Tudor Poor Laws

The Tudor Poor Laws were the laws regarding poor relief in Kingdom of England around the time of the Tudor period (1485–1603). The Tudor Poor Laws ended with the passing of the Elizabethan Poor Law in 1601, two years before the end of the Tudor dynasty, a piece of legislation which codified the previous Tudor legislation.

During the Tudor period it is estimated that up to a third of the population lived in poverty. The population doubled in size between the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. The earliest Tudor Poor Laws were very much focused on punishing beggars and vagabonds to deter idleness. For example, the Vagabonds and Beggars Act of 1494 passed by Henry VII decreed that idle persons should be placed in the stocks and then returned to the hundred where he last dwelled or was born.

The closing of the monasteries in the 1530s after the Protestant Reformation increased poverty as the church had previously helped the poor, both as an institution and by encouraging its parishioners towards Christian charity. However, the church reforms of Henry VIII marked a national shift, where philanthropy became increasingly secular, rather than meted out by the Church.

The 1531 Vagabonds Act mandated that only licensed beggars could beg legally. Justices of the Peace had the power to license the "impotent" poor to beg. In practice, this meant that only the elderly and disabled could beg and also prevented the able-bodied from begging. A few years later, the 1536 Act for Punishment of Sturdy Vagabonds and Beggars was passed. This more severe law stated that those caught outside of their parish without work would be punished by being whipped through the streets. If caught a second time they could lose an ear and if caught a third time they could be executed. However officers of the law were reluctant to enforce such a draconian provision.

...
Wikipedia