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Steven King - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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clothing the new poor law Workhouse in the nineteenth century
Rural History-economy Society Culture, 2021Co-Authors: Peter Jones, Steven King, Karen ThompsonAbstract:The Workhouse remains a totemic institution for social historians, yet we still know very little about the day-to-day experiences of the indoor poor. Nowhere is this clearer than in discussions about Workhouse clothing, which remain overwhelmingly negative in the literature and consistent with the predominant view of the Workhouse as a place of suffering and humiliation. Yet more often than not, this view is based on relatively shallow empirical foundations and tends to rely on anecdotal evidence or on the uncritical use of subjective sources such as photographs, newspaper editorials and other cultural products. This article takes a different approach by looking again at the whole range of meanings that Workhouse clothing held for paupers and those who oversaw its allocation, and at the practical and symbolic usages to which it was put by them. On the basis of this evidence the authors argue that, contrary to the orthodox view, Workhouse clothing was rarely intended to be degrading or stigmatising; that it would have held very different meanings for different classes of paupers; and that, far from being a source of unbridled misery, paupers often found it to be a source of great strategic and practical value.
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fragments of fury lunacy agency and contestation in the great yarmouth Workhouse 1890s 1900s
Journal of Interdisciplinary History, 2020Co-Authors: Steven King, Peter JonesAbstract:A methodological and philosophical focus on scandals has turned the Workhouse that stands at the heart of popular and historiographical understandings of the English and Welsh New Poor Law (1834–19...
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from resistance to reform changing attitudes to the new poor law Workhouse in england and wales
2020Co-Authors: Peter Jones, Steven KingAbstract:At the heart of Chap. 1 is a threefold argument. First, we note and trace a long history of public antipathy to Workhouses in general and the principle of deterrence in particular, one stretching back to 1723. While public opinion (represented in pamphlets, failed legislation and newspapers) never coalesced around a singular Workhouse reform movement, it is nonetheless clear that the opposition to Workhouses that emerged after 1834 had long and important historical roots. Second, we trace a press campaign in periodicals against Workhouse practice (though not necessarily against the existence of Workhouses per se) that was much more widely distributed than normally allowed. Finally, we suggest that the conventional focus on resistance to Workhouses in the first 10–15 years of the New Poor Law misses the gradual evolution of a much more coherent Workhouse reform movement from the 1850s and 1860s. More than this, and perhaps surprisingly, there was also an associated rhetorical turn, with the sensational press descriptions of “Workhouse abuse”, “cruelty” and “inhumanity” characteristic of the 1830s and 1840s, largely replaced by the more measured but no less reproving term “Workhouse scandal”. This, we argue, reflects a widespread sense that the system had to be reformed from within.
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pauper letter writers and the Workhouse experience
2020Co-Authors: Peter Jones, Steven KingAbstract:Our third chapter switches attention away from middle-class reformers and investigators to the crucial question of how far the poor had agency to participate in, inform and shape a Workhouse reform movement. We show how the poor (residents and former residents of the Workhouse) were able to write to the central authorities and to contest the treatment they received and the regimes to which they were subject. Developing this theme, we focus in particular on four extraordinary paupers who wrote multiple letters both on their own behalf and for others in the Workhouses where they found themselves. These four men may have had their individual and personal issues with guardians and Workhouse staff, but such concerns always developed into much wider manifestos and agendas for Workhouse reform which show a remarkable symmetry with sentiments and concrete recommendations in the wider court of public opinion. Over tens of thousands of words to the central authorities, they raised similar points to Joseph Rowntree and, like him, they sought not to overthrow the Workhouse system but to make it work as intended. Such men demonstrate remarkable agency and we show how they tried actively to shape, rather than merely reflect or respond to, a wider seam of public opinion from the 1860s that came to support Workhouse reform.
