Staines, Middlesex
Up to 1834
A parliamentary report of 1777 recorded parish workhouses in operation at Stanes (sic) for up to 50 inmates, Harlington (40 inmates), Shepperton (35), and Sunbury (25).
After 1834
Staines Poor Law Union formally came into existence on 28th June 1836. Its operation was overseen by an elected Board of Guardians, 21 in number, representing its 13 constituent parishes as listed below (figures in brackets indicate number of Guardians where this was more than one):
Middlesex: Ashford, East Bedfont with Hatton (2), Cranford, Feltham (2), Hanworth, Harlington, Harmondsworth (2), Laleham, Littleton, Staines (4), Stanwell (2), Shepperton, Sunbury (2).
The population falling in the Union in 1831 had been 12,644 — ranging from Littleton (134) to Staines itself (2,486). The average poor-rate expenditure for 1833-5 had been £6,903 or 10s.11d. per head of the population.
A new Staines Union workhouse was built on the north side of the London Road in Ashford in 1840-1. Its location and layoutare shown on the 1914 OS map:
Staines workhouse site, 1914.
The former workhouse later became Ashford Hospital. All the original workhouse buildings have now been demolished.
Staines former workhouse site from the south, 2001.
©Peter Higginbotham.
Staff
Inmates
Records
-
London Metropolitan Archives, 40 Northampton Road, London EC1R OHB. (Many viewable online via Ancestry
) Holdings (filed under 'Ashford Hospital') include: Births (1848-93); Deaths (1890-1954); Creed registers (1869-1930; Admission and discharge registers (1912-40); Register of defectives (1886-1930); Register of lunatics (1919-33).
Bibliography
- None.
Links
- None.
This page () is copyright Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.
