1575 Poor Act

The Poor Act of 1575 was a law passed in England under Queen Elizabeth I.^[1] It is a part of the Tudor Poor Laws and a predecessor to the Elizabethan Poor Laws.

The 1575 act required parishes to create “a competent stock of wool, hemp, flax, iron and other stuff” for the poor to work on. It also created houses of correction where recalcitrant or careless workers could be forced to work and punished accordingly.^[2]

The 1575 act built substantially on the 1572 Vagabonds Act,^[3] and combined, they formed the basis for the subsequent Elizabethan Poor Laws.^[4]

References

Poor Laws of the British Isles Poor Laws by territory England and Wales Scotland Ireland Isle of Man Channel Islands Nantwich workhouse Old Poor Law Tudor Poor Laws Act for the Relief of the Poor 1597 Elizabethan Poor Law (1601) Poor Relief Act 1662 Workhouse Test Act Relief of the Poor Act 1782 House of Correction Overseer of the poor Poor rate Poor relief Relief systems Indoor relief Outdoor relief Classification of the poor Speenhamland Labour Rate Roundsman Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor New Poor Law Royal commission (1832) Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 Poor Law (Scotland) Act 1845 Less eligibility Workhouse Workhouse test Board of guardians Outdoor Labour Test Order Outdoor Relief Prohibitory Order Poor law unions Opposition Book of Murder Scottish poorhouses Changes after 1834 Poor Law Commission Poor Law Board Local Government Board Andover workhouse scandal Huddersfield workhouse scandal Union Chargeability Act Decline and abolition Liberal welfare reforms Royal Commission (1905–09) Majority Report Minority Report Interwar poverty National Assistance Act 1948 Other Historiography of the Poor Laws Timeline of the Poor Law system Poor Relief Act List of poor law unions in England List of poor law unions in Wales List of Irish Poor Law Unions