ABSTRACT
A petition from a parish saddled with a base child was one of the many ways in which the magistrates were introduced to specific bastardy problems. The vast majority of bastardy orders originated from complaints initially made to the local justices. The ecclesiastical courts, as a result of their own inquiries, occasionally referred potential bastardy matters to the justices. Bastardy inquiries indirectly involved many parishioners in a major financial commitment. The maintenance provision of a bastardy order did not require the presence and acquaintance of the major parties for it to be implemented. It has been seen that the magistrates were quite willing to tax two or more men as father of the child to ensure maintenance. The punishment provisions of most orders were directed solely against the woman. Punishment of the male was rare. Punishment for the mother took three forms – whipping, public confession and confinement in the House of Correction.
