Timeline of the English Poor Law system

The following article presents a Timeline of the Poor Law system from its origins in the Tudor and Elizabethan era to its abolition in 1948.

1300s

• 1344- Royal Ordinance stated that lepers should leave London.^[1]
• 1388- Statute of Cambridge passed.^[2]

1400s

• 1494- Vagabonds and Beggars Act 1494 was passed.

1500s

• 1597 - The Act for the Relief of the Poor 1597 provides the first complete code of Poor Relief

1600s

• 1601 - Old Poor Law passed. This would remain the basis of the Poor Law system until 1834
• 1662 - Poor Relief Act 1662 passed to deal with the problems of settlement
• 1697 - Poor Act 1697 passed

1700s

• 1723 - Workhouse Test Act passed to encourage the building of workhouses.
• 1782 - Relief of the Poor Act 1782 passed.

1800s

• 1815 - The French Wars come to an end.
• 1830 - The Swing Riots highlight the possibility of agricultural unrest.
• 1832 - The Royal Commission into the Operation of the Poor Laws begins its investigation into the Poor Law system
• 1834 - Poor Law Amendment Act passed
• 1842 - Outdoor Labour Test Order allows outdoor relief despite the Poor Law Amendment Act's ban on it
• 1844 - Outdoor Relief Prohibitory Order issued to further discourage outdoor relief
• 1847 - The Poor Law Commission is abolished and replaced by the Poor Law Board
• 1848 - The Huddersfield workhouse scandal occurs.
• 1865 - The Union Chargeability Act 1865 is passed
• 1867 - The Second Reform Act
• 1871 - The Local Government Board takes the powers of the Poor Law Board

1900s

• 1905 - Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress 1905-09 set up by the outgoing Conservative government.
• 1906 - The Liberal Government is elected and begins an ambitious programme of welfare reforms.
• 1909 - The Minority report
• 1929 - The workhouse system is abolished by the Local Government Act 1929.
• 1948 - The Poor Law system abolished by the National Assistance Act 1948.

References

1. ↑ http://www.thepotteries.org/dates/poor.htm
2. ↑ http://www.thepotteries.org/dates/poor.htm

External links

• Timeline

Poor Laws of the British Isles
Poor Laws by territory	England and Wales Scotland Ireland Isle of Man Channel Islands	Nantwich workhouse
Old Poor Law	Vagabonds and Beggars Act 1494 Tudor Poor Laws Act for the Relief of the Poor 1597 Elizabethan Poor Law (1601) Poor Relief Act 1662 Poor Act 1697 Workhouse Test Act Relief of the Poor Act 1782 House of Correction Overseer of the poor Poor rate Poor relief
Relief systems	Indoor relief Outdoor relief Classification of the poor Speenhamland Labour Rate Roundsman Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor
New Poor Law	Royal commission (1832) Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 Poor Law (Scotland) Act 1845 Less eligibility Workhouse Workhouse test Board of guardians Outdoor Labour Test Order Outdoor Relief Prohibitory Order Poor law unions Opposition Book of Murder Scottish poorhouses
Changes after 1834	Poor Law Commission Poor Law Board Local Government Board Andover workhouse scandal Huddersfield workhouse scandal Union Chargeability Act
Decline and abolition	Liberal welfare reforms Royal Commission (1905–09) Majority Report Minority Report Interwar poverty National Assistance Act 1948
Other	Historiography of the Poor Laws Timeline of the Poor Law system Poor Relief Act List of poor law unions in England List of poor law unions in Wales List of Irish Poor Law Unions