Workhouse Information

[NoLongerATeacher]

Hello

I have found out that my grandmother was born in a workhouse in Wales. I have tried online to find records but am hitting a brick wall. Has anyone successfully found work house records?
thank you

What records are you looking for in particular? If it's a birth certificate then you can order that online from here:

https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/app_select.asp

Census records will also be available online.

If you are looking for records specifically from the workhouse then different sites have records covering different areas.

For example, Ancestry has workhouse records covering Glamorgan from 1850 to 1920. It also has records covering different parts of England over different timescales as well.

But not all areas of the UK are covered.

If you can't find the information online then you have to do it old school - in person.

If you know where she was born then you need to find where (or, indeed, if) the records for the local Poor Law Union are kept. They will likely be in the Records Office for that county.

I don't know where your grandmother was born, but for example, I just had a quick look at Wrexham and found that the Wrexham Poor Law records are held at the Denbighshire Records Office in Ruthin.

Each county Records Office usually has a website where you can search to see if they have the records that you're looking for. Or you can email them for help. Alternatively, you can just give them a call or pop in to see them.

You will probably need to make an appointment to go and actually view the records though, as the archivist will need to get them out from wherever they are stored.

They will have the original documents and I find it really interesting actually seeing the documents themselves rather than just seeing scanned images online.

Sorry, forgot to add, another good place to start looking for where these off-line records are held is The National Archives:

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

For example, typing "Wrexham Poor Law" comes up with all the links they have to the Denbighshire Records Office and it also turns out that there are some other records (for example the Quarter Sessions which record people convicted of a crime) held by The National Archives in London.

You may also find this of interest, some details of individual Welsh Poor Law Unions:

https://www.workhouses.org.uk/Wales/UnionsWales.shtml

I'm not sure about Wales, but in England you can find workhouse records in the County archives.

Try looking on workhouses.org.uk as they have a section on Welsh records.

Hello thank you both for your replies - really helpful. Ancestry shows she was born in 1901 in Dolgellau workhouse. Her mother was 19 and no father was listed. I found great grandmothers family though and her father was in work so am curious why she was in the workhouse - perhaps cast out as not being married? Thank you again - I quite fancy a trip to Wales so will see what I can go and look at in person.

Definitely check they have records before you go. Some workhouse records haven't survived unfortunately

I'm shamelessly leaping on here because my great grandmother was also born in a workhouse in 1901. Also, with no father listed.

What sort of things would workhouse records show?

I'm shamelessly leaping on here because my great grandmother was also born in a workhouse in 1901. Also, with no father listed.

What sort of things would workhouse records show?

My grandmother was born in Bury St Edmunds workhouse in 1901. I think I emailed Suffolk Archives (it was about 20 years ago). They told me that no records remained but did send me some photos of the buildings.

Give them a call or email them first to see what information they do have. From a quick look at their website they do seem to have the records for Pwllheli workhouse but no mention of Dolgelley. Although they do say that not all records are included in the online catalogue.

https://www.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/en/Residents/Libraries-and-archives/Archives-and-family-history/Archives-and-family-history.aspx

In addition, the Minute Books for Dolgelly workhouse are held at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth:

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F100749

So that may also be a useful place to go. The events that happened in the workhouse (including births and deaths) would generally be recorded in the Minute Books.

I remember one funny little entry in one that read "The Master was authorised to stop the tobacco of a man named Zuennell if he refused to be bathed"

But it does say that some of the Minute Books are missing so, again, get in touch with them before you make an appointment to view any documents.

It varies depending on what survives and what doesn't.

There are the Minute Books which are the contemporaneous records of things going on in the workhouse including, births, deaths, transfers to other workhouses or asylums etc. They would also include details of going after a parent who had abandoned a child, paying for medical equipment or for an apprenticeship or emigration etc.

Registers of Admission and Discharge. These include personal details of individual inmates. Some may contain quite a bit of information, others much less.

Registers of Deaths and Births/Baptisms. These may contain more details than the official certificates.

Asylum Records - "Lunatics" being moved from the workhouse to an asylum

For children born in a workhouse the records can include details about admission to the workhouse school and records about apprenticeship and employment or being moved out to a children's home.

