How Was Poverty Dealt With in Britain

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How was Poverty Dealt With in the period 1800-1906?

Introduction

Poverty became a major problem in Britain during the time of the industrial

revolution with more people leaving villages and farms and moving to big cities, these

people were lured by the promises of better pay and better qualities of life and flocked

to the cities, on arriving, some did not immediately get jobs so started living in

crowded houses and slums that were very unhygienic.

The Relief of Poverty after 1834

19th-century British society was poor by modern standards. Most members of the

working classes were likely to be in poverty at some point in their lives because of

unemployment, sickness, old age and so on. They had to rely on their children, friends

or borrowed credit for help in times of hardship. The contemporary attitude was that

this was right and proper, because it encouraged the poor to work.

Destitution was felt to be the result of character weakness. This attitude led to the

1834 Poor Law Amendment Act. It was believed that those in need of serious help

would accept the workhouse. However, the demoralising effects of the old Poor Law

were not as bad as they were made out to be.

The new Poor Law was seen as the final solution to the problem of extreme poverty,

but it did not work. It improved neither the material nor moral condition of the

working class, however, it was less brutal than its opponents described. The 1834

Poor Law Amendment Act was ruthlessly enforced in rural southern England as soon

as it was passed, and was very unpopular. It was not implemented in the north until

later on.

In 1837 anti-Poor Law propaganda reached its highpoint when attempts were made to

form Unions in the industrial north. The Anti-Poor Law Movement was formed in

Lancashire and the West Riding, led by Oastler, Fielden and Stephens. The new Poor

Law was attacked in the press and on the platform.

1837 also saw the start of the 'Hungry 40s', beginning with a trade depression.

Industrial workers feared the workhouse which they called the Poor Law 'Bastilles'.

There were riots in Bradford (1837) and Dewsbury (1838), the 1834 Poor Law

Amendment Act was one of the causes of northern Chartism. Sir Charles Napier and

his troops were based in the north of England to deal with the Chartist threat but

Napier was sympathetic towards them and blamed the Poor Law Amendment Act for

much of the trouble.

Administrators of the old relief system were outraged at the interference of central


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government because they felt the old system worked well. They said that there were

too little able bodied poor when trade was good, and too many for even the biggest

workhouse when trade was bad. The Poor Law protectors hampered the

implementation of the Poor Law Amendment Act.

The Poor Law Commission concentrated too much on the rural able-bodied poor.They paid too little regard to problems of pauperisation caused by:

Physical/mental ill-health

Old age

Loss of parents

These three groups were the largest sections of the community receiving relief. The

Commission did not try to deal with the problem of urban poverty.

Those sent to workhouses usually were unable to look after themselves: the old, the

sick and the young. One large workhouse was favoured because it was cheaper but it

also led to abuses such as the Andover scandal of 1845-6. Conditions varied from

workhouse to workhouse. The Poor Law Amendment Act came into force on 21

August 1834 and was specifically aimed at discouraging people from applying for

relief.

Between 1834- 1847 the central board was called the Poor Law Commission but after

1847 it was called the Poor Law Board. The Board had overall responsibility for

relief, and its headquarters was at Somerset House. The first Commissioners were

Shaw-Lefevre, Frankland Lewis and George Nicholls. Their secretary was Edwin

Chadwick.

Parishes were linked into Unions, each Union controlling relief in its area, hopefully

with one large workhouse. Boards of Guardians were elected by ratepayers. They

supervised daily matters of relief and were helped by paid experts. By 1838, the

Assistant Commissioners had incorporated 13,427 (of 15,000) parishes into 573

Unions. By 1868 the whole country had been finally unionised. Virulent objections to

workhouses were not sustained for long because:

The economy improved

Chartism distracted attention

Chadwick's doctrinaire influence waned after 1841

The Poor Law Amendment Act treated the symptoms, not the causes of poverty


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http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/poorlaw/antiplm.htm

http://www.fairhall.id.au/resources/journey/poorlaw%201834.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/business/05/breadlinebritain/html/default.stm

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Revision:The_State_and_the_Poor_in_Britai

n_1830-1939

http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/poorlaw/poorlaw.htm

Key Individuals Involved How Did The

Government Help?

The Role Of Charities The Role Of the

Workhouse

Richard Oastler

(1789-1861)

John Fielden (1784-

1849)

William Busfeild

Ferrand (1809-

1889)

Joseph Rayner

Stephens(1805-1879)

To curb the growing rates

of poverty, thegovernment brought in

new laws, examples are:

In 1833, Children

under 9 were banned

from working in

textile mills. Children

aged 9 to 13 were not

allowed to work for

more than 12 hours a

day or a total of more

than 48 hours a week.Children aged 13 to 18

must not work for

more than 69 hours a

week.

The 1834 Poor

Law Amendment Act

In 1875 the

Artisan's Dwellings

Act was passed which

gave councils the

power to demolish

slums.

The government also

introduced the concept of

the workhouse which was

not too popular
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How Was Poverty Dealt With in Britain

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