Act for the Relief of the Poor 1597

The Act for the Relief of the Poor of 1597 was a piece of poor law legislation in England and Wales. It provided the first complete code of poor relief and was later amended by the Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601, which formed the basis of poor relief for the next two centuries.

The Act established Overseers of the Poor.^[1]

References

^ Key dates in Poor Law and Relief Great Britain 1300–1899

v t e 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	Vagabonds and Beggars Act 1494 Tudor Poor Laws Act for the Relief of the Poor 1597 Elizabethan Poor Law (1601) Poor Relief Act 1662 Poor Act 1697 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