But the amount of surviving records, and their quality, varies a lot. You just have to dig around to see what exists for the particular workhouse that you are interested in.

Her name wasn’t Mary was it 😂 How bizarre that would be if we are looking for the same person!

Sorry for a second reply. Here are just some random excerpts from Minute Books of around that time that give an impression of the sort of information included about children in the workhouse.

Proposal to send Alice Lucas to Training School at Wantage and also an effort would be made to get her into Merstham Home

Resolved that an outfit to the extent of 10/ be allowed to Alice Lucas on being received into the Merstham Home

Resolved that James aged 11 years son of Mrs Lucas now an inmate of this Workhouse be allowed to go into King Edwards School at Witley.

Resolved that the Guardians consent to contribute the sum of 4/5 per week for the maintenance of Emily Lucas an Orphan child now in the workhouse on her being admitted to the Brockham Home.

Recommendation from House Visiting Committee that he, aged 11, be sent to a suitable home. Sent to the School of Handicrafts at Chertsey

Recommendation from House Visiting Committee that she, aged 12, be sent to a suitable home

Resolved that an annual payment be made towards maintenance in the Blind School at Hampstead (she is aged 14)

Letter received from the Superintendent of the Industrial School at Byfleet accepting him, if maintenance is paid.

[but he didn't last too long as three years later his death was recorded]

Notice of his death in Surrey County Hospital (sent there from the County Industrial School)

Reports received from the Training ship Exmouth as to George who had been sent from the Workhouse.

[link here, boys were sent to the Exmouth from the age of 12 https://www.childrenshomes.org.uk/TSExmouth/ ]

Clerk instructed to apply to the Duke of Yorks Military School at Chelsea for the admission of Andrew.

It appeared that there was little chance for the admission of Andrew to the Duke of Yorks School. It was resolved that his father would be asked to remove Andrew from the Workhouse

Pullen had not removed his child from the Workhouse as requested by the Board. Pullen to be informed that unless he did so at once proceedings would be taken against him

Then there were a whole series of reports about a boy who was emigrated to Canada leaving his mother behind in 1906. He was one of the more than 100,000 children who were sent to Canada to work as indentured farm workers (boys) or domestic servants (girls).

https://canadianbritishhomechildren.weebly.com/

Letter received from the superintendent of the St Josephs Orphanage suggesting that John should remain there until early spring and then be emigrated to Canada.

Resolved that the Guardians consent to pay the necessary money for the emigration of John to Canada.

Letter received from Mr Edwards St John of Archbishop House St Georges Road Southwark intimating that he would make arrangements for emigrating John to Canada.

Letter received from the Local Government Board asking if the mother of John had given consent for him to emigrate to Canada.

Payment sanctioned by the Local Government for the expenses of the emigration of John

Letter received from St Josephs Orphanage stating that John who had been emigrated to Canada in June had been placed with Mr Stephen Farrell Wellington Ontario Canada.

There was then a follow up about a year later:

Letter received from the local Government enclosing a letter from the Canadian Immigration Officer on the Welfare of John who had been sent to Canada by this Board.

Another2Cats wow that’s fascinating - thank you. It’s shocking really what went on. Thank you so much for your time giving this information - I will start I think by getting her birth certificate. This family tree stuff is a real rabbit warren! I believed that my fathers family where all from Essex - no! They originate and lived for many years 20 minutes from where I live now. Thank you again - can I pick your brains again if I get stuck?

No problem

It's fascinating when you find someone in the Workhouse. My great great Gran was born in Poplar Workhouse in 1873 - again no father listed. Her mother died a few years later and she and her younger sister were sent to Canada when they were about 8 and 7.

You may be able to find when she was discharged, which could have been shortly after the birth - my great grandmother was born in Lambeth Workhouse in 1894 (father unknown) and she and her mother were discharged a couple of weeks later. The next we know of her is in the 1901 census when she is living in her mother’s home village in Gloucestershire as a boarder with an elderly woman, while her mother is working as a cook in a vicarage a few miles away.

Lots of the London Metropolitan Archive workhouse records are on Ancestry if you want to get a feel for what they look like and it is really interesting to see the number of people who discharged themselves on Christmas Eve, being readmitted a week or so later, and some really tragic cases of families (or just the children) who are frequently in and out as work comes and goes.