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not that joseph rowntree the amateur Workhouse inspector
2020Co-Authors: Peter Jones, Steven KingAbstract:Our second chapter begins to address the question of how a more focussed Workhouse reform movement grew and gained traction. We concentrate in particular on the role of amateur social investigators and the part that they played in informing, shaping and, in some cases, creating public opinion on the need for Workhouse reform. For the very first time in the historiography of the New Poor Law, we address the Workhouse investigation programme of Joseph Rowntree. Very likely a close relative of the more famous Victorian philanthropist, Rowntree traversed the length and breadth of England and Wales (as well making forays into Scotland and Ireland) gaining access to Workhouses and reporting through letters to the press on the conditions he found and the reforms he felt were needed. Sometimes, notably in relation to the casual poor, observation turned to action in individual cases as Rowntree sought to use the laws, rules and regulations of the New Poor Law to hold individual officers and Unions to account. For his pains, he was attacked in print by many local interest groups who sought to portray him as a meddling amateur and tried to rebut his criticisms of individual places and practices. But Rowntree went further than this, corresponding on his findings with the various incarnations of the central authorities whose job it was to oversee and control local practice. This simultaneous engagement on the local and national stages means that Rowntree’s neglect in the existing literature is surprising and his revival in this book all the more important for an understanding of the nature and pace of Workhouse reform sentiment.
Julie Marfany - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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gender life cycle and family strategies among the poor the barcelona Workhouse 1762 1805
The Economic History Review, 2017Co-Authors: Montserrat Carbonellesteller, Julie MarfanyAbstract:Poor relief has received less attention from historians of southern Europe compared with northern Europe. This article seeks to challenge the frequent assumption that the strength of family ties in southern Europe mitigated the need for welfare provision. It provides new data for men and boys entering the Barcelona Workhouse in the period 1780–1803, and compares these with data from an earlier study of women and girls who entered the same institution over the period 1762–1805. We establish the characteristics of those who sought relief in terms of age, place of origin, marital status, and occupation. We use the information on reasons for entry and exit to ascertain family circumstances. We show that there were significant differences between males and females in terms of why they entered and left, and length of stay, particularly among the elderly. The bulk of the population of the Workhouse, however, was comprised of children and adolescents. For this group, entry into the Workhouse represented not just a temporary solution to life cycle poverty and periodic unemployment, but also a longer-term strategy aimed at smoothing entry into the labour market.
Peter Jones - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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clothing the new poor law Workhouse in the nineteenth century
Rural History-economy Society Culture, 2021Co-Authors: Peter Jones, Steven King, Karen ThompsonAbstract:The Workhouse remains a totemic institution for social historians, yet we still know very little about the day-to-day experiences of the indoor poor. Nowhere is this clearer than in discussions about Workhouse clothing, which remain overwhelmingly negative in the literature and consistent with the predominant view of the Workhouse as a place of suffering and humiliation. Yet more often than not, this view is based on relatively shallow empirical foundations and tends to rely on anecdotal evidence or on the uncritical use of subjective sources such as photographs, newspaper editorials and other cultural products. This article takes a different approach by looking again at the whole range of meanings that Workhouse clothing held for paupers and those who oversaw its allocation, and at the practical and symbolic usages to which it was put by them. On the basis of this evidence the authors argue that, contrary to the orthodox view, Workhouse clothing was rarely intended to be degrading or stigmatising; that it would have held very different meanings for different classes of paupers; and that, far from being a source of unbridled misery, paupers often found it to be a source of great strategic and practical value.
-
fragments of fury lunacy agency and contestation in the great yarmouth Workhouse 1890s 1900s
Journal of Interdisciplinary History, 2020Co-Authors: Steven King, Peter JonesAbstract:A methodological and philosophical focus on scandals has turned the Workhouse that stands at the heart of popular and historiographical understandings of the English and Welsh New Poor Law (1834–19...
