I am not an expert on the poor law, but the issue here concerns settlement.
Every one had a parish in which he was settled. It was that parish that was
responsible for his (or her) relief, if in need. If a person was living in
parish where he was not legally settled, the parish of actual residence
could insist on his being returned to his place of settlement. However it
might be advantageous to the settlement parish to subsidise his continued
residence elsewhere, if for example he could earn part of his support there.
This is based on an article that I have seen on the contents of the parish
chest of this parish (in north Worcestershire) which in the 19th century
subsidised a man who was partly disabled and lived in Wigan with a family
there, but still legally settled in Hagley.
Peter King,
49, Stourbridge Road,
Hagley,
Stourbridge
West Midlands
DY9 0QS
telephone 01562-720368
----- Original Message -----
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: Peter Wickham King <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: 29 May 2003 10:51
Subject: Pauper Letters
> During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries many parishes
> provided 'non-resident' relief to their poor living elsewhere. For Kirkby
> Lonsdale in Westmorland and a number of Essex parishes, e.g. Braintree and
> St Botolph, Colchester, there are many surviving letters from ex-patriot
> paupers pleading for/demanding relief.
>
> How widespread are such letters - are there examples elsewhere?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Peter Park,
> Walton on Thames , Surrey.
>
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