In a study published in The History of Family journal, external, Ms Rhodes looked at the experiences of 38 women caring for non-kin children in their parish and who took their cases to courts sitting in Lancaster, Preston, Manchester, Wigan and Ormskirk.
Traditionally, this work was called “boarding” or “tabling”, but it had many similarities with modern fostering, with the parish authorities judging if the family situation was suitable for the children.
Ms Rhodes said: “When they decided it wasn’t, they sought to place them in a new home, ideally with somebody from their local community, and they compensated this person to look after the child.”
The women were often widows, sometimes unmarried, and occasionally a husband took the decision on behalf of the family.
“In their petitions they refer to ‘the child was put on me’ or ‘the husband decided this’ and the woman has had to continue the arrangement itself; it is not consensual,” said Ms Rhodes.
