Social reform

• How was the Old Poor Law operated

  • Elizabethan law, the upkeep of the poorest members of society
  • Gave relief based off the dependents group ‘Able-bodied’ - can not find work, ‘Beggars’ - did not want to work, or ‘Impotent’ - elderly or sick
• What improvements were made to the Old Poor Law before 1834

  • Gilbert Act, 1782, giving relief through workhouses 
  • 1790s, bad harvests, unemployment, rising food prices forced parishes to supplement wages 
  • The Speenhamland system, 1795, supplemented wages out of ‘poor fund’ based on family size & a standard loaf of bread (cost of living), adopted by southern parishes
• What was the Gilberts Act


  1782, use of workhouses for poor relief
• What was the Speenhamland System

  • 1795, an attempt to solve poverty of agricultural labourers
  • Wages supplemented out of the poor fund
  • Amount based on a standard loaf of bread and family size
  • System was adopted by, mainly southern, parishes
• What did the Poor Law Amendment Act (1834) aim to do

  To improve the administration of the poor law rather than deal with the issue of the cost (or causes) of poverty.

  The act marked an administrative revolution and showed a change in public values
• How was The Poor Law Amendment Act (1834) administered

  • Parishes combined into 640 Poor Law Unions administered by a board of guardians and controlled by the Poor Law Commission (Chadwick)
  • England & Wales split into 21 poor law districts controlled by an assistant commissioner who ensured the board of guardians followed the policies of the commission 
  • The Amended Law was administered at a national level across the country
• What poor relief was provided in the Poor Law Amendment Act

  • Aimed to abolish outdoor relief (‘the great source of abuse’ - Commission)
  • Insisted Able-bodied poor had to be destitute to receive relief in a workhouse 
  • Workhouse conditions were less attractive than the suffering of the worst paid workers 
  • Made poverty appear criminal and something to be ashamed about
• Define Paupers

  A very poor person receiving relief
• When was the Poor Law Amendment Act

  1834
• How effective was the Poor Law Amendment Act (1834)

  • Administration was successful, unions were created & workhouses were built on a ‘less eligibility’ principle
  • HOWEVER, it could not be implemented nationally immediately & outdoor relief was still given in the North
  • It failed to deal with the causes of poverty and remove pauperism but reduced the number of beneficiaries (1.26 million - 1834, 1 million - 1850)
• What social problems were in Factories as a workplace

  • Competition led to low pay & limited safety precautions (exploitation & abuse - no restrictions)
  • Child labourers worked long hours, received harsh discipline & little education 
  • Machines were expensive, kept running for long periods to maximise efficiency
  • Risk of getting injured in machines, long hours of labour caused weak bones & arched backs
  • Hot, humid atmosphere in cotton mills also led to respiratory diseases
• What social problems were in Mines as a workplace

  • Increased demand for coal meant deeper mines had to be dug
  • Improper ventilation & flooding caused risks to workers
  • Frequent explosions as safety lamps were not compulsory
  • Children (age of 4) worked underground carrying trucks along small passages, opening ventilation doors, filling coal trucks & climbed dangerous ladders up pit shafts carrying coal baskets on their backs
  • Girls, boys & women worked together half-naked (due to heat) which outraged many & demoralised women & girls
• What were the problems in public health

  • pollution
  • Overcrowding
  • Disease
  • Waste disposal
  • Lack of fresh water
• What were the problems with overcrowding

  • Limited housing meant they were small & cramped due to no regulations 
  • Liverpool & Manchester’s population rose by 46% (20% lived in damp cellars)
  • Immigration from ireland (potato famine)
• What was the problem with pollution

  Coal from factories created smog (forced women to wear headscarves to stay clean)
• What was the problem with disease

  • Typhoid, tuberculosis, cholera etc
  • Caused by overcrowding, poor water & living conditions (not known but linked to miasma)
  • Outbreak of Cholera 1831, killed 32,000  &  1849 Cholera epidemic, killed 53,000
• What was the problem with waste disposal

  • Litter, human & horse faeces filled gutters & streets, human waste thrown into water supply (until Thames smelt too badly - miasma)
  • Sewers had flat stone bottoms which were prone to leaking 
  • Unpaved streets left people in ankle-deep mud
• What was the problem with the lack of fresh water

  • Available from wells, streams & pipes but often polluted with faeces 
  • Irregular stagnant water from single pumps for multiple towns (worse if waste had cholera)