> [] > >>>>> as would their owners. Various religious establishments, and some > >>>>> secular ones, had a tradition of the travellers' dole whereby genuine > >>>>> travellers would get free food and water. The Hospice at St Cross, > >>>> > >>>> Were there enough of these establishments that a practically penniless > >>>> person could actually make a long journey? > >>> > >> [] > I expect the following question probably can't be answered, as I suspect > the majority of the sort of people I'm thinking of would be illiterate - > or, at least, not be in a position to either keep a diary or get it > published. But I'll ask anyway: > > are there actual accounts of people travelling long distances (say, over > 200 miles), relying entirely on these establishments? Especially with a > large number of children? In mediaeval times, the religious houses did provide for travellers. To a limited extent, the parish/churchwardens took over this function, usually where hefty travellers were involved (pay them 4d or 6d to go away). But weaker 'sturdy beggars' tended to be whipped to shift them. There were local charity funded 'doles' but usually limited to one day a month or even year, and jealously guarded by the local more or less poor. [A vicar charged with an annual dole of buns and pies locally decided enough was enough, and got thrown in the horsepond for it]. However, if a person was found begging/destitute in parish A, there was usually an investigation to discover the place of settlement (B) . Once this was established, theperson was given a pass from A to B, which allowed him to move from parish to parish (in a direct line) without being whipped, and usually being given either food or a few pence to keep moving. They were referred to as 'passengers', hence someone who died and was buried as a passenger was not someone off a coach. Some parishes (?Offley Herts) became known as generous, so tramps made extensive detours to get the benefits (like the economic migrants today) On main roads, the traveller problem sometimes got menacing, so counties employed 'cripple contractors' [so called because some people were lame, some faking lameness for sympathy], who loaded a bunch of travellers into a waggon and dumped them further up the road, ideally into the next county. The wily 'travellers' made use of this system to hitch a lift - if you declared your settlement as Scotland or Ireland, you might get a ride for several miles. One chap who lost his shirt at Aylesbury races declared Durham as his settlement, and got lifts most of the way to Doncaster Races. In many cases, farmers or cottagers were kind enough to allow a night in a barn and supply a bit of food, especially if there was a family with children. So again, wily travellers borrowed a few children, pinched them to make them cry, and got food that way. (The Roma do it now in London streets). Of course, there were genuine paupers on the roads, needing help,sometimes widows set adrift because their husbands had been settled far away, but a lot were exploiting the system and did rather better than the genuine cases, lacking shame. > -- EVE > J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf > > This was before we knew that a laboratory rat, if experimented upon, will > develop cancer. [Quoted by] Anne (annezo@aol.com), 1997-1-29 > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GENBRIT-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message Author of The McLaughlin Guides for Family Historians Secretary, Bucks Genealogical Society