Walthamstow provides an unusual, perhaps unique, history of care of the poor. As Archivist for the Walthamstow Almshouse and General Charities, Dr. Gibson has not only sorted and catalogued their records but has pieced together how one parish has cared for the poor over five centuries. A milestone came in 1527 with the establishment of the Sir George Monoux Almshouses and London’s only pre-Reformation institution still operating today. The author traces the continuous efforts of the charity since early Tudor times, to alleviate poverty and suffering.