What was the Old Poor Law?
From the late sixteenth century until 1834, the parish was responsible for the relief of poverty. Parishioners set a poor relief rate and appointed unpaid overseers of the poor to collect and distribute the money. Poor relief was restricted to those who were “settled” in the parish, and those who could not claim settlement could be sent back to the parish from which they came. By the early nineteenth century, social and economic changes meant that the system was more difficult to administer. A Royal Commission was set up to investigate the problem in 1832 and the Poor Law Amendment Act was passed in 1834.
