The Board of Supervision and Poor Law appeals
(To view our indexes to these appeals, look under the individual parish pages, starting here.)
By the mid-19th century, it was becoming increasingly obvious that the system of poor relief in Scotland was inadequate. The system had remained largely unchanged since the 17th century, with relief generally provided from voluntary donations given during church collections. (See here for a brief outline of the history of poor law in Scotland). A Commission of Enquiry was established in 1843, which eventually resulted in the 1845 Poor Law Act.
The Act established the Board of Supervision for the Relief of the Poor. Its duties included overseeing the implementation of the new Poor Law system. For the first time, paupers were granted a statutory right to relief (provided they met the conditions), and had enforceable means of appealing against decisions regarding their relief. These appeals were divided into two categories. Paupers who were refused relief entirely could appeal to the Sheriff Court, which could order Parochial Boards to relieve paupers. Some of these appeals survive among the Sheriff Court records, but many of them have been lost. On the other hand, paupers who were given some relief could appeal to the Board of Supervision if they felt that the relief granted was inadequate.
Unfortunately, the appeals themselves have largely not survived, but some details were recorded in the 23 volumes of minute books of the Board of Supervision (NRS Reference HH23/1-23). About 20,000 appeals were made to the Board of Supervision between 1845 and 1895, and we have now indexed them (you can find the indexes on our individual parish pages - start here). In some cases there may be other records relating to the cases to be found in the Parochial Board minutes, which are usually held locally (if they survive).
To illustrate, these are the minutes for the case of Margaret Lister, from Auchterderran in Fife. Her case is first considered on 10 May 1855:
By the mid-19th century, it was becoming increasingly obvious that the system of poor relief in Scotland was inadequate. The system had remained largely unchanged since the 17th century, with relief generally provided from voluntary donations given during church collections. (See here for a brief outline of the history of poor law in Scotland). A Commission of Enquiry was established in 1843, which eventually resulted in the 1845 Poor Law Act.
The Act established the Board of Supervision for the Relief of the Poor. Its duties included overseeing the implementation of the new Poor Law system. For the first time, paupers were granted a statutory right to relief (provided they met the conditions), and had enforceable means of appealing against decisions regarding their relief. These appeals were divided into two categories. Paupers who were refused relief entirely could appeal to the Sheriff Court, which could order Parochial Boards to relieve paupers. Some of these appeals survive among the Sheriff Court records, but many of them have been lost. On the other hand, paupers who were given some relief could appeal to the Board of Supervision if they felt that the relief granted was inadequate.
Unfortunately, the appeals themselves have largely not survived, but some details were recorded in the 23 volumes of minute books of the Board of Supervision (NRS Reference HH23/1-23). About 20,000 appeals were made to the Board of Supervision between 1845 and 1895, and we have now indexed them (you can find the indexes on our individual parish pages - start here). In some cases there may be other records relating to the cases to be found in the Parochial Board minutes, which are usually held locally (if they survive).
To illustrate, these are the minutes for the case of Margaret Lister, from Auchterderran in Fife. Her case is first considered on 10 May 1855:
Board of Supervision for Relief of the Poor, Minute Books. National Records of Scotland, HH23/6 p. 73. 10 May 1855
Her case is hear again a month later, on 15 June 1855:
Board of Supervision for Relief of the Poor, Minute Books. National Records of Scotland, HH23/6 p. 84. 15 June 1855
On 12 July, the Board considered her case once more, and returned it to the Parochial Board to think again:
Board of Supervision for Relief of the Poor, Minute Books. National Records of Scotland, HH23/6 p. 92. 12 July 1855
The entry from 9 August shows that the minutes can sometimes contain references to other people - was Robina Waddle related to Margaret?
Board of Supervision for Relief of the Poor, Minute Books. National Records of Scotland, HH23/6 p. 103. 9 August 1855
The Board was somewhat reluctant to use its powers to force Parochial Boards to comply with their rulings, generally preferring to rely on persuasion. In Margaret's case, this approach appeared to work, for on 6 September, her case is resolved, apparently to the satisfaction of Margaret:
Board of Supervision for Relief of the Poor, Minute Books. National Records of Scotland, HH23/6 p. 112. 6 September 1855
There may well be corresponding records in the Auchterderran Parochial Board minutes. These are held at Fife Archives (Reference FCC/16/5/1).
