During the last twenty years there has been a proliferation
of local studies of Poor Law administration, many of them concerned with the period of transition from the Old to the New Poor Laws.
This thesis complements other local studies; it offers a detailed
examination of Poor Law administration in and around the rapidly
expanding industrial town of Bradford. At the same time, the thesis
seeks to broaden the scope of such local studies by placing the Poor
Law more firmly within its local social, economic and political
context. Bradford's experiences are compared with those of other,
particularly northern, urban Unions, and for the period after 1848,
detailed comparison is made between Poor Law administration in the
neighbouring Bradford and North Bierley Unions.
Chapter 1 highlights those elements of Bradford's economic and
social structure likely to exert the greatest influence on Poor Law
administration. Chapter 2 examines administrative structures and
relief practices under the Old Poor Law, with particular reference to
the area's claim to-administrative efficiency. Chapter 3 examines
local reactions to the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act and traces the
history of Bradford's popular anti-Poor Law movement. Chapter 4
investigates the new administrative structure. Chapter 4(1) evidences
the occupational and political distinctions between the Borough and non-Borough Guardians, highlighting the political dimension of Poor
Law administration. Chapter 4(ii) analyses the mechanics of relief
distribution and Chapter 4(iii) examines the New Poor Law's'shaky
financial base. Chapter 5(i) looks at the fate of the principles of
1834 with regard to able-bodied paupers and at the debate surrounding
the introduction of the Outdoor Labour Test Order. Chapter 5(ii) deals
largely with the provision of outdoor medical relief. Chapter 5(iii)
examines the Workhouse regime and the treatment of particular groups
of inmates, such as the mentally ill and vagrants. The education provided for Workhouse children is compared with that available to
the independent poor. The Chapter concludes with a detailed
examination of the Workhouse debate of 1846-8. Chapter 5(iv) investigates
non-statutory relief provision in Bradford and attempts to assess its
qualitative and quantitative importance. Chapter 6 examines the
operation of the Law of Settlement, the workings of the non-resident
relief system and the immediate impact of the legislation of 1846-7.
Chapter 7 outlines the Poor Law authorities' involvement in bastardy
affiliation actions. Chapter 8 assesses the impact of the New Poor Law
and considers some of the major determinants of relief policy, including
a survey of local attitudes to poverty. Part One concludes with the
Union's division in 1848.
Part Two considers the more settled administration of the 1850s
and 1860s, building on the framework used in Part One. Chapter 9 looks
at the occupations, politics and conduct of business of the Bradford
and North Marley Boards of Guardians. Chapter 10 traces changes in
the system of distributing relief and in the Poor Law's financial base,
with particular reference to the financial reforms culminating in the
Union Chargeability Act of 1865. Chapter 11 pursues the able-bodied
debate, continues the earlier survey of outdoor medical relief and
examines the novel provision of education for the children of outdoor paupers.
Chapter 12 catalogues the erection of new Union Workhouses
in Bradford and North Bierley and traces their evolving role as general
pauper hospitals. Chapter 13 examines the enlarged contribution of
charities in Bradford while Chapter 14 surveys the continuing but reduced
impact of the Law of Settlement. Chapter 15 comments on the changes seen in the later period.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/4340 |
| Date | January 1979 |
| Creators | Ashforth, David |
| Contributors | Fraser, Derek |
| Publisher | University of Bradford, Postgraduate School of Studies in Social Sciences |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, doctoral, PhD |
| Rights | <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. |
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