Long-term Workhouse Inmates in Chelmsford 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julia Crabb | 12 | 0 | Idiotcy | no. |
| Hannah Shuttleworth | 6 | 0 | Cripple | no. |
| Benjamin Finch | 9 | 0 | Rheumatism | no. |
| Hephzibah Davey | 6 | 0 | Blind | district school. |
| William Mason | 6 | 0 | Paralysis | district school. |
| Mary Gilbert | 21 | 0 | Deaf, and impediment in her speech. | no. |
| William Bacon | 9 | 0 | Bad legs | no. |
| Elizabeth Miller | 5 | 0 | Infirm | no. |
| John Barnes | 21 | 0 | Idiotcy | no. |
| John Gates | 10 | 0 | Infirm | district school. |
| Martha Waters | 6 | 0 | Idiotcy | no. |
| Walter Waters | 6 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Thomas Bacon | 7 | 0 | Epilepsy | yes. |
| Agrippa Crabb | 12 | 0 | Idiotcy | no. |
| Samuel Hutton | 6 | 6 | Dropsical | no. |
| George Spitty | 12 | 0 | Idiotcy | no. |
| Isaac Hawkes | 6 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Jane Reed | 6 | 0 | Lame | no. |
| Walter Hills | 5 | 0 | Partial idiotcy | no. |
| James Dowsett | 20 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Simon Clements | 9 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Lucy Eckworth | 6 | 0 | Fits | no. |
| Ann Cowell | 7 | 0 | ditto | workh. school. |
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