ASPECTS OF CIVIL ADMINISTRATION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN
NINETEENTH CENTURY KNOTTINGLEY
By TERRY SPENCER B.A. (HONS), Ph D.
Preliminary Draft May 2005
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE - KNOTTINGLEY SELECT VESTRY
CHAPTER TWO - THE POOR LAW
CHAPTER THREE - KNOTTINGLEY POOR LAW : INDOOR RELIEF
CHAPTER FOUR - KNOTTINGLEY POOR LAW : OUTDOOR RELIEF
CHAPTER FIVE - CLAIMANTS AND PAYMENTS
CHAPTER SIX - HUMAN DIMENSIONS
CHAPTER SEVEN - KNOTTINGLEY WORKHOUSE
CHAPTER EIGHT - HEALTH AND SICKNESS
CHAPTER NINE - DEATH AND BURIAL
CHAPTER TEN - LAW AND ORDER
A NOTE CONCERNING SOURCES
The principal source used for this study is the collection of Minute Books of
the Knottingley Select Vestry. The books are five in number and are
designated as follows: -
Book ‘A’ 25-5-1823 to 10-11-1840
Book ‘B’ 24-11-1840 to 4-3-1852
Book ‘C’ 18-3-1852 to 17-10-1861
Book ‘D’ 31-10-1861 to 3-11-1881
Book ‘E’ 24-3-1882 to 2-6-1919
Select Vestry minutes are less than a complete source of information, providing
names and decisions and affording a tantalising insight into events at a
particular period but often lacking precise details concerning the
financial and socio-political context which prompted Vestry discussion and
decisions arising from such considerations. Yet despite this drawback the
Minute Books reveal the varied duties of parish officials and the multiple
aspects of Poor Law administration allied to the evolution of a system of
local government within the developing township of Knottingley during the
nineteenth century. Without this data our knowledge and understanding of
the lives of our forebears would be immeasurably poorer.
©2005 Dr. Terry Spencer
| INDEX | INTRODUCTION
| CHAPTER ONE | CHAPTER
TWO | CHAPTER THREE | CHAPTER
FOUR |
| CHAPTER FIVE | CHAPTER
SIX | CHAPTER
SEVEN | CHAPTER
EIGHT | CHAPTER NINE
| CHAPTER TEN |
|
