Poverty: A study of town life

A century ago, Seebohm Rowntree, inspired by the work of Charles Booth and of his own father, Joseph Rowntree, embarked on a lengthy investigation of poverty in York. He and his team talked to poor and working class people in the city to find out what they spent their money on, and the extent to which they could afford what he defined as the minimum necessities (which did not, as far as he was concerned, include alcohol). He gathered an extraordinary range of statistics. His work was hugely influential in the thinking which led to the foundation of the welfare state - after reading it, Winston Churchill became a supporter of social reform, eventually abandoning the Conservatives for the Liberal Party.

His research methods still have validity today, albeit in a very different context. Now, for the first time, this classic work is republished in a special centennial edition, with a specifically written extended preface by Professor Jonathan Bradshaw, a leading contemporary expert on identifying and understanding poverty. This faithful reproduction of the original 1901 edition includes the famous town plan as well as the infamous map of the licensed houses of York.

The book is valuable reading for social policy students, researchers and anyone interested in poverty, how to identify it, and how to tackle it.

Jonathan Bradshaw CBE, FBA is Professor of Social Policy at the University of York. In addition to research into family policy, in recent years his research has focused on international comparisons of child poverty, child benefit packages and child well-being. He is a member of the Board of the International Society for Child Indicators and of the Foundation for International Studies in Social Security.