Scottish facility to support and provide housing for the needy
An engraving of the Glasgow poorhouse, Town's Hospital, from the 1830s
The Scottish poorhouse, occasionally referred to as a workhouse, provided accommodation for the destitute and poor in Scotland. The term poorhouse was almost invariably used to describe the institutions in that country, as unlike the regime in their workhouse counterparts in neighbouring England and Wales residents were not usually required to labour in return for their upkeep.
Systems to deal with paupers were initiated by the Parliament of Scotland in the 15th century when a 1424 statute categorised vagrants into those deemed fit for work or those who were not able-bodied; several other ineffective statutes followed until the Scottish Poor Law Act of 1579 was put in place. The Act prevented paupers who were fit to work from receiving assistance and was reasonably successful. Any help provided generally took the form of outdoor relief, and although thirty-two main burghs were instructed to provide correction houses under the threat of being fined, it is doubtful any were built. In the 18th century, cities like Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow had poorhouses or similar which were funded by wealthy merchants or trade associations.
The system was adequate until the early 19th century in rural areas where poor relief was the remit of Ministers, church elders and landowners but did not suffice in the slum areas of towns. By the middle of the century though Scotland faced severe economic depression and this, coupled with the ecclesiastic upset of the Disruption of 1843, resulted in demand outstripping supply. Expansions to existing facilities in Edinburgh and Glasgow and design guidelines for constructing new poorhouses were drawn up by the Board of Supervision which advised the parochial boards set up after the enactment of the Poor Law (Scotland) Act 1845.
The facilities housed up to 400 occupants in cities and a slightly scaled down version was able to accommodate up to 300 paupers in rural areas. By 1868 there were fifty poorhouses in Scotland; strict regulations applied to admissions and were overseen by a local Inspector of the Poor. The number of inmates peaked in 1906 and after the introduction of the National Assistance Act 1948, the Poor Law system was abolished throughout the United Kingdom.
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