Introduction Social work is a profession that aspires to bolster the quality of life and welfare of a certain group, personalities or a community. It achieves these objectives by indulging in extensive research, mobilizing the community members to participate in bettering their lives, encouraging members of society to rise up to the occasion as regards to eradication of poverty, and eliminating social injustices that violate human rights. The main objective of social workers is to improve the quality of lives through human growth, communal policy, administration, review of programs, and engaging members of society in global and societal development (Townsend 1957, p. 12). Social work is a field of study that incorporates theories from other subjects such as finance, culture, medicine, philosophy, politics and psychology. In Britain, social work can be traced back to the industrial revolution era. At this time, the state witnessed various upheavals that threatened to divide society into half. The gap between the poor and the rich was ever increasing and poverty levels were rising. Due to this, the major focus of the social worker was to eradicate poverty in society. The field of social work developed lethargically to be what it is in the modern world. Social workers in the UK found themselves fighting social injustices such as racial discrimination, gender based discrimination, homophobia, and inequity based on age. Currently, social work has developed into a fully-fledged field with the subject matter, theories and methods. During its initial years in Britain, social work focused on preventing problems and reforming life in society (Young & Wilmott 1957, p. 98). Presently, the field has espoused a critical and holistic model in comprehending and intercepting social problems. For instance, social workers agree that the problem of poverty is not about sickness, infirmity or ethical imperfection that should be cured but it is matter that pertains to the rich and the poor. This paper will therefore trace the developments of social work as a field of study and profession since the mid 19 th century to present. Through analysis, it is established that the field has experienced various historical developments in its evolution. The field was more inclined to social control but it currently empowers members of society to determine their own destinies. Poor Law system The poor law system was aimed at assisting the poor in England and Wales. The laws were developed in the 16 th century and were in existence until the end of the Second World War. Initially, the laws were intended to help poor individuals who were impotent and had no place to call home. Later on, the Tudor laws were passed to contain the influence of the vagrants and beggars on the streets. The poor law system can be divided into two major sections that is, the one that was passed during Elizabeth’s regime and the new one passed in 1834. The new law was simply an adjustment to the previous law, which was actually ineffective due to the changing world. The old law system under Elizabeth lacked implementation because it was left to the church members to run it. The new law modernized the system whereby the government came up with programs aimed at building workhouses for the poor people (May 1973, p