SUCCORING THE NEEDY: ALMSHOUSES AND THE IMPOTENT POOR IN REFORMATION ENGLAND, c. 1534-1640 by Thomas K. Walsh Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia February 2015 © Copyright by Thomas K. Walsh, 2015 Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgement..............................................................................................................iv Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Continuity and Change: Benefits, Religion and Administration in Pre- and Post-Reformation Almshouses ..................................................................23 Introduction........................................................................................................ 23 Residents and Charitable Benefits in Pre-Reformation and Post-Reformation Almshouses........................................................................................................26 Transitions in Religion, Governance, and Other Aspects in Post-Reformation Almshouses........................................................................................................50 Chapter 3: Almshouse Residency: Principles, Regulations, and Life in Tudor and Early Stuart Almshouses ...........................................................................................68 Introduction.......................................................................................................68 Residential Life in Post-Reformation Almshouses: Residents, Labour, and Lodgings............................................................................................................70 Almshouse Rules, Restrictions, and Punishment..............................................86 Chapter 4: Two Almshouses In Depth: The History and Significance of the Foundations Made by Thomas Sutton and Edward Alleyn ................................................107 Introduction......................................................................................................107 The London Charterhouse: Its Legal Significance and Historical Development.....................................................................................................111 Edward Alleyn and the College of God’s Gift.................................................129 Chapter 5: Conclusion......................................................................................................140 Appendix I .......................................................................................................................147 Appendix II ......................................................................................................................161 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................166 ii Abstract This thesis discusses almshouses and the impotent poor in early modern England between c. 1534 and 1640. England’s Reformation had numerous implications for poverty and poor relief in the country, and a sorely neglected story in the current historiography is the charity provided to the impotent poor by the almshouse institution. The thesis analyzes the impact that the Reformation had on these institutions, and examines how English Protestantism influenced patterns of change and continuity in mid- sixteenth and early seventeenth century foundations by considering the statutes of pre- and post-Reformation almshouses. The discussion contemplates the cash, food, fuel, and clothing stipends afforded to residents, the rules and regulations that governed the behaviour of these almspeople, and the occasional difficulties that donors faced when founding an almshouse. The evidence suggests that the material benefits afforded by post-Reformation almshouses remained largely unchanged from earlier institutions, but it also indicates that in exchange for these benefits, founders expected their almsfolk to work and conform to particular behavioral standards. Some key changes nonetheless occurred during the early modern period. Almshouses, for example, became secularized institutions operated by private governors or civic bodies rather than the church, and the meaning behind prayers shifted toward thanksgiving for the founder’s beneficence. Labour also became an integral part of daily life in these almshouses, just as it would in other institutions functioning for a different class of English poor. The inclusion of this feature was influenced chiefly by the shifting cultural emphasis on hard work that occurred during the Reformation. The evidence similarly reveals that founders occasionally encountered legal and political resistance when attempting to found their charity. iii Acknowledgement I find it perplexing that even after a year dominated by extensive research, countless days consumed by writing, and hours spent editing and re-editing written portions of this thesis, I discover the difficulty in expressing my pleasure for finally reaching the conclusion of my project. Yet, despite how arduous the past twelve months have been, I cannot help but feel a great sense of fulfillment for completing a goal that seemed so daunting only a year ago. I was, of course, not without assistance during this period. I deem it necessary to thus begin by expressing my very warm gratitude and appreciation to my supervisor, Dr. Krista Kesselring. Her vigilance, constructive criticism, and friendly advice over the past year proved invaluable, and I am exceptionally grateful to her for that. It perhaps goes without saying, but she undoubtedly played the most essential role in helping me see this thesis through to its end. I would also like to extend my thanks to Dr. Jerry Bannister, my second reader. His comments and suggestions were similarly instrumental, helping to shape various aspects of my project as it neared completion. To Dr. Justin Roberts, I would like to extend my gratitude, mainly for his friendly conversation throughout my time as a gradate student, and for his illuminating comments during my defense. I am likewise grateful to the Dalhousie History department, chiefly for the weekly Stokes Seminar. Feeling particularly enlightened after these meetings, I often found myself in the library in their aftermath busily working on my own project. A big thank you must likewise be given to two critical people, both of whom together provide the foundation of Dalhousie’s History Department: Valerie Peck and Tina Jones. Though it may have not have been noticeable, the encouragement and care given by you both was very warmly felt and accepted. My appreciation also goes out to my friends and fellow graduate students for keeping me grounded during this process, and for providing me with many cherished memories. Finally, my mother and father, Kerry and Danny, also deserve a large portion of my gratitude. Though I may not express it often enough, their support and aid in times of need were crucial to my success. The undertaking of this project has also allowed me to develop a heightened appreciation for those individuals who study and practice History professionally. Through my own work, I came to understand the difficulties and frustrations that professional historians deal with on a regular basis, principally the lack of source material that suddenly halts examination into a particular subject, or the grueling hours spent analyzing, checking, and re-checking one’s notes. Yet, these struggles notwithstanding, these exists a certain pleasure in researching the historical record, one which is all the more keenly felt when discovering new and relevant information to help shape one’s historical field. Admittedly, this, for me, occurred only a handful of times during my time as a gradate student, but I cannot overstate the gratification I felt when I came across something new while tucked away in some corner of the library, nestled amongst volumes of books, sipping coffee with headphones in while music played softly in the background. Thank you Dalhousie University for this most amazing of experiences. iv Chapter 1 Introduction An interesting and yet curiously neglected facet of early modern English social history is the almshouse. These little foundations have provided institutionalized poor relief to destitute Englishmen and women for well over a thousand years, and many of the houses founded during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries continue to operate in much the same way today as they did four centuries ago, often in the same buildings.1 It is rather peculiar, then, that so little attention has focused on almshouses as mechanisms of poor relief, especially in a period when deteriorating social conditions threatened endemic poverty. This neglect has little to do with a lack of source material available to the researcher. Many of England’s county record offices have preserved the historical record of almshouses that operated in their shire, and a host of houses that have continued operation perpetually since their initial foundation have stored and maintained their own records. Instead, oversight by professional historians stems more so from the current trend of scholarly concentration on the poor laws, vagrancy, idleness, and the able-bodied poor, possibly because these allow a story of change which was prompted