The Poor Law - originating from the reign of Elizabeth I - created a system for the relief of the Poor, administered at parish level and paid for by levying local rates on property owners and middle-class occupiers. Each Parish elected two Overseers of the Poor annually who were responsible for setting the Poor Rate, collecting the dues and distributing the proceeds to the Poor. They were answerable to two JP's for the County for the correct administration of the system. The combination of skills and attributes needed to be an effective Overseer meant that in practice the same limited group of individuals performed the task in rotation.

The rates as collected were recorded into Poor Rate Books, the earliest available for Hampton Wick being a standard format accounts book dating from 1808 and listing names, rateable values and amount collected. A comprehensive reform and centralisation of the Poor Law System in 1834 created standardised books which recorded both occupier and owner and included a description of the property. When the Hampton Wick Local Board promulgated street names in 1864, this was added to the information recorded in the Poor Rate Books, greatly increasing their value to the researcher. Roughly one-third of the original set of Hampton Wick Poor Rate books survive from the period 1808 to 1915.