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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).

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