Vagrancy and the New Poor Law

Brian O’Leary, a retired social worker, was awarded his Ph.D. in 2015, for work on the history of responses to vagrancy in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Having had some practical experience of work with homeless persons, he began academic research on nineteenth-century vagrancy while completing an MA in 2007.

Introduction 1. The Vagrant Threat 2. In Pursuit of the Vagrant 3. Habitual Vagrant or Honest Wayfarer? 4. The Origins of the Casual Relief System in England and Wales c.1800-1847 5. The Development of a Casual Relief System in England and Wales 1847-1871 6. National objectives and local implementation 1871-1919 Summary and Conclusions