Abstract :
While recent research in the English context on the so-called ‘ economy of makeshifts ’ has
demonstrated the importance of alternative welfare options outside of the poor law, less work has been
conducted on the situation in larger towns and cities. This article seeks to remedy this imbalance by
examining the different welfare systems available in one city, Oxford, during the early nineteenth century.
Poor law provision in the city, while extensive, was significantly less per capita than in rural parts of
Oxfordshire. There was a high degree of charitable provision, not only from the continued survival of
endowed charity, but also from the creation of newer subscription charities. The contribution made by charity
to medical provision for the poor was especially significant, as was the role of emergency subscriptions in
alleviating short-term economic and other crises. With such a varied range of assistance, traditional assumptions
concerning the importance of the poor law in urban areas may require revision, with implications
not only for the scale and measurement of poverty, but also for the ways in which both poor and wealthy alike
managed and negotiated the supply of welfare.
