The English Poor in the Eighteenth Century

First published in 2006. In the eighteenth century England scope and activities of the Poor Laws were wider than they are to-day-they had jurisdiction over a larger class of people and were expected to do more for them-this widespread influence assumed particular importance after the Restoration, because from that date England was entering on a career of social and industrial change. The purpose of this study is to give an account both of the way in which the Poor Laws affected the lives of the