The New Poor Law Guardians and the Administration of Insanity in East London, 1834-1844

One of the main aims of the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 was to impose national consistency of practice in poor relief. Central guidance was designed to produce uniformity in guardians' policies on dealing with the insane. This study of the administration of insanity in the eastern metropolis in the first decade after the Act demonstrates that the new boards of guardians were as culturally distinctive in their style of administration of the new Poor Law as the parishes had been under the old regime. A complex interplay of personality, politics, and class determined the corporate culture of individual boards.