Hi,
It comes under the generally used term of The Poor Laws.
The Settlement Act of 1662 ensured that everyone had a Place of Legal Settlement - a parish which would take financial responsibility if you fell on hard times.
A man might become too ill to work or a woman could be widowed and have no means of support while living in a parish which was not his/her place of settlement. That parish would issue a removal order to have him/her sent back to the parish which did carry the responsibilty. The place of settlement could be the place of birth, where a man completed his apprenticeship or other criteria. The person being removed could appeal the order and this would result in ‘examinations’ (witness statements) being taken to support the appeal and the whole matter would be decided at Quarter Sessions.
A short explanation of what can be a complex set of rules. Hope it makes sense.
Christine
PS The parish in this instance does not mean the church but the parish council
