Icons of the New System: Workhouse Construction and Relief Practices in London under the Old and New Poor Law

Abstract

The construction of new workhouses lay at the centre of poor law reform after 1834. In London, however, such prominent displays of the new system were relatively rare. This article explores why that was the case, arguing that the absence of new workhouses was not necessarily a reflection of the reluctance of London parishes to adopt the reforms but rather because adequate provision already existed or other forms of indoor relief were considered to be more appropriate. Prior to 1834, several London parishes embarked on extensive enlargement or rebuilding of workhouses, notably in rapidly growing districts surrounding the City. During the 1820s, in the wake of financial stringencies, relief practices were tightened. Therefore, when the Poor Law Amendment Act came into force in 1834, many London parishes had already embarked on reforms that pre-dated those recommended by the legislation. In the following years, rather than build new workhouses to accommodate the growing number of paupers, London vestries chose to cooperate and build specialist institutions: district schools for children and county asylums for the lunatic poor. Economies of scale arising from the spatial proximity of numerous large parishes and unions made this approach feasible. The lack of new workhouses, therefore, should not be taken as evidence that London parishes refused to implement the spirit of the new poor law. Far from it: early construction and tighter relief regimes prior to 1834 and the continuing dominance of indoor relief throughout the period suggest that London led rather than followed developments elsewhere in the country.