The Development of Poor Relief in Lancashire, C. 1598–1680
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8955723 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jonathan Healey (0000-0002-1221-3172, St. John's College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2010 |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 551-572 |
| Publication date | 2010-08-17 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Historical Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0018-246X • E-ISSN: 1469-5103 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0018246x10000191 |
| OpenAlex | W2012098455 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 14 |
The development of the poor law has formed a key element of recent discussions of ‘state formation’ in early modern England. There are, however, still few local studies of how formal poor relief, stipulated in the great Tudor statutes, was implemented on the ground. This article offers such a study, focusing on Lancashire, an economically marginal county, far from Westminster. It argues that the poor law developed in Lancashire surprisingly quickly in the early seventeenth century, despite the fact that there is almost no evidence of implementation of statutory relief before 1598, and formal relief mechanisms were essentially in place before the Civil War even if the numbers on relief remained small. After a brief hiatus during the conflict, the poor law was quickly revived in the 1650s. The role of the magistracy is emphasized as a crucial driving force, not just in the enforcement of the statutes, but also in setting relief policy. The thousands of petitions to JPs by paupers, parishes, and townships that survive in the county archives suggests that magistrates were crucial players in the ‘politics of the parish’
Element (criminal law · Enforcement · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Poor law · Poor relief · Sociology · State (computer science · Statute · Statutory law · European Political History Analysis · Historical Economic and Social Studies · History · Law · Public Administration · Scottish History and National Identity
The Rural ‘Middling Sort’ in Early Modern England, circa 1640–1740
Changing Patterns of Poor Relief in Some English Rural Parishes Circa 1650–1750
Dearth and Social Policy in Early Modern England
The County Community in Stuart Historiography
Notes and documents. 'Patchy and spasmodic
Parish Economies of Welfare, 1650–1834
The centre and the localities
Dearth, Fasting and Alms
Dearth and Government Intervention in English Grain Markets, 1590-17001
Dearth and the English revolution
Dearth and Government Intervention in English Grain Markets, 1590-1700
Poor Relief in Warwickshire 1630-1660
Dearth and the Social Order in Early Modern England
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.46 |
| Citation span | 2013 - 2019 (7) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |