English Poor Laws
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The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief in England and Wales that developed out of the codification of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws in 1587–1598. The system continued until the modern w
Although many deterrent workhouses developed in the period after the New Poor Law, some had already been built under the existing system. This workhouse in Nantwich, Cheshire, dates from 1780.
The Poor Laws in the aftermath of the Black Death (pictured), when labour was in short supply, were concerned with making the able-bodied work. (Also see: Sturdy beggar)
The Poor Relief Act 1601 is sometimes referred to as the "43rd Elizabeth" as it was passed in the 43rd year of the reign of Elizabeth I (pictured).
Advertisement for builders to build a new Workhouse in north Wales, 1829
Thomas Robert Malthus
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Thomas Robert Malthus was an English economist, cleric, and scholar influential in the fields of political economy and demography.
English Poor Laws
…circles as encouraging the underlying problems. Jeremy Bentham argued for a disciplinary, punitive approach to social problems, whilst the writings of Thomas Malthus focused attention on overpopulation, and the growth of illegitimacy. David Ricardo argued that there was an "iron law of wages". The effect of poor…
Malthus in 1834
Title page for the second edition of Principles of Political Economy (1836).
The epitaph of Malthus just inside the entrance to Bath Abbey
Essay on the principle of population, 1826