Poor rate receipt payed by Henry Jones, Talgmignedd, 1846

Description

Poor rate receipt for one pound payed by Henry Jones, Talgmignedd, Parish of Llanllyfni, 1846. The Poor Law Reform Amendment Act,1834, was passed to reform a poverty relief system struggling to cope with the massive population increases from the late eighteenth century onwards. The act decreed: (a) no able-bodied person was to receive money or other help from the Poor Law authorities except in a workhouse; (b) conditions in workhouses were to be made very harsh to discourage people from wanting to receive help; (c) workhouses were to be built in every parish or, if parishes were too small, in unions of parishes; (d) ratepayers in each parish or union had to elect a Board of Guardians to supervise the workhouse, to collect the Poor Rate and to send reports to the Central Poor Law Commission; (e) the three man Central Poor Law Commission would be appointed by the government and would be responsible for supervising the Amendment. Widely viewed as inhumane Dickens wrote Oliver twist in response to the system.

• http://www.ourwales.org.uk/index.php?option=com_joomcaw&controller=image&task=sh… (link opens in new window)