That ‘poor law was law’ is a fact that has slipped from the consciousness of historians of welfare in England and Wales, and in North America. Welfare's For

Includes a chapter on Scotland.

A study of English policies toward the poor from the 1600s to the present, showing how clients and officials negotiated welfare settlements.

Records of the Office of Public Works more than 30 years old have been transferred to the National Archives, Dublin. The types of public works records are descr