The Vagabonds Act 1530 (22 Henry VIII c.12) was an act passed under Henry VIII and is a part of the

Tudor Poor Laws The Tudor Poor Laws were the laws regarding poor relief in the 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 ...

of England. In full, it was entitled "An Act directing how aged, poor and impotent Persons, compelled to live by Alms, shall be ordered; and how Vagabonds and Beggars shall be punished." Under this act,

vagabonds Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...

were subject to the harsher punishment of

whipping Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on an ...

, rather than the stocks. However, it also created provisions for those who were unable to work due to sickness, age, or disability. These "impotent" beggars could become licensed to beg by their local

Justices of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission (letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sam ...

. For this reason, this statute is recognised as the first English poor law to be at least partially aimed at providing relief, rather than punishing vagrancy, because it made the Justices of the Peace responsible for the licensed poor within their district.Sidney & Beatrice Webb, ''English Local Government: English Poor Law History'' Part 1, p. 45

References

{{Poor Law 1530 in England English Poor Laws

1530 Year 1530 ( MDXXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1530th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 530th year of the 2nd millennium, the 30t ...

1530 in law