Long-term Workhouse Inmates in Bedminster Union, Somerset, 1861
In 1861, the Poor Law Board published a return of the name every adult pauper who had been a workhouse inmate for a continuous period of five years or more, together with the duration of their residence (in years and months), the reason for it, and whether they had been brought up in a District or separate Workhouse School. It was noted that the term 'District School' had been widely misinterpreted by respondents as meaning any school in the local area, such as a national or private school, and that there was only one instance in the whole report of an inmate actually having been in such a school.
| Name | Yrs | ms. | Reason | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Batt | 9 | 0 | Incapable of work | no. |
| William Bevan | 10 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Samson Bees | 12 | 0 | Deaf and dumb | no. |
| Catherine Chamberlain | 18 | 0 | Incapable of work | no. |
| Mary Chivers | 5 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| John Doughty | 5 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Richard Gillet | 6 | 0 | Incapable of work | no. |
| Richard Gillet | 18 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Julia Hulland | 8 | 0 | Incapable of work | no. |
| Mary Ann Harris | 14 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| William Light | 6 | 0 | Incapable of work | no. |
| Ann Owen | 9 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| James Perry | 21 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Elizabeth Roark | 7 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Martha Savers | 12 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Sarah Scriffin | 9 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| William Williams | 6 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| John Welsh | 11 | 0 | Incapable of work | no. |
| Charles Williams | 6 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Samuel Weeks | 20 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Jane White | 8 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Martha White | 12 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
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