Treatment of Poverty in Cambridgeshire, 1597–1834

Surveys the application of the Poor Law in Cambridgeshire, from its codification to the Amendment Act of 1834.

Ethel Mary Hampson (Author)

9781108002349, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 20 July 2009

356 pages, 11 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 2 cm, 0.45 kg

First published in 1934, this historical survey of the application of the Poor Law in Cambridgeshire covers the period from its codification under Queen Elizabeth I to the Amendment Act of 1834. Resulting from the author's extensive analysis of parish records, accounts and court proceedings, the examination of a largely agricultural county marks it out from many other such studies. Cambridgeshire is a unique area; although under a strong metropolitan influence due to its geographical proximity to London and its links to the capital via the University of Cambridge, it contains few towns or large villages. The scattered population meant efforts to group areas for the purposes of administration during the period in question were largely unsuccessful. Instead, E.M. Hampson's study reveals that local autonomy led to large variations in the application of the Poor Law.

1. Introductory
2. Poor relief in Cambridge during the first part of the seventeenth century
3. Poor relief in Wisbech during the first part of the seventeenth century
4. Poor Law administration in the rural areas during the first part of the seventeenth century
5. Wage problems
6. Housing problems and pauper labour in Cambridgeshire in the early eighteenth century
7. The workhouse movement in the towns of Cambridge and Royston, 1723–1785
8. The workhouse movement in rural Cambridgeshire, 1723–1785
9. The urban workhouses of Cambridgeshire, 1785–1834
10. The rural workhouses of Cambridgeshire, 1785–1834
11. Settlement and removal, 1660–1834
12. Pauper apprenticeship
13. Bastardy
14. Relief outside the workhouse, 1660–1782
15. Relief outside the workhouse, 1782–1834
16. Constitutional structure and social policy
17. Conclusion
Appendix
Indexes.

Subject Areas: British & Irish history [HBJD1]