The Vagabonds Act 1572 was a law passed in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

under

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

. It 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 th ...

and a predecessor to the Elizabethan Poor Laws. The 1572 act provided that

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 sa ...

were to register the names of the "aged, decayed, and impotent" poor to determine how much money was required to care for them. The

would then assess all inhabitants of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

for their keep. Overseers of the poor would periodically conduct "views and searches" of the poor. Those refusing to contribute to poor relief would be confined to the

gaol A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, English language in England, standard English, Australian English, Australian, and Huron Historic Gaol, historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention cen ...

. Justices of the Peace were allowed to license beggars if there were too many for the parish to provide for. Any unlicensed vagabonds were to be whipped and burned through the ear. It further provided that any surplus funds could be used to “place and settle to work the rogues and vagabonds.” Combined with the

Poor Act 1575 The Poor Act 1575 was a law passed in England under Queen Elizabeth I. It is a part of the Tudor Poor Laws and a predecessor to the Elizabethan Poor Laws. The 1575 act required parishes to create “a competent stock of wool, hemp, flax, iron an ...

, the 1572 act formed the basis for the subsequent Elizabethan Poor Laws.Paul Slack, The English Poor Law 1531-1782 18—19

References

{{Poor Law English Poor Laws Acts of the Parliament of England (1485–1603) 1572 in law 1572 in England

See also

Further reading

References