Great Britain Historical Geographical Information System (GBHGIS)

2. increases in able-bodied pauperage in durham and newcastle, 1875-80

Earlier research showed that high crude rates of pauperage mainly picked out grain-growing rural areas such as Norfolk and Dorset, numbers on relief varying seasonally but not with the state of the wider economy. To identify the impact of the trade cycle through poor law statistics it is necessary to compare rates between peak and trough years while removing, as far as possible, both seasonal variation and various politically-determined trends.

This is attempted here for poor law unions in Durham, comparing 1875 and 1880 so as to identify which regions were hardest hit by the 1879 recession. It will be clear that there were very large increases, especially in the more industrial east of the county.