Although These Figures From Brixworth Show The Reduction Of Outrelief, Even

Although these figures from Brixworth show the reduction of outrelief, even strict Guardians had been forced by circumstances to provide outrelief. Many feared to enter the workhouse, for example, in Cuckfield in 1836, 209 men applied for relief and when offered the workhouse or nothing only 11 accepted (Murray 1999, 42). Three of these left after a few hours. At Brixworth 'The Private Fund' was devised to provide outdoor relief to those who continuously applied and were rejected (Humphreys 1995, 38). The fact that outrelief was still received by 500,000 in 1900 shows that there was a perceived necessity for it 'on the ground' in order to cope with fluctuations in employment. In fact, as early as 1842 outdoor relief was available again in exchange for hard labour and oakum picking (Englander 1998, 29). Local Guardians also possessed knowledge of local people and circumstances that may have led to a more realistic practical understanding of outrelief.
The crusade against outrelief in the 1870s was caused by fears of increasing expenditure and the belief that generous or widespread relief to those other than the destitute was immoral, led to indolence and a dangerous reliance on the state. The rise of organised charities encouraged by the Goschen Minute, sometimes in cooperation with Poor Law Unions, also filled a gap in offering aid to the deserving poor. Local and neighbourly solutions probably always remained central in offering private solutions (Murray 1999, 122-23). The evident failure of the crusade against outrelief and changing attitudes to poverty visible led by the writings of Booth, Rowntree, Dickens and others that it was not always deserved or escapable without help due to factors such as irregular work and too low wages proved influential in the development of the welfare policies of the Liberal Party in the early twentieth century (Murray 1999, 87-93).

Bibliography
Best, G. 1971. Mid-Victorian Britain, 1851-75. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
BVAC 1994. Brixworth Union Workhouse 1837. (Extracted from Brixworth a Village Appraisal. Brixworth Village Appraisal Committee). Available at:
http://users.ox.ac.uk/~peter/workhouse/Brixworth/Brixworth.html (4/5/5).
Englander, D. 1995. Poor Law Amendment Act. In Gardiner, J. and Wenborn, N. (eds.). 1995. The History Today Companion to British History. London: Collins & Brown, 608.
Englander, D. 1998. Poverty and Poor Law Reform in Britain: from Chadwick to Booth, 1834-1914. London: Longman.
Henriques, U.R.Q. 1979. Before the Welfare State. London: Longman.
Humphreys, R. 1995. Sin, Organized Charity and the Poor Law in Victorian England. London: Macmillan.
MacKinnon, M. 1987. English Poor Law Policy and the Crusade Against Outrelief. The Journal of Economic History 47 (3), 603-25.
Murray, P. 1999. Poverty and Welfare 1830-1914. London: Hodder & Stoughton.