Officials of Llanrhystud parish were asked by the Poor Law Commissioners to give the number and salaries of paid officers serving the vestry in 1834. The parish had the normal complement: an overseer of the poor, an assistant overseer, who received a salary of 35s., and a vestry clerk who received 20s. The overseer was also clerk in 1835. Thus “John Cole will be allowed 5s. more wages this year than last makeing £2 15 for serving the Parish and one Pound for being Parish Clerk making a total of £3 15 0 in the year “.
[MS Llanrhystud Vestry Minutes, 3 April 1835]

[Based on an article by Alun Eirug Davies in Ceredigion , the journal of the Cardiganshire Antiquarian Society ; Vol V1/1 1968]

Finance

In the parish of Llanrhystud in 1750 the rate of fourpence in the pound was assessed on the parish by the vestry towards the relief of the poor. By 1800 it had risen to four shillings in the pound.

No doubt economic circumstances forced Llanrhystud vestry in 1817 to assess those occupiers of lands and houses who had not hitherto been assessed to the poor rate
[MS Llanrhystud Vestry Minutes, 8 August 1817]

[Based on an article by Alun Eirug Davies in Ceredigion , the journal of the Cardiganshire Antiquarian Society ; Vol V1/1 1968]

Poorhouses, or rented cottages ?

David Jones, overseer and churchwarden for the parish of Llanrhystud replied to a question that there was ‘ no Poorhouse or Workhouse in Llanrhystid, we rent 23 cottages about the neighbourhood for the reception of the Poor from £1-10s-0d. to £5-0s-0d. making a total rent paid yearly £50-1s-6d.’
[Llanrhystud Vestry Minutes]

Twenty four persons occupied rent-free cottages on the eve of the Act of 1834 and one of those was situated in Aberystwyth, a distance of nine miles from Llanrhystud.

Two typical entries are as follows;

“That David Evan of Ty Mawr, Kilcenin, be paid at the rate of £1-5s-0d. per annum from May last as rent for Cottage occupied by Mary John Jacob a pauper belonging to this parish.”
[MS Llanrhystud Vestry Minutes, 15 Sept 1818]

“That three pounds per year be allowed Mary Welch together with House Rent..”
[MS Llanrhystud Vestry Minutes, 1 June 1821]

The authorities tried to impose economies in the period after the Napoleonoc Wars, and in some cases they refused to pay house rent but confiscated items of furniture to pay the rent. Thus in 1821 the Llanrhystud vestry ordered the overseers ‘ to fetch the Clock and other unnecessary Articles from the house of Richard Morris and sell the same by Auction in order to pay the arrears of rent to Mr John Evans.’
[MS Llanrhystud Vestry Minutes, 5 Dec 1821]

About a year later the same vestry decided to herd two families into one rent-paid cottage, exclaiming that the Parish paid ‘ more Rent for Houses for the Poor than is reasonable or necessary—That there are several Houses rented by the Parishes large enough to contain two families and that in future two families be plac’d in such houses.’
[MS Llanrhystud Vestry Minutes, 21 Nov 1822]

[Based on an article by Alun Eirug Davies in Ceredigion , the journal of the Cardiganshire Antiquarian Society ; Vol V1/1 1968]

Rate exemption for paupers

The second method of relieving the poor in Cardiganshire was to exempt pauper cottages from the rates, or if the property was assessed, the rates were paid by the parish authorities. In the township of Llanrhystud Mefenydd, occupiers of property assessed to the value of £6-10s-8d. were exempted from payment of rates on account of poverty.
[MS Llanrhystud Vestry Minutes]

At a vestry meeting in Llanrhystud in 1812, 19 resolutions were passed concerning paupers, 11 of whom lived outside the parish boundaries, as in the case of Mary Welch; ‘Resolved that Mary Welch single-woman of this parish residing in the parish of Llandinol in the county receive of the overseer of the poor the sum of one pound for her present use in addition to her allowance of ten shillings Quarterly and her House rent defrayed at the expence of this parish.’

[Based on an article by Alun Eirug Davies in Ceredigion , the journal of the Cardiganshire Antiquarian Society ; Vol V1/1 1968]

Examples of relief

Occasional, or casual, relief was given to paupers in money or in kind —probably the greater part of this type of relief was given in money but fuel, clothing, barley, potatoes, medicines and medical attendance were also provided.

Examples of such relief in Llanrhystud include the following;

“…….that James Richard the Overseer provides two flannel shifts and a Blanket at a reasonable price for the use of Elinor Rees, a poor woman of this parish.”
[9 Dec 1767]

“……ordered to Mary Roberts 4 measures potatoes and 4 Load of Turff….”.
[5 Nov 1801]

“……ordered 1 Tobstand of Wool to Lewis Davies”
[5 Nov 1801]

“…….That Evan Evans of Nantcenin be allow’d as relief, a Bushel of rye for seed and two bushels of Barley for bread.”
[7 Nov 1817]

Money was sometimes provided in order to purchase food, as in this example

“……That Elizabeth Davies of Drainllwynfach be allow’d 5s. as Relief to buy Herrings for salting.”
[7 Nov 1817]

Sometimes the occasional relief took the form of a loan, as in;

“…….To Mary Jones near ffrood 5 Bushels Barley and for her return to the overseer the same quantity the following year.”
[ 28 May 1801]

“……..that one Pound be now lent to Thomas Lewis of Llanrhystyd on the account of his share of the vessel called Prosperity belonging to the Port of Aberystwith.”
[18 Feb 1820]

[MS Llanrhystud Vestry Meetings]

[Based on an article by Alun Eirug Davies in Ceredigion , the journal of the Cardiganshire Antiquarian Society ; Vol V1/1 1968]

Unemployed paupers “on the parish”

Paupers were often sent round the parish to work for their board and lodging in return for clothing provided by the vestry, but they did not earn money. Some examples;

“…..John David Richard go from house to house in the Hamlet or Parcel of Mevenydd, and remain so many Days at such Houses as their respective Surveys will admit of at one night at every Pound.”
[MS Llanrhystud Vestry Meetings 28 Feb 1770]

“….that Jenkin the reputed son of Captain Bowen, now chargeable on this Parish, shall go from House to House for his maintenance during this year and remain one Day and a Night in each house for every twenty shillings Survey that they are charged to the Land tax.”
[MS Llanrhystud Vestry Meetings 25 Feb 1783]

“…That Mary Evan Jones now idle and living upon the parish be employ’d by the farmers according to their several Survey.”
[MS Llanrhystud Vestry Meetings 26 June 1822]

“…that the overseer John Lloyd is to provide clothing for John Williams and that John Williams is to go from farm to farm in the parish according to the survey.”
[MS Llanrhystud Vestry Meetings 18 Aug 1824]

[Based on an article by Alun Eirug Davies in Ceredigion , the journal of the Cardiganshire Antiquarian Society ; Vol V1/1 1968]