Historic Environment- Almshouses Flashcards
Lord Burghley- background
AKA William Cecil
- Gentry background- father was a groom to Henry VIII- he was brought up as a protestant
- 1543 he became politics in parliament
- 1548 he became Lord Somerset’s (the Protector England) personal secretary
- 1549 Somerset removed from power but Cecil kept status in a ‘go between’ role between Somerset and the new ‘protector’ Northumberland
- 1550- Cecil rewarded by being made a King’s councillor and joint Secretary of State (PM) until 1553.
- 1551- Northumberland knighted Cecil
- 1554- King Edward died and Cecil abandoned Northumberland. He was offered a role in Queen’s catholic court which he turned down.
Lord Burghley and Queen Elizabeth
- 1558- Burghley appointed her sole secretary of state until 1572
- 1558-9- he helped to negotiate church laws- Act of Supremacy (1558)- Elizabeth controlled the church and not the Pope. 1559 Act of uniformity- churches to follow Elizabeth’s middle way laws.
- 1559-60. Successfully fought war with Scotland to give Protestant nobles great control over Queen Mary of Guise (mother of Mary Q of S). Treaty of Berwick forced French soldiers to leave
- 1561- brought in a new, modern coinage to replaced the old ‘clipped’ coins
- 1560s- Mary Q of S arrival caused conflict in the privy council- Dudley wanted her returned to Scotland and Cecil wanted her under close guard
- 1571- he criticised the queen for not being stronger with Mary Q of S
- 1572- Cecil- made Knight of the Garter and employed Lord High Treasurer
- These roles in government gained him huge wealth.
- During the 1570s his attendance at Privy Councils declined due to illness but still significant
- by 1593 Robert Cecil had taken over William’s place in the Privy Council and by 1597 he was Secretary of State.
- 1598 Lord Burghley died.
- During his time as a Royal official he did not receive very large salaries from the Queen but instead relied on royal patronage- he became a very wealthy land owner
- also as Master of the Court of Wards he received huge fees and payments- None of this was seen as corruption but simply as a way of making the system of government and patronage run more smoothly.
Burghley House and grounds - OWN House, NOT the Almshouse
- 1540s- a French style of Architecture became fashionable. Cecil worked for Somerset when his new residence- Somerset House- was built. This influences Burghley House
- It took 32 years to build the house
- 1555 the east range was erected and work on the east and south ranges continued until 1564
- 1575- the west front with its great gate-house was finished
- 1587- The north front was completed
- late 17th century arched windows were put in on the south side to enclose a gallery, and possibly to repair damage from the civil war- Cromwell’s forces briefly bombarded the house.
- 18th century, modernisation of the Gardens, the surrounding parkland, and parts of the house, took place.
- E.g. extensive stables were constructed, a fashionable orangery and a Gothic garden summer house.
Burghley religion and beliefs about the poor
- Burghley believed the government had a role in caring for the poor and not just charity.
- Burghley set up Books of Orders to monitor the help given to the poor in times of famine- particularly important in 1590s famines
- Burghley’s puritanism (although moderate) meant he supported new hospitals, almshouses and charitable giving as a way of improving the morality of the poor, many of whom they saw as a threat to good order.
- Puritans saw poor as a social threat- In the 1570s, for example, Walsingham reported to Cecil how in a Norfolk jail JPs met, after prayers, to punish, ‘rogues, drunkards and other unruly people’ which was, ‘both necessary and godly work’.
- Burghley believed strongly in the social responsibility of the Great Chain of Being and therefore built almshouses.
Causes of Elizabethan poverty
- there was a large section of society that had subsistence living and those that were unlucky became paupers and need charity or to beg for money
- Unemployment created by Henry VII had banned lords from having retinues (private armies)
- unemployment created by Henry VIII had closed the monasteries
- unemployment created by land enclosures and using land for sheep. Farm labourers unemployed headed to cities eg London population in 1500 was 60,000 but by 1600 was 200,000.
- Monasteries had looked after poor but no longer existed
- poverty created by Henry VIII making coins with cheap metals. Foreign trade then demanded more coins for their goods and the cloth industry collapsed
- bad harvests in 1594 and 1598 led to expensive food and starvation
- population increase due to more births and reducing death rate meant growth from 2.8m to 4m in Elizabeth’s reign. Led to inflation (price rises) in food, land and rent.
Elizabethan poor relief- law changes/background
- Henry VIII and Edward VI laws put beggars in the stocks and sent them back to home town
- 1531 law gave some beggars licenses. Illegal beggars whipped at the first time caught, second had a hole burned in the ear and third time hanged
- these laws in place most of Elizabeth’s time but 1576 ‘Act for setting poor to work’ meant local councils had to find the poor work
- London set up Bedlam hospital for the mentally ill, Bridewell Palace as a homeless shelter and built a new hospital for the ill
-York had lots of beggars as rich so 1515 they started giving beggars licenses and had a Master Beggar to make sure they behaved. After 1576 beggars expected to work in weaving and if not they were sent to House of Correction
-Ipswich one of the first place to have a hospital to care for old, poor and ill people. Also, Ipswich set up a youth training scheme to train young people towards a job
-Norwich 1570 surveyed the poor to find out Idle and Unfortunate. Idle were given work like knitting and weaving and Unfortunate given help. Rich taxed to pay for it.
