Long-term Workhouse Inmates in Hitchin Union, Hertfordshire, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte Cotton | 5 | 0 | Imbecility | no. |
| Mary Waller | 6 | 0 | Age | no. |
| Elizabeth Carling | 30 | 0 | Illegitimate children | no. |
| Mary Currell | 5 | 0 | Age | no. |
| Elizabeth Watson | 11 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Ann Folds | 5 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Mary Green | 12 | 0 | Imbecility | no. |
| Harriet Smith | 15 | 0 | Crippled hand | no. |
| Ann Giddins | 25 | 0 | Age and illegitimate child | no. |
| Susan Judd | 17 | 0 | Age | no. |
| Ann Woods | 18 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Ann Johnson | 8 | 0 | Deserted by husband; left with three children. | no. |
| Elizabeth Clark | 6 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Sarah Lee | 5 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| James Biggs | 9 | 0 | Age and debility | no. |
| David Smith | 10 | 0 | Age and paralysis | no. |
| John Clark | 5 | 0 | Age | no. |
| George Farr | 7 | 0 | Imbecility | no. |
| Michael Boyle | 5 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Robert Hemmings | 6 | 0 | Age, &c. | no. |
| James Waters | 15 | 0 | Imbecility | no. |
| Charles Chambers | 11 | 0 | A cripple | workh. school. |
| Mary Matthews | 7 | 0 | Age | no. |
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