With the decline of feudalism in 16th century England, the indigent poor came to be seen as a more direct threat to the social order.[6] The first complete code of poor relief was made in the Act for the Relief of the Poor 1597 and some provision for the "deserving poor" was eventually made in the Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601.[7] It created a system administered at parish level,[8] paid for by levying local rates on rate payers.[9] Relief for those too ill or old to work, the so-called 'impotent poor', was in the form of a payment or items of food ('the parish loaf') or clothing also known as outdoor relief.[10]
The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 completely overhauled the existing system in Britain[11] and established a Poor Law Commission to oversee the national operation of the system.[12] This included the forming together of small parishes into Poor Law Unions[13] and the building of workhouses in each union for the giving of poor relief.[14]