Beneath the Surface: A Country of Two Nations

Page 3 of 11

• 1. A country of two nations
• 2. Optimists and pessimists
• 3. The labouring poor
• 4. Rural and urban poverty
• 5. Official attitudes to the relief of poverty
• 6. Lowest standard of living
• 7. The workhouse
• 8. The Scottish Poor Law
• 9. Charity and self-help
• 10. Conclusion
• 11. Find out more
• Print entire article

The labouring poor

At the beginning of the 19th century poverty was regarded as the natural condition of the labouring poor - those who worked with their hands. The fluctuations of harvests, the disruptions of war and the fine line between subsistence and penury were seen as inevitable and difficult to change.

'...poverty was regarded as the natural condition of the labouring poor...'

Since the Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601 relief had been available for the poor within their parish, financed by the poor rate (a tax based on land and buildings), with 'outdoor relief' and the workhouse. Outdoor relief provided payments for a range of needs, or relief in kind such as clothing and food, with the intent of enabling the able-bodied poor to remain at home.

The workhouse provided 'indoor relief', for the sick, elderly or orphaned - the 'impotent' poor who were unable to support themselves. The principle of settlement, established in 1662, meant that travelling paupers could be returned to their home parish, usually that of their birth for relief, unless they carried a certificate which promised that their parish would reimburse the parish where they became dependent.

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Published: 2001-01-01