving poor: genuinely unable to work and in need of charity
  • Able-bodied/undeserving poor: capable of work but unwilling to work
• What were some causes of poverty during Elizabethan times?

  Rising population, dissolution of monasteries, changes in farming, bad harvests, and return of unemployed soldiers
• What was the impact of the increase in wandering poor during Elizabethan times?

  They were blamed for the increase in crime
• What were the Poor Laws and their purpose?

  • A number of Acts to manage poverty
  • Included the 1572 Vagrancy Act and the 1598 Act for the Relief of the Poor
  • Established a framework to issue poor grants and appoint overseers
• What was the mixed impact of the Poor Laws on poverty?

  They helped many people in need and reduced the threat of rebellion, but did not end poverty
• How long did the Poor Laws continue to be in effect?

  For 200 years
• What was the role of local people in the Poor Laws system?

  Local people had to pay a poor rate
• What was the purpose of the 1601 Act for the Relief of the Poor?

  To establish a legal framework to tackle poverty