Tag: Overseers of the Poor

The Poor Law Acts were passed in 1597 and 1601 towards the end of the reign of Elizabeth I.  These laws required every parish to care for its own poor.  Poor relief for each parish was the responsibility of the Overseers of the Poor. They who were elected every year and were answerable to the Justices of the Peace at Quarter Sessions. The Overseers of the Poor were unpaid officers who were often local farmers and craftsmen. The overseers had the right to raise money from local rates or ‘assessments’, to relieve the poor. They had to balance the requests from the poor with pressure from the ratepayers to keep costs down.

New Accession: Overseers of the Poor Records