Gill Blanchard
ESSENTIAL RECORDS
RESEARCHING The POOR
Docking Union Workhouse c1920s
With family history, our intention is to track down The records and understand The lives of our ancestors better.
Investigating ancestors who ended up in The ‘care’ of The workhouse can be very moving, but neverTheless it certainly is a valuable avenue of research to follow, rich in historical workhouse records for you to investigate.
How The workhouses came about
Before 1834 poor relief was The responsibility of local parish officials, paid for out of local taxes. Parish poor houses began to appear from The 17th century. Spiralling costs and a rising population led to various reforms. A major initiative was Gilbert’s Act of 1782 whereby groups of parishes could save costs by setting up joint workhouses. In 1832, The Government set up a Royal Commission to investigate continuing problems.This resulted in The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, which organised English and Welsh parishes into Poor Law Unions. Each had Their own workhouse administered by elected Boards of Guardians. The Act also created a central body, The ‘Poor Law Commission for England and Wales’.
Workhouses in Scotland & Ireland
The systems in Scotland and Ireland were based on The same principles, but at diTherent dates. Scotland introduced its Poor Law Amendment Act in 1845, which set up parochial boards in each parish to administer poor relief. The National Archives of Scotland website has an excellent guide: www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/guides/poor-relief-record