Social Welfare in Ballynahinch 300 Years Ago: Pioneering Scheme by First Presbyterian Church by Horace Reid

This article is based on a lecture delivered to Lecale and Downe Historical Society on 20th January 2020. Please see Horace Reid's YouTube talk on these records on https://youtu.be/IFER385lQ7s

This is the story of how what is now the town's First Presbyterian Church organised a social security scheme, long before our 20C Welfare State came into being. There were a number of similar charity schemes in Co Down at the time, operating in different parishes and denominations, aimed at alleviating poverty and also at curbing rogue beggars. But the Ballynahinch venture is unique in having a large amount of surviving documentation.

It is clear from these papers that the scheme run by First Presbyterian was sophisticated, comprehensive, self-funded, and cradle-to-grave in scope. It included widows' and old age pensions, end of life and burial grants, and support for orphans. Finance allocated to the project was known as 'The Poor's Money'. The scheme operated late in the reign of William III and was continued into the time of Queen Anne, George I and George II.

Employment Support Allowance.

Nowadays benefit claimants unable to work through illness or injury are paid Employment Support Allowance, (formerly Incapacity Benefit). In 172l a similar scheme was in fact operating in Ballynahinch. The church carpenter at that time was John Gough, and that year he suffered a significant injury, perhaps a broken arm or leg. He was unable to work or to earn a living for over a year.

John had been married six years earlier in 1715 in his home congregation by Rev James McAlpine. His wife was Elizabeth, nee Ferguson. Their children soon followed - Christine, who was five in 1721, Rebecca who was four, and their twin boys, George and James, who were just one year and one month. With four young children and no income, after John’s injury the couple were soon struggling financially. In April the church stepped in immediately, with payments for an initial three-month period, at six pence per installment. In August John tried to resume work, but couldn't.
The church continued payments, but now at a reduced rate of 4d. Another attempt at work in October 1721 failed again, and again payments resumed.

John eventually recovered and returned to work permanently in August
1722, having received a total of 44 support payments from First Presbyterian. He resumed his valuable role in maintenance of the fabric, receiving church contracts in 1722, 1723 and 1725.

Unmarried Mothers.

The problem of unwed mothers and absent fathers is one that troubles every age and every generation. Back in the early 1700s, the Ballynahinch Session took a stern approach to ‘fire-and-forget’ fatherhood.

Their starting point was an interview with the expectant mother, to ascertain the identity of her co-responsible male partner. If she proved uncompliant, exclusion from church attendance was then threatened. Faced with resultant near-total social ostracism, the mother-to-be soon cooperated.

The next stage involved the errant couple appearing before the entire congregation on the Stool of Repentance, and confessing their extramarital transgression. After that they were received back into fellowship, and their child baptised and recognised as a church member.

In a 30-year period the Ballynahinch Session dealt with 20 such cases. In six, they identified both parents. In six other cases only the mother was identified; in seven, only the father. In one case the origins and surname of a 'foundling' child were known, but neither parent actually came forward.

By 21st century standards, these church procedures sound draconian. But they had the purpose of protecting the rights of the child, and of offering an opportunity for the parents to salvage their reputations, if possible.

The alternatives were a lot worse. It was common in the 1700s and 1800s for the sexton at Magheradroll Parish Church to discover live newborns abandoned overnight on his church doorstep; or if dead through neglect or infanticide, to find their bodies surreptitiously concealed in adjacent graves. (See Down Recorder, 22 Oct 1853). In Ireland such surviving infants were sent in large numbers to the Foundling Hospital in Dublin, which received between 1,500-2,000 orphans annually. The hospital's mortality rate was some 80%.

In Ballynahinch, under Presbyterian auspices, some such infants were spared this grisly fate. The lives of a number of potential orphans were actively protected by the church in their home town.

Disabled Living Allowance.

Under the Welfare Reform Act of 2012, Disabled Living Allowance was controversially replaced with Personal Independence Payment. DLA payments were made to claimants who often had long-term medical conditions. The amount of the award varied according to the degree of disability.

Interestingly in Ballynahinch in the early 1700s, First Presbyterian made a number of long-term DLA-type grants to some 'supplicants'.

Ms Grissel Foreman was on such a benefit from 1718-1732. The financial records of the Poor's Money still exist. But all its other documentation is lost, so we don't know what Grissel's ailment actually was. It was obviously slow and progressive, perhaps something like tuberculosis, or multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson's. As her condition deteriorated, the church increased its amount of financial support. In 1719 she received seven payments totalling 7s 8d. By 1730 this had escalated to 19 payments totalling £2 2s 3d.

She died in 1732 and was buried at church expense. Over 15 years, amounts paid to her totalled £11 18s 3d. This was an enormous sum, considering the church minister's annual stipend at the time was £22.

Archive source.

These are just some examples of the groundbreaking welfare work of the church at this time. Raw data for the Poor’s Money can be accessed on Ros Davies'
Co. Down Family History Research website, <www.rosdavies.com>, in the section “A history of Ballynahinch Presbyterian church from 1696”. The transactions are contained in the financial day book for 1704-34, posted there.

Most of the archives of First Presbyterian perished when the rebel town of Ballynahinch was burned by General Nugent on 13th June 1798. Four ledgers only were salvaged, and later conserved by Dr. James Armstrong and his brother John Strong Armstrong, then members of the congregation. Their descendant Julian Armstrong later transcribed the surviving ledgers’ full content, posting it on Ros Davies’ website in 2004.