England

Removal Act 1795

removal act 1795

The Removal Act of 1795 is of great significance for family historians because for the first time it was easier for people to move away from their place of birth but did it help them out of poverty is another question all together.

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Workhouse Test Act 1723

This entry is part 10 of 15 in the series Reformers and Radicals
This entry is part 7 of 7 in the series Poor Law through the Ages

Workhouse Test Act of 1723 was more of the same in terms of oppressive laws thinly disguised as a programme of social welfare that worked in reality more as a form of repression and implied punishment. The plight of the poor was not as yet something that governments saw as anything but a problem and cost to be minimised. Find out more in this article and a series of connected posts tell the story of the history of lay in respect of the poor.

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Review of the Poor Law Act 1832

This entry is part 5 of 8 in the series Law - Poor Law

Poor Law in British History was just that ‘poor’ it gave little hope or respite and for hundreds of years adopted an approach which was draconian and punitive. In 1832 the Review of the Poor Law by Earl Grey should have been an opportunity for change and positive improvements in social justice and welfare but sadly at the close of the Georgian period such reform was still a long way off.

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