The AGRICULTURAL HISTORY REVIEW
a journal of agricultural and rural history
 Previous Article |
Volume Contents | Next Article  |
Agricultural History Review, Volume 53 Part 2 (2005), pp. 141–157
Regionality in the late Old Poor Law: the treatment of chargeable bastards from Rural Queries
In 1832 the Royal Commission enquiring into the administration and practical operation of the old Poor Law sent a questionnaire, the Rural Queries, to parishes throughout the country. This paper reports the results of a computer analysis of their answers to the commissioners' enquiry into the amounts given to the mothers of chargeable bastards. The results give a good countrywide overview of the treatment of those mothers and their children and reveal distinct regional variations in the amounts awarded to them.