Caring County? A: Social Welfare in Hertfordshire from 1660

“The editors are to be congratulated on having assembled a collection of very well researched topics that go way beyond the normal scope of surveys of the treatment of the poor. This should encourage more local historians to look beyond the standard appraisals and further delve into the twentieth century. The volume, which includes a good number of black and white maps, photographs and other illustrations, has a very extensive bibliography and an in-depth subject index.” Peter Bysouth, The Local Historian

“The book is produced to UH Press's usual high standards and is highly recommended for two reasons. Firstly, the various case-studies are object lessons for how anyone working on the Poor Law in Cambridgeshire should eventually present their findings; and secondly, Professor King's Introduction is an immensely valuable summary of current work on both the Poor Law and charitable provision. He suggests (and the Hertfordshire evidence would seem to support this) that the 'moral economy' of rural England meant there was a recognition on all sides (officials, paupers and the community at large) that the 'deserving poor' (the elderly, the mentally and physically ill and children) should be cared for but that much more research is needed on the spatial and temporal variations that might occur even within a single small county. Over to you, readers!” Tony Kirby, CALH Review

This comparative study gathers together new research by local historians into aspects of welfare in Hertfordshire spanning four centuries and focusing on towns and villages across the county, including Ashwell, Cheshunt, Hertford, Pirton and Royston amongst many others.

In so doing it makes a valuable contribution to the current debate about the spatial and chronological variation in the character of welfare regimes within single counties, let alone more widely.

As well as viewing poor relief geographically and chronologically, the book also considers the treatment of particular groups such as the aged, the mad, children and the unemployed and shows how, within the constraints of the relevant welfare laws, each group was dealt with differently, giving a more nuanced picture than has perhaps been the case previously.

The over-arching question that the book attempts to answer is how effectively Hertfordshire cared for those in need. With chapters on madhouses, workhouses, certified industrial schools, the Foundling Hospital, pensions and medical care, the book covers a very broad range of topics through which a complex picture emerges.

Whilst some officials seem to have been driven by a relatively narrow sense of their obligations to the poor and vulnerable, others appear to have tailored welfare packages to their precise needs. Naturally self-interest played a part: if the weakest citizens were well-managed, vagrancy might be lessened, the spread of disease contained and, perhaps above all, control maintained over the cost of looking after the poor and sick.

It seems that Hertfordshire was relatively nimble and sensitive in discovering and treating its people's needs. Evidence is beginning to emerge, in other words, that Hertfordshire was in essence a 'caring county'.