The South Dorset group were delighted to welcome Peter Park to their meeting of April 10th 2002. Peter Park is a well known researcher who has carried out considerable research into the history of this country. He has considerable experience in researching Poor Records and his talk to us was called "On the Parish - Records of the Poor. 1601-1834"

Peter spoke of the wretched conditions of the poorer people who lived between 1601-1834 and the records which can be found. Many of the available archives contain facts of great interest to family historians. Prior to this period, the welfare of the poor was largely in the hands of the Church and the larger estates. With the dissolution of the monasteries and the decay of the feudal system, the destitute of the country became a problem for local people. The Poor Law of 1601 made parishes responsible for the provision of food and shelter for those individuals, and appointed overseers to ensure the regulations were obeyed. To pay for these basic necessities, a tax was introduced based on the rentable value of any property owned in the district. Of course, parishes were unwilling to provide expensive board and lodging unless absolutely necessary. The Act of Settlement of 1662 decided which people were entitled, by birth, wealth or previous employment, to receive relief. Those who did not qualify were promptly escorted to the next village. The Overseers, in addition to organising workhouses and distributing relief, were authorized to apprentice children to work in any part of the country which required cheap labour. To support his theme, Peter circulated a fascinating selection of grim contemporary documents.

Tony Johnson

Peter distributed a hand-out in which he recommended books for further reading including:

There are of course many more books on this subject, and Archive CD Books have put some classic texts such as "The Compleat Parish Officer" and "The Village Labourer" onto CD rom. For those interested in Somerset Poor, Thelma Munckton's "Somerset Paupers - Unremembered Lives", Wincanton Press 1994, is full of case studies and includes a useful summary of the Poor Law.

Peter Park suggested that over 90% of the population appeared in the Poor Law records at some time, whether as a recipient, an overseer or a rate payer. It is well worth making the effort to investigate records and see what has survived for your parish. Many of these old documents are in a poor condition and have been unfit for production, but the Dorset Record Office has been filming all the parish chest records for our county and this includes the Poor Law records which have survived. They are about one third of the way through and information can be found in the red parish catalogues in the Catalogue Room. Why not have a look on your next visit?

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