Paupers, Property, and Place: A Geographical Analysis of the English, Irish, and Scottish Poor Laws in the Mid-19th Century

Abstract

The diversity of poor law policy and practice in Britain in the mid-19th century is examined. Primary sources consulted include contemporary literature and the minute books of five poor law unions in Scotland. The discussion is set in the context of the existing literature on the New English Poor Law and the debate about the nature of British state formation. It is argued that by broadening the geographical scope of analysis to include consideration of the Irish and Scottish Poor Laws a more nuanced account of the processes and patterns of state formation emerges. Analysis of the ‘poverty question’ and attempts at its resolution through poor law policy illustrates the contradiction between 19th-century economic and political discourses. Poverty in Britain in the mid-19th century was structural and consequent upon economic processes which were geographically extensive, and debates about its resolution emphasised individual responsibility and reinforced national identities. Practice within each national territory was diverse and the new poor law machinery offered existing local political and economic interests a novel vehicle through which to exercise power.