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John Ivie – a plague of reforms |
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Failure
But despite all the best intentions and efforts of Ivie, Sherfield and Bee, the schemes failed in the long term. They were largely effective in relieving poverty and famine during the plague years from 1627, but did not last long after that. The brewhouse was not well patronised by the local innkeepers and alehouse-keepers and it was unable to free itself from debts from the initial set-up which were estimated at £1000 in 1627.
The mechanism for setting up the training of children was similarly thwarted by a lack of enthusiasm and support from private interests, and the most imaginative element of the three-prong scheme – 
Sailsbury Cathedral oversaw all of Ivie's reforms |
the storehouse and token scheme collapsed by 1640 as it proved to be too inflexible and many people were found to be trading their tokens for cash and still then spending on copious amounts of drink.
According to Ivie, at the time of his retirement from Mayoral duties, he was called before the City Recorder, Henry Sherfield and the assembled Session Committee and told: "You have done your country good service, for which we are all beholding to God and you".
Despite the failure of the schemes, nobody has seen fit to detract from the short term achievements of Ivie and his team. It is seen that the overall failure was due, in part, to what was seen as a return to "old ways" – that of disciplining the poor and reducing the cost of their relief.
John Ivie, reformer, Puritan and loyal servant to Salisbury has been remembered in the city with a street and a bridge bearing his name, but today how many people would realise that his work and efforts were the precursor to what we would see as a co-operative system of trade and employment?
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