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Persons ‘impoverished by changes in trade, low wages, seasonal fluctuation in employment, large families, ill health, old age, war service or plain misfortune’ could turn to their parish for relief. However, this was restricted by the 1662 Act of Settlement and Removal which applied to newcomers to a parish who might become chargeable.

Those unable to support themselves and their families were only entitled to receive relief from the parish in which they could claim legal settlement. They could then be removed to that parish if it was not where they were residing. They should be issued with an order requiring the parishes through which they travelled to provide some support and assistance.

The process of determining settlement was by examination by two Justices of the Peace, who would seek to establish the appropriate parish. The documents published here provided the evidence on which these decisions were made and while they are vital sources for information into the lives of paupers, they are defined by this purpose and so offer rather limited biographies. Settlement could be acquired by right of birth, by father’s settlement, being a householder, or serving a full term of apprenticeship or service as a servant. Married women could claim settlement in husband’s parish. Evidence of the fulfilment, or not, of these criteria figures heavily in the examinations. Thus, emphasis was put on the father’s legal settlement; completing an apprenticeship; legitimate marriage. Settlement certificates, apprenticeship indentures and receipts of rent paid over £10 were handed down from father to son.

Examples of apprentices absconding and not completing their service hint at the possibility of harsh treatment at the hands of their masters; e.g. John Read, 1756. Vulnerable children as young as 8 or 9 were taken from their families and even home parish to live with their masters. The manufacture of woollen cloth, so important to the economy of Trowbridge, drew children from a wide area, many of whom were apprenticed by the agreement of parish officers. Luke Sims 1782. Ann Chapman described her marriage in 1741, which had taken place in a public house in Bath performed by a man dressed as a minister. The form of service was followed, during which rings were exchanged. Not all marriages were successful as Ann Self recalled in 1748.

The 1662 Act restricted the mobility of labour, which was considered a drawback to economic growth. An Act of 1697 allowed a poor person to move into a parish providing he brought a certificate guaranteeing that his own parish would receive him if he became chargeable.

Certificated persons could not gain settlement unless they became leasehold tenants of £10 pa or served parochial office. Over time the harshness of the system was mitigated, notably under an Act of 1794 by which from removal was delayed until the person was actually chargeable, except for vagrants, idle and disorderly and unmarried pregnant women.

Glimpses of the working conditions in that industry are provided by some of the examinees, who are often referred to colt apprentices or colt shearmen; e.g. Joseph Spender, 1823 and Simon Wheeler, 1819. Scribblers suffered from the introduction of machinery, as Joseph Sargeant reported in 1827.

One another prevalent feature are references to soldiers and sailors throughout the whole period covered by the examinations, an indication of the military garrison at Trowbridge.

Luke Simms’ biography is an excellent example of several of the themes mentioned above. Apprenticed at the age of nine to a Trowbridge clothier, he ran away after five years; subsequently served in the army for five and half years, returning to work as a journeyman weaver in Westbury, Dilton Marsh and Westbury Leigh.

Peleg Morris, 1762 and Thomas Pike, 1825 are examples of those who fell on hard times from positions of some financial security.

The examinations provide much evidence of the trials and tribulations of life and the resourcefulness of the poor in seeking to make a living as best as they can in conditions that were often not conducive to stable and settled lives. Nathan Johnson, sailor and stroller, 1750 and Silas Shouel alias Shayle, scribbler and pedlar, 1752, are good examples.

Full transcripts of these settlement examinations were made by Fred Pitt of Trowbridge in 1950. The summarised versions were made by Ken Rogers, c 2000. These summaries, on index cards, were deposited in Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre (WSHC 2954C Add 5) and have been typed and prepared for publication by Stella Sheppard of Wiltshire Family History Society. The examinations have been arranged by the name of the person being examined, and a further index made of all other persons named. The original documents are in nine volumes (WSA 712/1422).

Acknowledgements

Wiltshire Family History Society wishes to thank and acknowledge:

The staff of the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre for help given

Stella Sheppard, who transcribed and checked the records