English Poor Law of 1662

Timeline

1. 1601–1660English parishes · EnglandThe Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601 established the tradition of parishes levying poor rates and relieving paupers. Poor relief burdens increased during the Civil War and Commonwealth, and after the Restoration Parliament set about patching the gaps in parish finance and population control.
2. 1662Westminster · EnglandParliament passed the Poor Relief Act 1662, establishing the principle of settlement: paupers had to apply for relief in their parish of birth or of continuous residence for forty days. Parish guardians were empowered to examine newcomers' settlement qualifications, laying the legal foundation for the later removal system.
3. c. 1663–1670English rural parishes · EnglandIn the 1660s parishes began removing itinerant paupers without settlement rights back to their home parishes under the Settlement Act, easing local poor rate pressure. The practice spread gradually through the 1660s and 1670s, becoming an important tool of fiscal bargaining between parishes.
4. c. 1665–1700England · EnglandThe Settlement Act restricted the free migration of rural labor to towns; parishes constrained mobile populations through the forty-day residence rule and the threat of removal. By the early 18th century the system was deeply integrated with the poor rate system, forming one of the core pillars of England's Old Poor Law framework.