ABSTRACT
Establishing the dimensions of pauperism first requires an understanding of how pauper encounters were translated into the tables published in the annual reports of the Poor Law Commissioners. On those pages the success or otherwise of poor law policy could be measured with reference to the number and types of paupers and the amounts expended on their relief. In relation to poor law expenditure, to speak of a London as whole is to risk blurring the increasingly sharp divisions that began to emerge between metropolitan districts. Different rates of growth, rapid social change, shifts in economic fortunes and large scale urban redevelopment meant that important differences existed which had a significant impact on the demand for poor relief. Establishing the dimensions of pauperism first requires an understanding of how pauper encounters were translated into the tables published in the annual reports of the Poor Law Commissioners.
