Hello everyone, The correspondence about poor relief and the kirk session reminded me of an article about Rothesay beggars' badges in the 1945 Transactions of the Buteshire Natural History Society. I was pleased to find it because I had been puzzled by occasional references in the kirk session minutes to so-and-so "being awarded a badge". The article by the Rev James Hay Hamilton says; " The Kirk session of each parish allocated all church collections to the relief of poverty stricken persons living within the bounds, and this money was supplemented by the fines which they were empowered to impose for breaches of church discipline, and from other sources. Despite these measures, the funds received were quite inadequate to cope with the need, and Kirk Sessions were in the habit of giving badges or tokens to poor deserving persons to entitle them to the privilege of eking out their living by begging. "The law was very severe in its punishment of able-bodied beggars and vagabonds, but when badges or licences were granted to poor people by competent authorities these badge-bearers or licence-holders were allowed to beg with impunity." There are specimens of these large metal badges in Bute Museum. The badge was said to be a valuable privilege and could represent a considerable yearly income, Madeleine