Long-term Workhouse Inmates in Orsett 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth King | 6 | 2 | Blind and infirm | no. |
| Mary Ashwell | 5 | 7 | Sickness and general debility | no. |
| Sarah Cawston | 6 | 6 | Infirmity | no. |
| John Benson | 16 | 4 | Lameness, and unable to get his own living. | no. |
| Anne Osborne | 6 | 3 | Destitute | no. |
| John Benson | 9 | 0 | Infirmity | no. |
| Thomas Gaywood | 5 | 5 | ditto | no. |
| Emma Burnett | 8 | 5 | Orphan | no. |
| Sarah Clark | 12 | 7 | Infirmity | no. |
| John Oakley | 6 | 2 | Orphan | no. |
| William Crow | 8 | 1 | Weak intellect | no. |
| Joseph Dawson | 5 | 5 | ditto | no. |
| William Christmas | 10 | 3 | Nearly blind | no. |
| William White | 6 | 9 | Old age | no. |
| Jane White | 6 | 9 | Weak intellect | no. |
| James Sargent | 12 | 9 | Lameness | no. |
| John Oakley | 6 | 9 | Orphan | no. |
| James Halls | 10 | 6 | Infirmity | no. |
| Amelia Maya | 6 | 2 | Weak intellect | no. |
| Sarah Ely | 6 | 6 | Lunatic | no. |
| William Letton | 10 | 9 | Infirmity | no. |
| Jane Oakley | 6 | 2 | