Poor

• What was the basic principle for the Original Poor Laws?

  • Those unable to work because of other factors should be given relief (Deserving Poor)
  • Those who could work but didn’t should be punished (Undeserving Poor)
• How did the Act of 1601 work?


  Overseers of the poor were in charge of collecting poor relief taxes as well as deciding who should receive relief.
• How many Overseers were there by 1640?


  1,400
• When was the Book of Orders issued to all JPs?

  1631
• Why was the Book of Orders issued?

  Following the poor harvest of 1629 and 1630 due to the expectation that more people would be reliant on poor relief.
• What percentage of poor who traveled through Salisbury had traveled over 100 miles by 1660?


  22%
• What was the average wage for a laborer?

  £10 per annum
• What is an example of generous individuals?

  • Sir Hugh Cholmondley left gifts of food to the poor twice a week from the gates of his manor house in the 1630s.
• What did the Settlement Act of 1662 provide?


  Settlement certificates which were necessary to leave a parish as it would guarantee a parish would pay for the return if they were to need poor relief.
• How long would a poor person need to remain in a parish for them to be entitled to poor relief?


  40 days, however if a complaint was made in the 40 days they could be sent to their original parish.
• What was the definition of a poor person given in the act?

  A person renting property worth less than £40
• What were the punishments for vagrancy in the 1662 Act?


  Committed to workhouses or prisons with the most severe punishment being transportation for 7 years
• How much was rewarded for apprehending a vagrant or beggar?

  2 shillings (10p)
• How much did the Settlement Act of 1662 provide for a large poorhouse in London?

  £4,000 but by 1669 it was rumored parts of it had been turned into an alehouse.
• What did Thomas Firmin do to help the poor?


  London businessman who began employing the poor in cloth-making from 1665 and opened a factory employing 1,700
• Where were philanthropic businesses made?

  • Operations involving poor children were active in Norwich, Bristol, and Newcastle.
• What is an example of a petition which shows that not all who met the criteria received the help they needed?


  • John Gleave in March 1678 petitioned for poor relief as his pregnant wife and 3 children were sleeping rough, however, his petition was rejected.
• How much did prices go up compared to wages?

  800% increase in price vs 300% in wages
• How many people took up jobs as servants to escape poverty?

  2/5
• How much did collection of poor relief change?

  £250,000 collected inb 1650 compared to £700,000 per year at the end of the 17th century
• What did the book of orders help to stop?

  Famine
• How could famine of been worse?

  Scotland lacked poor relief and so had a famine
• What percentage of population was poor in 1700?

  1/3
• What did being 'live-in' servants mean for poor?

  They would be provided with free accomadation, clothing and food