Act For The Relief Of The Poor 1601
The Poor Relief Act 1601 (43 Eliz 1 c 2) was an Act of the Parliament of England. The Act for the Relief of the Poor 1601, popularly known as the "Elizabethan Poor Law", "43rd Elizabeth" or the "Old Poor Law" was passed in 1601 and created a national poor law system for England and Wales.
It formalised earlier practices of poor relief distribution in England and Wales and is generally considered a refinement of the Act for the Relief of the Poor 1597 that established Overseers of the Poor. The "Old Poor Law" was not one law but a collection of laws passed between the 16th and 18th centuries. The system's administrative unit was the parish. It was not a centralised government policy but a law which made individual parishes responsible for Poor Law legislation. The 1601 act saw a move away from the more obvious forms of punishing paupers under the Tudor system towards methods of "correction".
Several amending pieces of legislation can be considered part of the Old Poor Law. These include:
- 1662 – Poor Relief Act 1662 (Settlement Acts)
- 1723 – Workhouse Test Act
- 1782 – Gilbert's Act
- 1795 – Speenhamland
Read more about Act For The Relief Of The Poor 1601: Origins, Main Points of The 1601 Act, Description, Variation From The System, Knatchbull's Act, Gilbert's Act, Historiography, Reform, Repeal
Famous quotes containing the words act, relief and/or poor:
“It is difficult for one person to act a play.”
—Chinese proverb.
“It is told that some divorcees, elated by their freedom, pause on leaving the courthouse to kiss a front pillar, or even walk to the Truckee to hurl their wedding rings into the river; but boys who recover the rings declare they are of the dime-store variety, and accuse the throwers of fraudulent practices.”
—Administration in the State of Neva, U.S. public relief program. Nevada: A Guide to the Silver State (The WPA Guide to Nevada)
“I am as poor as Job, my lord, but not so patient.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)