A Chronology of State Medicine, Public Health, Welfare and Related ...

1559 Cont - 1584
1559 cont Under the Act of Uniformity of Common Prayer and Administration of the
Sacrament (1 Eliz. c.2) attendance at church became compulsory and non-attendance was
punishable by censure, fine or imprisonment.
1560 Thomas Becon advocated establishing schools for girls in his "Catechism", a manual
for teaching religion at home.
1562 (Poor Law) Act (5 Eliz. C.3) required that charity for the relief of the poor should be
collected weekly by assigned collectors and distributed to the poor; those who refused to give
voluntarily may be taxed by justices of the peace, and if still refusing to pay may be
imprisoned.See 1572.
Highways Act (5 Eliz. C.13) extended the period of labour required from parishioners
for the maintenance of highways (see 1555) to 6 days. See 1663.
Act (5 Eliz. C.17) for the “Punishment of the Vice of Buggery”. See 1861 and 1967.
Town’s College, precursor of Edinburgh University, founded. See 1582.
1563 Severe epidemics of bubonic plague in London and other cities. It has been estimated
that in the City of London, (population of 93,000) 17,000 people died. See 1575.
The Privy Council arranged for questions to be put to the bishops about the state of
each diocese. Details of all householders were required and, from parochial information the
number of households in each parish, were recorded. See 1603.
1570 Between 1550 and 1570 many of today’s famous schools and colleges were founded.
1571 Further legislation concerning the maintenance of sewers and control of nuisances (13
Eliz. C.9). See 1690.
1572 (Poor Law) Act (14 Eliz. C.5) made each parish responsible to provide for its own
aged, impotent and sick poor; appointed “overseers” of the poor and empowered them to
assess the parish; introduced compulsory poor rate; and made refusal to work for lawful
wages or work provided by the overseer punishable offences. See 1576 and 1579.
1575 Plague epidemic. See 1584-8 and 1589-93.
1576 (Poor Law) Act (18 Eliz. C.3) authorised counties to establish houses of correction for
vagrants; and set out the “Punishment of the Mother and reputed Father of a Bastard”. See
1597.
1579 (Poor Law) Act passed by the Parliament of Scotland replaced a number of previous
acts; designed for “the punishment of the strong and idle beggars and the relief of the poore
and impotent”. See 1661.
1580 Scurvy affected the crews on Drake’s voyages.
1582 University of Edinburgh founded (see 1562). See 1726.
1584-8 Plague epidemic in Scotland. See 1589-93.