Long-term Workhouse Inmates in Leicester Union, Leicestershire, 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 Allen | 9 | 0 | Has fits | unknown. |
| James Chatwin | 9 | 0 | Imbecile | unknown. |
| William Ford | 9 | 0 | Old age | unknown. |
| William Mebberson | 7 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| Mary Munrow | 6 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| Samuel Price | 6 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| Joseph Smith | 9 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| Sarah Smith | 9 | 0 | Has fits | unknown. |
| William Smith | 9 | 0 | Old age | unknown. |
| Thomas Snow | 6 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| John Bettridge | 5 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| William Jeays | 6 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| Thomas Tansley | 5 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| John Bell | 9 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| John Beaumont | 9 | 0 | Imbecile | unknown. |
| Stephen Beale | 9 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| Joseph Cooke | 9 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| Elizabeth Fowkes | 8 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| Thomas Hilton | 7 | 0 | Old age | unknown. |
| Samuel Moore | 9 | 0 | Imbecile | unknown. |
| Michael Martin | 6 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| Sarah Riley | 5 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| Frederick Taylor | 6 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| Elizabeth Underwood | 9 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| Ann Watson | 6 | 0 | Old age | unknown. |
| Hannah Marvin | 6 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| Edward Cox | 9 | 0 | Imbecile | unknown. |
| Thomas Payne | 6 | 0 | Old age | unknown. |
| William Loseby | 6 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| Thomas Read | 9 | 0 | Sickness | unknown. |
| Daniel AshweIl | 9 | 0 | Eyesight bad | unknown. |
| John Hayfield | 9 | 0 | Imbecile | unknown. |
| John Jacques | 7 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| William Whitworth | 9 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| Samuel Cutler | 6 | 0 | Old age | unknown. |
| John Drakley | 6 | 0 | Imbecile | unknown. |
| Elisabeth Daft | 6 | 0 | Debility | unknown. |
| Sarah Bruce | 9 | 0 | Old age | unknown. |
| Charlotte Hackett | 8 | 0 | Imbecile | unknown. |
| Edwin Higginson | 6 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| John Langham | 6 | 0 | Old age | unknown. |
| William Ross | 9 | 0 | Imbecile | unknown. |
| James Watkinson | 9 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| Francis Dooley | 9 | 0 | Old age | unknown. |
| William Johnson | 9 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| William Darker | 6 | 0 | Blind | unknown. |
| Elizabeth Harriss | 8 | 0 | Old age | unknown. |
| Catharine Harriss | 9 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| James Gurden | 9 | 0 | Imbecile | unknown. |
| Thomas Scott | 9 | 0 | Old age | unknown. |
| Sarah Wright | 9 | 0 | Imbecile | unknown. |
| William Mountaney | 5 | 0 | Old age | unknown. |
| Thomas Lambley | 5 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| Elizabeth Orton | 5 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
| Charles Yearby | 9 | 0 | Imbecile | unknown. |
| Daniel Brethwaite | 5 | 0 | Old age | unknown. |
| Harriett Baldwin | 7 | 0 | Imbecile | unknown. |
| Hezekiah Barsby | 6 | 0 | Debility | unknown. |
| Leonard Wright | 5 | 0 | Imbecile | unknown. |
| Robert Hyde | 7 | 0 | ditto | unknown. |
For US readers 
Unless otherwise indicated, this page () is copyright Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.