Widespread poverty in the countryside in Elizabethan times drove beggars towards the relative honeypot of York. To deal with this, the corporation took a census of the poor and issued begging licences. From 1515, beggars certified as legal had to wear tokens on their shoulders. By 1528 a hierarchy of beggars was established, according to the History of York website. To each ward was appointed a ‘Master Beggar’ who kept an eye on the rest. Any without a token were told to leave. The census we know today happens every ten years and provides invaluable information about all the people and households in England and Wales.