Care of the poor 3
Friendly Societies

Mutual support
Until the twentieth century working families always lived in the shadow of genuine hardship. Accident or illness could bring sudden disaster to a whole family. One way that these people could take steps to provide a limited sense of security was through membership of a club where members paid a small subscription into a common fund and drew on this reserve when needed. Having a decent burial when you died was a source of anxiety to many poor people, and burial or mutual clubs and societies sprang up to provide for this.

Friendly societies were an extension of this need. They provided mutual support but developed into a social society having a wider role. These appeared in many communities in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Because of the importance of the Jacobin Club and the Social Circle in Paris as powerhouses of radical protest during the French Revolution, the authorities in Britain introduced restrictive measures on these friendly societies limiting any possibility of a radical political involvement. Clubs in the three old counties of Powys had to register with the Quarter Sessions. As the years went by these clubs naturally also developed a social function where people could come together to enjoy each others company.