Poverty, old age and outdoor relief in late-Victorian England

Abstract

ABSTRACT While studies dedicated to the extent of poverty in old age under the New Poor Law in nineteenth-century England have grown, gaps still exist in terms of a detailed examination of outdoor relief compared with workhouse populations. Using rarely consulted outdoor relief application and report books for three Poor Law Unions in the early 1880s (Alton Union, Hampshire; Hertford Union, Hertfordshire; and Ripon Union, Yorkshire West Riding), this article provides estimated proportions of older people on outdoor relief by linking the report books with census materials. It also examines variations in allowances prescribed to single and married individuals. Firstly, older people in southern England were more likely to receive outdoor relief compared with their northern counterparts, consistent with the extant literature outlining a ‘north–south’ divide of welfare provision. Secondly, allowances were surprisingly generous in Ripon Union. For married couples, allowances were double the average documented elsewhere and reflect those granted under the Old Age Pensions Act of 1908. In conclusion, continuity in the treatment of older-age applicants between the later years of the New Poor Law and the start of the Old Age Pensions Act is emphasised, especially in the context of northern Poor Law Unions such as Ripon.