Religion and Society in Kent, 1640-1914 illuminates changes in society from the mid seventeenth century to immediately prior to the First World War. Studies focus on the related fields of the church and its work in the parish, the expansion of educational provision (including the involvement of national societies such as the SPCK), and the operation of the old and new Poor Law, together with medical aspects of poor law provision; a separate study is made of the impact of epidemics, which led ultimately to improvements in public sanitation and water supply. A wealth of local detail, including illustrations and tables, accompanies the narrative, citing life in towns and villages throughout the county, and recording the critical shift over nearly three hundred years from church-centred altruism to early intimations of the welfare state.