Tudor attitudes to poverty and the Elizabethan Poor Law (1601)
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how far attitudes to the poor changed during the Tudor period.
Key learning points
- Monasteries supported the poor in the early Tudor period.
- After the dissolution of the monasteries, many people were forced to become vagrants and beggars.
- Tudor monarchs and the elite were unsympathetic towards vagrants and beggars.
- The 1601 Poor Law, issued by Elizabeth I, was the most far-reaching Act to support those living in poverty.
Keywords
Parish - a parish is a small administrative district that has its own church and priest
Vagabond - a vagabond is someone who wanders from place to place without a home or a job
Act - an Act is a law passed by Parliament
Impotent - impotent means helpless or powerless or unable to take effective action
Idle - idle means avoiding work or being lazy
Common misconception
Governments and societies have generally been sympathetic to people in extreme poverty who may have been reduced to begging.
Throughout much of history, there has been little sympathy for people in extreme poverty from the majority of governments and societies, even when the circumstances that drove people into poverty are clearly out of their own control.
Teacher tip
Show students the specific laws that York and Norwich enacted to deal with the issue of poverty in their cities and see whether students can identify where Elizabeth's government took inspiration for the 1601 Poor Law.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Depiction or discussion of peer pressure or bullying
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following is an example of a blood sport?
Q2.Which sport was banned by Henry VIII for being too violent?
Q3.Why was there so much rural poverty in Elizabethan England?
Q4.Why did many people leave the local area without the local lord’s permission even though it was illegal?
Q5.Why did London become the fastest growing city in Elizabethan England?
Q6.By how much did the price of grain increase between 1500-1650?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the words with their definitions.
Q2.A is a small administrative district that has its own church and priest.
Q3.In what ways had the monasteries previously helped poor people in England?
Q4.Match the monarch with the punishment they imposed for vagabonds.
Q5.Match the the three categories of poor created under 1601 Elizabethan Poor Law with their meaning.
Q6.Which of the following acts introduced by Elizabeth I punished beggars by having a hole burnt through their ear the first time they were caught and death by hanging for a second offence?
To help you plan your 8 history lesson on: Tudor attitudes to poverty and the Elizabethan Poor Law (1601), download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 history lesson on: Tudor attitudes to poverty and the Elizabethan Poor Law (1601), download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 history lessons from the Life in Tudor England: was there a 'Golden Age' for the poor? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.