Long-term Workhouse Inmates in Billericay Union, Essex, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Willey | 15 | 0 | Weakness of mind and body | no. |
| William Speeding | 24 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| John Franklin | 8 | 0 | Deficient eyesight | no. |
| William Swan | 10 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Jonathan Webb | 5 | 0 | Deficient eyesight | no. |
| William Chaplin | 8 | 0 | Weakness of mind and body | no. |
| John Little | 10 | 0 | Old age and infirmity | no. |
| Jacob Daniells | 8 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| James Lazzell | 5 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| William Lazell | 8 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| James Rolph | 6 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| William Jenkins | 7 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| William Stratford | 8 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| William Fitch | 8 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| John Steel | 6 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Peter Fitch | 11 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| James Marsh | 8 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Edwin Martin | 12 | 0 | Deficient eyesight | no. |
| Thomas Harrod | 14 | 0 | Old age and infirmity | no. |
| James Tarling | 5 | 0 | Blind | no. |
| William Price | 7 | 0 | Old age and infirmity | no. |
| William Banbrook | 6 | 0 | Paralysis | no. |
| John Gibbons | 5 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Joseph Townsend | 7 | 0 | Old age and infirmity | no. |
| John Miles | 11 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Henry Rolph | 7 | 0 | Paralysis | no. |
| John Sewell | 5 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Sarah Fewell | 11 | 0 | Subject to epileptic fits | no. |
| Sophia Branch | 12 | 0 | Blind | no. |
| Susan Bettis | 18 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Harriet Woodfine | 20 | 0 | Subject to epileptic fits | yes. |
| Mary Playle | 19 | 0 | Deficient eyesight | no. |
| Mary Fielding | 7 | 0 | Old age and infirmity | no. |
| Mary Reynolds | 11 | 0 | Deserted by husband, with children dependent on her. | no. |
| Mary Franklin | 8 | 0 | Old age and infirmity | no. |
| Sarah Miller | 15 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Elizabeth Willey | 15 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Elizabeth Argent | 8 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Elizabeth Tyler | 13 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Sarah Platt | 12 | 0 | Weakness of mind and body | yes. |
| Eliza Boatman | 12 | 0 | ditto | yes. |
| Elizabeth Walker | 9 | 0 | Old age and infirmity | no. |
| Ann Walker | 9 | 0 | Weakness of body; is deformed | yes. |
| Martha Wright | 15 | 0 | Cancer on lip | yes. |
| Elizabeth Crix | 5 | 0 | Old age and infirmity | no. |
| Rachel Milbank | 5 | 0 | Imbecile | no. |
| Eliza Kirby | 16 | 0 | Has children dependent on her | no. |
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