Frequently asked questions

Could you please tell me what Bastardy means?

Bastardy was a former offence. If you had a child, without the means to support it, outside marriage, and it became chargeable to the state, you could be sent to goal. The idea was that people should be responsible enough to ensure they had the means to support any children born. This sentence could be applied to either a man or a woman if they could be proved to be the parents.

A definition of this and other words can be found in the site glossary.





	Introduction Browse by name Quick searches Advanced Search Case Studies What you told us Glossary FAQs Frequently asked questions Could you please tell me what Bastardy means? Bastardy was a former offence. If you had a child, without the means to support it, outside marriage, and it became chargeable to the state, you could be sent to goal. The idea was that people should be responsible enough to ensure they had the means to support any children born. This sentence could be applied to either a man or a woman if they could be proved to be the parents. A definition of this and other words can be found in the site glossary. © Copyright E2BN 2006 \| Contact Us \| Accessibility \| Credits \| Terms E2B® and E2BN® are registered trade marks and trading names of East of England Broadband Network (Company Registration No. 04649057)