-
from resistance to reform changing attitudes to the new poor law Workhouse in england and wales
2020Co-Authors: Peter Jones, Steven KingAbstract:At the heart of Chap. 1 is a threefold argument. First, we note and trace a long history of public antipathy to Workhouses in general and the principle of deterrence in particular, one stretching back to 1723. While public opinion (represented in pamphlets, failed legislation and newspapers) never coalesced around a singular Workhouse reform movement, it is nonetheless clear that the opposition to Workhouses that emerged after 1834 had long and important historical roots. Second, we trace a press campaign in periodicals against Workhouse practice (though not necessarily against the existence of Workhouses per se) that was much more widely distributed than normally allowed. Finally, we suggest that the conventional focus on resistance to Workhouses in the first 10–15 years of the New Poor Law misses the gradual evolution of a much more coherent Workhouse reform movement from the 1850s and 1860s. More than this, and perhaps surprisingly, there was also an associated rhetorical turn, with the sensational press descriptions of “Workhouse abuse”, “cruelty” and “inhumanity” characteristic of the 1830s and 1840s, largely replaced by the more measured but no less reproving term “Workhouse scandal”. This, we argue, reflects a widespread sense that the system had to be reformed from within.
-
pauper letter writers and the Workhouse experience
2020Co-Authors: Peter Jones, Steven KingAbstract:Our third chapter switches attention away from middle-class reformers and investigators to the crucial question of how far the poor had agency to participate in, inform and shape a Workhouse reform movement. We show how the poor (residents and former residents of the Workhouse) were able to write to the central authorities and to contest the treatment they received and the regimes to which they were subject. Developing this theme, we focus in particular on four extraordinary paupers who wrote multiple letters both on their own behalf and for others in the Workhouses where they found themselves. These four men may have had their individual and personal issues with guardians and Workhouse staff, but such concerns always developed into much wider manifestos and agendas for Workhouse reform which show a remarkable symmetry with sentiments and concrete recommendations in the wider court of public opinion. Over tens of thousands of words to the central authorities, they raised similar points to Joseph Rowntree and, like him, they sought not to overthrow the Workhouse system but to make it work as intended. Such men demonstrate remarkable agency and we show how they tried actively to shape, rather than merely reflect or respond to, a wider seam of public opinion from the 1860s that came to support Workhouse reform.
-
not that joseph rowntree the amateur Workhouse inspector
2020Co-Authors: Peter Jones, Steven KingAbstract:Our second chapter begins to address the question of how a more focussed Workhouse reform movement grew and gained traction. We concentrate in particular on the role of amateur social investigators and the part that they played in informing, shaping and, in some cases, creating public opinion on the need for Workhouse reform. For the very first time in the historiography of the New Poor Law, we address the Workhouse investigation programme of Joseph Rowntree. Very likely a close relative of the more famous Victorian philanthropist, Rowntree traversed the length and breadth of England and Wales (as well making forays into Scotland and Ireland) gaining access to Workhouses and reporting through letters to the press on the conditions he found and the reforms he felt were needed. Sometimes, notably in relation to the casual poor, observation turned to action in individual cases as Rowntree sought to use the laws, rules and regulations of the New Poor Law to hold individual officers and Unions to account. For his pains, he was attacked in print by many local interest groups who sought to portray him as a meddling amateur and tried to rebut his criticisms of individual places and practices. But Rowntree went further than this, corresponding on his findings with the various incarnations of the central authorities whose job it was to oversee and control local practice. This simultaneous engagement on the local and national stages means that Rowntree’s neglect in the existing literature is surprising and his revival in this book all the more important for an understanding of the nature and pace of Workhouse reform sentiment.