1601 Poor Law - poor law was for all areas and took bits from other laws. Paid for by taxes on the rich
- helpless poor were given food and special homes to be cared for
- the able-bodied poor were expected to work and given food and bed in return
- the idle poor were whipped and sent to the House of Correction-1601 act did seem to reduce beggars and vagrants and lasted until the 1800s
- but very inconsistently followed and some vagrants simply passed from place to place as nobody knew their home town.
Elizabethan poor relief- social responsibility
- the rich had a social responsibility (great chain of being) to look after the poor
- before the reformation rich built almshouses to go to heaven- people in the almshouses would pray for the rich owners’ soul- protestants do not believe in this!
- during Elizabeth’s time, from around the 1570s, the rich built almshouses to be remembered as often they were named after the owner (Bellots in Bath, Whitgift in London) and annual dinners were held by the owners
- 1572 and 1576 laws against vagrants encouraged almshouse building and 1598 laws simplified the ways in which almshouses, workhouses, and houses of correction could be set up.
- often nobles set up almshouses in positions of importance to them- e.g. Robert Dudley had the Queen’s permission to found an almshouse either at Kenilworth or at Warwick,
- also, people would set up an almshouse to represent their background or social circle e.g. John Hawkins set up an almshouse in 1592 for disabled sailors
- spreading religious ideas was important- Robert Dudley, a Puritan leader at court, appointed Thomas Cartwright (leading puritan priest) in 1586 to run prayer in his Warwick almshouse.
- Puritans strict rules about prayer and hard work- the almshouse of William Lambarde became a model which was copied by many others: people to be honest and godly, could recite the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments in English and attend morning and evening for prayers or be fined 4d.
- This inspired Robert Dudley and Sir John Hawkins foundations
- many late sixteenth century almshouses incorporated the ruins of medieval almshouses in their new buildings. Lord Burghley’s almshouses at Stamford, for example, were built on the site of a twelfth-century almshouse.
Beliefs about the poor
- ‘The Great Chain of Being’ made it clear that there were different parts of society and the poor at the bottom and the rich to provide help
- the Deserving Poor- people who wanted work but could not get it as the population increased
- wealthy people started to give more to these people and more almshouses were built
- 1567 Thomas Harman book made popular the idea of the Undeserving Poor
- the Counterfeit Crank (bite on soap and pretend to fit), The Bartop Trickster (partially naked women tricking men to follow and then they are robbed), The Clapper Dudgeon (cut himself/have fake wounds) and Tom O’Bedlam (pretend to be mad) and people refused to give money to these
- The Idle Poor- the idea of undeserving and idle as criminals developed that needed severe punishment
Typical almshouses/background
- Almshouses provided accommodation for those who were in a less fortunate position.
- Many Almshouses were in an U-shape around a communal courtyard.
- Some facilities included a chapel for religious purposes.
- However, there were some Almshouses that did not provide bathrooms, wash rooms or kitchens; but rather they had one smaller room for all residents to live in.
- Nevertheless, some Almshouses were also huge buildings with fascinating features such as dedications, statues, inscriptions, coats of arms, clock towers and sundials.
Burghley’s almshouse
-The Burghley’s Almshouses, also known as Lord Burghley’s Hospitals, they were founded in 1597 by William Cecil. They were built on the site of the Medieval Hospital of St John the Baptist in Stamford.
-The Almshouses were built for 13 poor men which didn’t have a home.
-The Almshouses had a total of 12 rooms, which could be accessed via a long corridor.
-Typical almshouse:
- built in key personal place- near St Marys Church, Stamford where Burghley had been taught as a boy,
-also built to show Burghley’s status -therefore the rules that Burghley in 1597 the Royal Printer sent out leaflets to London about the rules of his new almshouses
-help given to 13 poor- first 5 chosen by Burghley family and the others by local priest and wardens
-strong links to local family church- St Martin’s- in particular the records were kept at St Martin’s.
-poor at the house would be dressed in cloth the same colour as Burghley servants so all knew they had Burghley’s help.
-poor had to be ‘honest Christians’ and on a Sunday morning had to recite aloud the Lord’s Prayer and Apostles Creed and to begin to learn the Ten Commandments.- Puritanism!
- They had to be local men, over the age of 35, who had lived within a seven-mile radius of Stamford for at least seven years.
- Lunatics, drunkards, adulterers, thieves, fraudsters and those suffering from diseases such as leprosy could not be chosen.
-Burghley wanted good, honest people who could be helped/corrected- soldiers, craftsmen such as masons and carpenters, or labourers and servants.
-puritan place- no crimes/drinking/gambling-
The alms house was to be a disciplined community
-Puritan worship required- every Sunday, Wednesday, Friday and holy days the men would go in their gowns to morning and evening prayer at St Martin’s,- Failure to attend church = 6d fine out of their wages.
-1 in 4 Sunday’s poor would meet Burghley Hall for talk and support.
Reasons for AlmsHouses:
1- Wealth and Status- land make effective use, a name well known ( link to location)
2- Religion- protestant propoganda, christian duty, puritan
3- the issue of Poverty- a growing issue, and believed the government had a role to care for the poor. he was heavily involved in Elizabeth’s attempt to tackle poverty
4- family legacy- Cecil name reputation, Burghley colours, heirs served by residents
