Poverty: Municipal Action Flashcards
Why did London experiment with poor relief?
Poverty was the worst here in the entire country
Faced with a large influx of beggars so were forced to go above and beyond government measures
How did London anticipate poverty legislation?
Impotent poor were allowed to beg within limits - anticipated measures of the 1531 law
Began to collect poor relief from houses in 1533
First town to implement compulsory poor relief payments in 1547, 16 years before any legislation mentioned it (contributions only made compulsory in 1572)
What hospitals were established in London?
St Bartholomew - Sick
St Thomas - Sick
Christ’s - Children
Bethel - Insane
Bridewell - Sturdy beggars
What were the failures of the London poor relief system?
Unorganised funds
No attempt to completely forbid begging
Quality of relief in hospitals actually attracted more beggars to the city instead of reducing their numbers
Why was municipal action in London influential?
Showed the government if this system worked
Inspired other towns to adopt similar measures:
Corn stock - Bristol, Canterbury, Norwich
Licensing of beggars - Lincoln, Ipswich, Gloucester, Cambridge, Norwich, York
What early action did London take to deal with poverty?
Provided grain for the poor whenever there was a bad harvest
Able-bodied people forbidden to begin the city early in Henry VIII ‘s reign
Officer appointed to keep beggars out of the city
When and why did provincial schemes for poor relief start appearing?
Generally not undertaken until mid-Iate C16 in response to:
- Population rise
- Increase in prices
- Debasement of coinage
- Successive failure of harvests
How did the Ipswich scheme resemble London’s?
Was closest in the country to that of London’s
Poor were surveyed and licensed
Compulsory tax in place
All-encompassing municipal hospital erected (House of Correction, hospital for the old, training school for the young)
How did the Cambridge scheme resemble London’s?
poor surveyed and impotent supported from regular contributions
BUT no hospital until 1578
How did the York scheme resemble London’s?
Based its system around the building of 3 hospitals under municipal management
Able-bodied were set to work
How did the Lincoln scheme resemble London’s?
Citizens forbidden from giving aims to unauthorised beggars in 1543
Young people set to work by being placed with clothiers for 8 or 9 years
When did Norwich’s experiments take place?
1570-80
What was Norwich’s system of dealing with the poor like before 1570?
In 1531 only had 5 beggars
Dealt with itinerant beggars the same way as all other cities - whipped and given a passport to return to their place of origin
Rigorous settlement regulations prevented people remaining in the town
First provincial town to enforce compulsory poor relief contributions in 1549 - response to Kett’s Rebellion
Regularly provided grain from Danzig in times of food shortage
Why had vagabonds become a considerable problem in Norwich by 1570?
Census revealed there were over 2300 poor in the city
Locals were so generous in almsgiving that those normally prepared to follow an occupation found begging more profitable
Vagabonds were so well supplied with food that they threw surplus into the streets
Vagabonds were disease-ridden so were a source of physical as well as moral contagion
Concern that the poor could be easily drawn into rebellions e.g. Northern Earls which had happened the previous year
Why did the generosity of the merchant class worsen the problem of poverty in Norwich?
Drew itinerant beggars to the town
The census showed that almost 60% of the houses containing the city’s poor belonged to freemen of the city
- The fact that people were willing to rent their houses out this way, against the city’s rules on the subied, made the city worried that the generosity of the merchant class was making it difficult to prevent beggars settling in the city
- Undermined the existing poor law system
What did the 1570 Norwich census show?
Building workers were undergoing a period of difficulty - more than half were unemployed at the time
No household was entirely without income and many of the unemployed had some monetary contribution made by their wives/ children or alms
~ 2/3 men were in at least temporary employment at the time
All poor had shelter of some kind, either in civic/church property or private property
Why did the Norwich poor law system survive when many of its contemporaries did not?
Adequately financed - Compulsory donations were tripled
No tolerance of begging - prevented the system being undermined
System was consistently applied throughout the decade 1570-80
How was the poor relief fund system reformed in Norwich?
Compulsory donation tripled and everyone who was capable of contributing was expected to do so
People were assessed on capability to pay mostpeoplepaid small amounts but all city aldermen had to pay 1 shilling/week and the Bishop of Norwich was assessed for the maximum amount
The wealthiest parishes often had the largest amounts of donations and the lowest numbers of poor, so were expected to provide for other parishes as well
- St Peter Mancroft had 111/22 contributor/poor ratio so contributed to 6 other parishes
- 9 of the Norwich parishes supported the less fortunate areas
Annual poor relief income stabilised at around £500 per year. This was maintained through the decade
Numbers were sufficiently high that surplus was stored and used in times of need - used to help temporary ‘ pensioners’ who suffered sickness or broken limbs to prevent them from begging (early form of unemployment/sickness benefit)
Which poor law officials were appointed in Norwich?
Mayor took on role of Master of the Bridewell
4 aldermen responsible for 4 main wards (administrative areas) of the city
Bridewell had resident balife and two wardens
Minor officials e.g. deacons
What was the role of deacons in Norwich?
Recorded all names of the poor. Those unable to support themselves Living in the city less than 3 years were sent away
Responsible for ensuring everyone capable of work did so, punishing those who remained idle
Kept track of the poor with insufficient alms so they could be provided for
How did the Bridewell in Norwich work?
Purchased in 1565 and turned into the city’s house of correction
12 vagabonds to be noused in the Bridewell for at least 21 days where they worked from 5am-8pm in the summer and 7am-6pm in the winter
Half an hour given for lunch, those who refused to work were given no food
Useful deterrent: vagrants feared the Bridewell so much that they found it preferable to seek normal employment
How were women and children beggars dealt with in Norwich?
‘Select women’ chosen to take care of them. These were responsible for seeing that they worked but also teaching them skills in reading and writing - meant that 1 in 10 poor children received at least a basic education
Other young people sent to St Giles’s Hospital to be educated by the bailiff and his wife - provided them with clothes, meat, and drink and ensured they went to church on Sundays
How was the Norwich poor law scheme developed through the decade?
1574: All unemployed men to assemble at the Market Cross at 5am every day with tools of their trade and wait for an hour in the hope of being employed
Further laws passed to prevent the housing of vagrants
Government dealt with complaints that artisans were losing profits by appearing on juries by giving them a wage of twopence per man
1576: All affluent newcomers were to be brought before the mayor to assess their assess their ability to contribute to the relief of the poor
How did Norwich provide medical assistance for the poor?
Reserve fund drawn on regularly for the temporarily incapacitated _ in 1580 a lame boy was supplied with a joint of mutton or veal twice a week as well as being treated by a surgeon
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Medical staff improved - in 1573 appointed Richard Durrant as the ‘municipal bonesetter’
