{"product_id":"original-poor-relief-hand-painted-wooden-sign-c-1920","title":"Original Poor Relief hand painted wooden sign .c. 1920","description":"\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eCity of Leicester Poor Relief Notice, c.1910–1930\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eAn original early 20th-century painted municipal sign issued by the \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eCity of Leicester\u003c\/span\u003e, giving instructions to applicants seeking Poor Law relief.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eHand painted in gilt lettering upon a black ground and retained within its moulded wooden frame, the notice reads:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eCITY OF LEICESTER\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eNOTICE TO APPLICANTS FOR RELIEF\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHILDREN UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE ARE NOT\u003cbr\u003eALLOWED AT THESE OFFICES, AND IN NO\u003cbr\u003eCASE ARE CHILDREN ALLOWED TO FETCH RELIEF.\u003cbr\u003eAPPLICATIONS FOR DOCTORS ORDERS ARE TO\u003cbr\u003eBE MADE BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 9 AND 10 A.M.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eBY ORDER\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eThe sign belongs to Leicester’s administration of the Poor Law during the early decades of the 20th century. At this date those requiring assistance could apply to the local Poor Law authorities for relief, including \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eoutdoor relief\u003c\/span\u003e — assistance provided without the recipient entering the workhouse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eLeicester’s purpose-built \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003ePoor Law Offices stood at Pocklington’s Walk\u003c\/span\u003e, with the complex also associated with Rupert Street. The offices were erected in \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e1883 at a cost of £5,000\u003c\/span\u003e, to designs by the Leicester architects \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eRedfern \u0026amp; Sawday\u003c\/span\u003e. Contemporary directories record the Guardians meeting there, together with a Relief Committee, relieving officers and medical officers responsible for administering the system.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eThe reference on the sign to \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e“Doctors Orders”\u003c\/span\u003e relates directly to the provision of medical assistance under the Poor Law. Medical officers were appointed to districts alongside the relieving officers, and the notice regulated both who could attend the relief offices and the hours during which applications for medical orders could be made.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eThe offices became the focus of a significant episode in Leicester’s social history in \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e1921\u003c\/span\u003e, during a period of severe post-war unemployment. A large demonstration by unemployed people seeking relief gathered outside the Poor Law Board of Guardians’ offices in \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003eRupert Street\u003c\/span\u003e. The protest developed into a serious confrontation with the police and spread into the city centre, resulting in violence and damage. Contemporary and archival accounts subsequently referred to the disturbance as a riot.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eThe sign provides a direct record of the regulations imposed upon those seeking assistance from this system. The instruction that children under sixteen were not permitted at the offices, nor allowed to collect relief, illustrates the practical controls governing the everyday administration of Poor Law assistance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eConstructed as a wooden panel within a moulded wooden frame, the sign is hand painted. The surface retains considerable evidence of age and use, including craquelure, scratches, small paint losses, old fixing holes and general wear. There is evidence of \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003ehistoric repainting or strengthening to areas of the black ground and possibly portions of the lettering\u003c\/span\u003e. The appearance and subsequent wear of these areas suggest that this work is itself old.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003eThe exact date of manufacture is unrecorded. Its administrative context places it within the period of Poor Law administration before the abolition of the Boards of Guardians in 1930, and a date of \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003ecirca 1910–1930.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeasuring: 56.5 cm x 40.5 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEnglish, City of Leicester, circa 1910–1930.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rob Hall Antiques","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48141732905125,"sku":null,"price":575.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1151\/3980\/files\/IMG_8850.jpg?v=1786637953","url":"https:\/\/robhallantiques.com\/products\/original-poor-relief-hand-painted-wooden-sign-c-1920","provider":"Rob Hall Antiques","version":"1.0","type":"link"}