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Rotherham & the Poor Law
Towards the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I the government of England became seriously worried about paupers, beggars and vagrants. The Elizabethan Poor Law Acts of 1597-1601 required local authorities to provide relief for paupers. The Feoffees planned to operate a workhouse to house and retrain paupers - the money to finance the project appears to have come from a gift of £40 given by Thomas Colte and a legacy of £100 left to Rotherham's poor by the Earl of Shrewsbury in 1617. The Feoffees used some of the money to lease and fit a cottage workhouse near the centre of town in 1659.
The Masters' House in the Crofts
