The Poor Law in Rural Lancashire 1820-50
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THE POOR LAW IN RURAL LANCASHIRE 1820-50 A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the degree of Ph.D by Betty Lee Jackson University of Lancaster, March 1996 ProQuest Number: 11003636 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11003636 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ABSTRACT This study is concerned with the implementation of the New Poor Law in the rural unions in Lancashire. It explores the effects of the legislation upon policies for poor relief and concludes that they can be most appropriately summarised as resulting in change. However, where attitudes towards the poor are concerned, there was continuity, for in both the pre- and post-1834 period, children, the infirm, the elderly, but never the able-bodied, were regarded with indulgence. The prevailing view of Lancashire as a hostile county which resisted, occasionally violently, the introduction of the new law is not borne out by the rural region. Initial apprehension and prejudice was relatively slight. Nowhere was it orchestrated and the region was unionised, and the reform system put into operation, peaceably and without untoward incident. With only minor irritations, the central and local authorities sustained a harmonious working relationship throughout the period. Consideration of the power structure suggests that the magistrates gained in power under the New Poor Law, either directly as ex-officio guardians, or indirectly through the influence upon members of the Board who were relatives, tenants or employees. Their power was moderated in degree according to the number of magistrates resident within a union. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to record my appreciation of the ever-willing assistance given to researchers by the archivists and staff of the several Record Offices, and by the local, Reference, Local History and University librarians, including Ken Harrison of the Map Department. I am indebted to John Heyes for initiating me into the world of computers, and I am exceedingly grateful to Steve Jenkins and Dave Bleasdale of the Computer Department at Lancaster University. The former, patiently helped me to recover my work and my sanity when my computer crashed, the latter displayed equal patience and persistence in solving a serious problem I encountered in the software. I also wish to thank my long-, very long-suffering family, Alec, Jill and Gabrielle (who helped with the graphics). Most particularly, I owe a deep debt of gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Michael Winstanley, of Lancaster University, whose suggestions and constructive criticism have enhanced the learning experience of the whole project. It was he who encouraged me to undertake this research and he has helped and advised me continuously throughout. CONTENTS 1..... Introduction 1 2..... 1834: Background and Debates 11 The Old Poor Law: the quality of the evidence 11 The passage of the Poor Law Amendment Act 15 The formation of the unions 17 Relief policies: continuity and change 18 Personnel and power 29 Conclusion 34 3..... Rural Lancashire: the Study Area 36 Union boundaries and characteristics 36 Ormskirk Union 38 Fylde Union 40 Garstang Union 42 Ulverston Union 45 General characteristics o f rural Lancashire 49 Comparison with southern agricultural districts 56 Conclusion 59 4..... The Organization of the Old Poor Law 62 Administration 66 Ulverston townships 66 Ormskirk townships 73 Fylde townships 78 Garstang townships 82 General characteristics 88 Workhouse provision 91 The power of magistrates 103 Conclusion 113 5..... Relief Policies under the Old Poor Law 115 The able-bodied 117 The provision o f shelter: rents 127 Children 131 Miscellaneous benefits 133 Indoor relief: the role o f the workhouse 139 6 ..... The Implementation of the Unions 149 The formation of the unions 153 Administrative machinery and operation 161 The management o f meetings 161 The role of committees 163 The appointment of district overseers 168 Conclusion 174 7..... Outdoor Relief under the New Poor Law 176 The formulation of a common relief policy 178 Bastardy and maintenance payments 185 Outdoor relief: cash, loans, “in kind” 189 Vagrancy 201 Medical provision 218 Conclusion 241 8..... The Workhouse under the New Poor Law 243 Workhouse provision 245 Setting the poor to work 256 Children and the impotent poor 264 Workhouse regime and discipline 268 Conclusion 272 9..... The Guardians: Social Composition and Power 280 Membership qualifications 282 Ex-officio Guardians and chairmen 290 Elected Guardians: social background and attendances 302 Representation & power: townships, ratepayers & officials 315 Ulverston: a case study in power relations 320 10 ... The Central Authority & its Relationship with the Guardians 342 The changing nature of the central authority 344 The role of Assistant Commissioners 352 Differential treatment of unions 360 Local factors and eventualities 365 Consistency and pragmatism 369 Formal opposition 372 Conclusion 379 / 11.... Conclusion 381 Appendices 392 Bibliography 402 MAPS frontispiece The rural unions of Lancashire 3.2 The townships of Ormskirk Union after p. 38 3.3 The townships of Fylde Union after p. 40 3.4 The townships of Garstang Union after p. 42 3.5 The townships of Ulverston Union after p. 45 4.2 The two workhouses in Ormskirk, pre-1834 p. 97 8.1 a The location of old & new Fylde Union workhouses after p. 246 8.1 b The Fylde’s new union workhouse in Kirkham after p. 246 8.2 Union workhouse in Ormskirk after p. 247 8.3 Site of Garstang Union workhouse at Claughton after p. 248 8.4 Site plan of Garstang Union workhouse, Claughton p. 249 8.5 Ulverston union workhouse after p. 257 9.9 Map showing the initial site and the one upon which after p. 328 the workhouse was subsequently built TABLES 1.1 Dates of declaration and operation of the unions p. 6 3.1 The populations of rural west Lancashire market centres after p. 8 compared with Preston 4.1 Sources of information for the organization of poor p. 65 relief in ‘union’ townships under the Old Poor Law 6.1 Populations and acreages of the four rural unions p. 168 7.1 Fluctuations in potato prices during the period after p. 204 1844-1850 in Ulverston union 7.2 Return of paupers relieved in Garstang union on the 6th p. 214 week, qtr/e Lady Day, 1846-1850 7.3 Number of vagrants relieved in 3-week periods, p. 217 December, 1847,1848 8.6 Ormskirk workhouse - weekly cost of consumables per p. 275 inmate 9.1 (A-D) Attendances of Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen after p. 290 9.2 Number of ex-officio Guardians who attended the Board after p. 295 in each union 9.3 (A-D) Attendances of ex-officio Guardians, other than after p. 295 Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen 9.4 (A-B) Occupations of elected Guardians. Ulverston / Fylde after p. 306 9.5 Ulverston Board of Guardians 1841 -1851 Attendances after p. 306 of occupational/status groups 9.6 (A-D) Guardians average yearly attendances after p. 307 9.7 (A-D) Elected Guardians - Attendances at Board meetings after p. 309 9.8 Ages of Guardians in first year of office. Garstang p. 312 APPENDICES A Ulverston By-Laws 1836 393 Population of Townships in OrmskirkUnion 1811 -1851, & the no. of Guardians 394 Population of Townships in Fylde Union 1811-1851, & the number of Guardians 395 Population of Townships in Garstang Union 1811 -1851, & the no. of Guardians 396 B Population of Townships in Ulverston Union 1811 -1851, & the no. of Guardians 397 C Dietary - Ulverston Union, February 1839, October 1846 398 D Petitions received by the four rural unions 399 ABBREVIATIONS USED IN FOOTNOTES A/C Assistant Commissioner Ans. to Town / Rural Q. x Answer(s) to Town / Rural Query number(s) Cumbria RO Cumbria Record Office Eng. Hist. Rev English History Review Econ. Hist. Rev. Economic History Review fh Footnote Gdns. Mins. Guardians’ Minutes Int. Rev. Soc. Hist International Review of Social History Lancs. CRO Lancashire County Record Office O/ss. A/cs. Overseers’ Accounts PLB Poor Law Board PLC Poor Law Commissioners) PP Parliamentary Papers PRO Public Record Office RC Royal Commission R/ps mgs. Ratepayers’ meetings SV mins Select Vestry Minutes T.H.S.L.C Transactions of the Historical Societies of Lancashire and Cheshire T.L.C.A S. Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society Both the microfilm version, and the printed E. A. and S. O. Checkland (eds.) version of the Poor Law Report of 1834 have been used. They are noted accordingly in the footnotes. As there are often several separate dates in a single footnote, they have been printed in the condensed form, (e.g. 24/10/1846) as they would take up too much space if written out in full, (24 October 1846). Where a number of dates were relevant to a single incident, the whole period has been entered in the footnotes (e.g. May - Sep. 1837), or (May 1838) if the dates all occurred within the same month. CIJMBEItL/YND / // / J////; WESTMORLAND MORECAMBK BAY Clitheroe >- 7 V " ' Burnley Preston Blackburn Haslingden Chorley Bury Bolton < ~ Oldham ;■ Ashton j ( Barton / y -under- Leigh | -upon- 7 \ Lync, West Derby <-' \ Irwell \ / Liverpool- Pres cot Salford \ / Prestwich Warrington Toxteth Manchester Park ' Chorlton CHESHIRE THE RURAL UNIONS OF LANCASHIRE One - Introduction 1 INTRODUCTION The decisive step taken by Parliament in 1834 with the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act was the culmination of years, even decades, of enquiry, debate, procrastination and statistical endeavour with regard to poverty and its control.