Long-term Workhouse Inmates in Darlington Union, County Durham, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Bell | 16 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| John Dardnell | 14 | 0 | Orphan, and scrofula | no. |
| Martha Kitching | 8 | 0 | Unsound mind | no. |
| Catharine Atkinson | 7 | 0 | Insane, and returned from asylum | no. |
| Jane Hudson | 6 | 0 | General debility | no. |
| Samuel Adams | 5 | 0 | Lame shoulder | no. |
For US readers 
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