Philanthropy and poor relief in 19th century Edinburgh. The example of a capital city without a national State government

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

Robert J. Morris, Philanthropy and poor relief in 19th century Edinburgh. The example of a capital city without a national State government, p. 367-379. After the 1707 Act of Union with England, Edinburgh was a capital city without a government, but which retained many of the legal and cultural functions of a capital. Poor relief was a matter for the Parish Board of Management, which raised local taxes. After 1843, the official Scottish Poor Law came under the direction of the Board of Supervision based in Edinburgh and responsible to the London Parliament and Scottish Law. Other aspects of poor relief were undertaken by trusts and by voluntary societies. These were controlled by the professional, mercantile and artizan elites typical of the city. They produced a series of institutional buildings, which became a distinctive part of the cityscape. Poor Relief reflected many features of a parliamentless, presbyterian nation but in turn the development of poor relief under pressures of urban and economic growth influenced the governance and cultural assertion of 19th century Scotland.