From 1601 until 1824 the parish church was responsible for looking after the poor, Chelsea had its own workhouse opened in 1737. The parish collected a poor-rate tax from property owners, the local church vestries increasingly took charge of civilian matters, they administered justice and appointed a constable called the Beadle to enforce rulings. A lock-up and stocks were situated outside both Chelsea and Kensington parish churches.

Various people asked the parish for help; elderly, unemployed, sick or injured, widows, orphans, the mentally ill, all were lumped together in a “one size fits all” welfare system. To start with poor relief was mainly given in money or food to those living in their own homes and known as outdoor relief. However, the workhouse gradually began to evolve as an alternative both as an economy measure and as a deterrent. The able-bodied were required to work, usually without pay, in return for their board and lodging.

In 1727 at a Vestry meeting it was agreed that the Church wardens be empowered to take, with all convenient speed, a proper house upon lease, in the name of this parish, for the use of the poor. Sir Hans Sloane donated a site adjacent to the burial ground on Dovehouse Green, Chelsea for this purpose. When built in 1737 the workhouse could accommodate up to seventy people.