The State of the Poor - 1797

by Jon Malings

The State of the Poor

Or

An History

of the

Labouring Classes in England,

from the Conquest to the Present Period: 

In which are Particularly Considered,

Their Domestic Economy,

with Respect to

Diet, Dress, Fuel, and Habitation;

And the Various Plans Which, from Time to Time, Have Been Proposed, and Adopted, for

the Relief of the Poor:

Together with

Parochial Reports

Relative to the Administration of Work-houses, and Houses of Industry; the State of Friendly Societies; and Other Public Institutions ; in several Agricultural, Commercial, and Manufacturing districts.


 

 

This survey of the condition of the labouring poor, conducted by Sir Frederic Morton Eden, gives full detail of the circumstances under which paupers lived during the 1790's in England. It is full of case studies showing the annual income and expenditure of labourers and their families, including graphic descriptions of the Work-house, its rules and regulations, budgets, menus and costs.  

Eden lists the cost of provisions in Deddington and the wages that an agricultural labourer could earn, summer and winter.

His work has been digitised by Google and can now be obtained as an eBook. Click here to link to it.