Poor Laws

Poor Laws Legislation that provided the basis for organized relief and welfare payments, originating in England in the 16th century. They gradually reduced the charitable obligations placed upon ecclesiastical institutions, guilds, and other private benefactors in the Middle Ages. With the Dissolution of the MONASTERIES an important source of charity was abolished. Originally only those physically incapable were deemed worthy of charity and able-bodied beggars were dealt with harshly. However, a statute passed in 1576 recognized that men fit and willing to work might be genuinely unable to find employment and were in need of support. Three categories of poor were subsequently recognized: sturdy beggars or vagabonds, regarded as potential trouble-makers, the infirm, and the deserving unemployed. In 1834 a Poor Law Amendment Act tried to end the giving of assistance outside the workhouse; it established the principle that all citizens should have the right to relief from destitution through accommodation. The workhouses were run by locally elected Boards of Guardians, who raised money through a poor-rate. The system proved inadequate in the growing cities, where the Guardians sometimes resorted to relief without the guarantee of accommodation. The Poor Law was gradually dismantled by social legislation of the 20th century, particularly that of the Liberal governments (1906–14) by important Acts in 1927, 1929 (when Boards of Guardians were abolished), 1930, 1934 (when Unemployment Assistance Boards were created), by social security legislation following the BEVERIDGE Report (1942), and by the establishment of the WELFARE STATE.