Montserrat Carbonellesteller - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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gender life cycle and family strategies among the poor the barcelona Workhouse 1762 1805
The Economic History Review, 2017Co-Authors: Montserrat Carbonellesteller, Julie MarfanyAbstract:Poor relief has received less attention from historians of southern Europe compared with northern Europe. This article seeks to challenge the frequent assumption that the strength of family ties in southern Europe mitigated the need for welfare provision. It provides new data for men and boys entering the Barcelona Workhouse in the period 1780–1803, and compares these with data from an earlier study of women and girls who entered the same institution over the period 1762–1805. We establish the characteristics of those who sought relief in terms of age, place of origin, marital status, and occupation. We use the information on reasons for entry and exit to ascertain family circumstances. We show that there were significant differences between males and females in terms of why they entered and left, and length of stay, particularly among the elderly. The bulk of the population of the Workhouse, however, was comprised of children and adolescents. For this group, entry into the Workhouse represented not just a temporary solution to life cycle poverty and periodic unemployment, but also a longer-term strategy aimed at smoothing entry into the labour market.
Derin Brenda - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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The Nineteenth Century British Workhouse: Mission Not Accomplished
Dominican Scholar, 2019Co-Authors: Derin BrendaAbstract:ABSTRACT: How to correct poverty in a society is extremely complex. In the nineteenth century, the British struggled to house, feed and care for the unemployed and destitute men, women and children created by the Industrial Revolution. Many in the upper classes considered poverty a moral failure, yet they had little impetus to end it. Poverty, as defined by an inability to provide for one’s needs due to a variety of factors, was seen as necessary, for without it there would be no motivation for the lower classes to work and provide a luxurious life for the wealthy. Although some in government argued that the basic needs of the poor (such as, nutrition, housing, and medical care) could be provided through outdoor relief, others contended that the poor should labor for any assistance they received through a form of aid called the Workhouse system. This paper examines 1) the implementation of work as punishment, 2) the institution of harsh rules in the Workhouse, 3) the restrictions to personal freedoms, and 4) the overall treatment of Workhouse inmates. The environment in the Workhouse was so demeaning, cruel, and dangerous that it often defeated the mission of the Workhouse system to sustain the populace it was built to support. Evidence of the failure to fulfill its mission is found in an analysis of primary sources such as Workhouse Guardian’s reports, letters from inmates, statements from medical examiners as well as other first-hand written accounts from occupants of the Workhouse. In addition, a review of scholarly articles, literature, photographs, satirical cartoons, paintings and newspaper accounts confirms that conditions in the Workhouses were less than desirable and were places to avoid. If people shun a public service due to its environment and preconditions for entrance, or if they are injured or die due to negligence on the part of the institution, then the system has not met its mission to sustain the poor and was not a viable alternative to poverty
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The Nineteenth Century British Workhouse: Mission Not Accomplished
Dominican Scholar, 2019Co-Authors: Derin BrendaAbstract:How to correct poverty in a society is extremely complex. In the nineteenth century, the British struggled to house, feed and care for the unemployed and destitute men, women and children created by the Industrial Revolution. Many in the upper classes considered poverty a moral failure, yet they had little impetus to end it. Poverty, as defined by an inability to provide for one’s needs due to a variety of factors, was seen as necessary, for without it there would be no motivation for the lower classes to work and provide a luxurious life for the wealthy. Although some in government argued that the basic needs of the poor (such as, nutrition, housing, and medical care) could be provided through outdoor relief, others contended that the poor should labor for any assistance they received through a form of indoor aid called the Workhouse system. This paper examines the mission of the Workhouse and 1) the implementation of work as punishment, 2) the institution of harsh rules in the Workhouse, 3) the restrictions to personal freedoms, and 4) the overall treatment of Workhouse inmates. The environment in the Workhouse was so demeaning, cruel, and dangerous that it often defeated the mission of the Workhouse system to sustain the populace it was built to support. Evidence of the failure to fulfill its mission is found in an analysis of primary sources such as Workhouse guardians\u27 reports, letters from inmates, statements from medical examiners as well as other first-hand written accounts from occupants of the Workhouse. In addition, a review of scholarly articles, literature, satirical cartoons, paintings and newspaper accounts from the time confirm that conditions in the Workhouse did not match those expected from its mission statement
