The first century of welfare: poverty and poor relief in Lancashire

摘要

The first century of welfare is a detailed study of poor relief in the north-west of England in this still-neglected period. Healey's study is set against the background of authoritative works on the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century poor law like those by Paul Slack in the late 1980s and 1990, and more recently, by revisionists like Marjorie Mclntosh (2013) (with whose arguments Healey finds some fault). However, as Healey convincingly points out, while these works are rich in grand theory, what they lack is the pauper perspective; something we are familiar with in studies of the later eighteenth and nineteenth century poor laws, but which is still missing for the earlier period. This is where Healey's study really carves a niche for itself. His analysis is based on 3169 appeals from Lancashire paupers to the court of quarter sessions between 1626 and 1710, which seem to be a completely unique set of biographical accounts. Taken in conjunction with other sources like censuses of the poor, Healey is able to build up a picture of levels and causes of poverty, as well as responses to it from the authorities.