ABSTRACT
In spite of the efforts of the publicly-funded Poor Law, the voluntary body of the Feoffees, and the self-help friendly societies, many Colytonians in the second half of the nineteenth century lived under the shadow of poverty. The Poor Law was the bedrock on which relief for the worst-off in society was based, but in nineteenth-century Colyton it was supplemented by two other sources, the charitable chamber of the Feoffees, and the Colyton Mutual and Providential Societies for men and women. The Feoffees’ policy was fundamentally different from that of the Guardians of the Poor, in that they refused to provide permanent relief to anyone, leaving that to the Poor Law. In addition to payments to individuals who applied for help, the Feoffees from time to time distributed either goods or money to all needy members of the community who were on their list of the poor.
