The New Poor Law of 1834 transformed the way poverty was managed, replacing local parish relief with the workhouse. Yet the change was neither immediate nor complete. Using records from Armitage and the Lichfield Workhouse, this article explores how familiar village families experienced one of the most significant changes in nineteenth-century social welfare.
The History of Armitage-with-Handsacre Parish
People, Places and Stories from a Staffordshire Parish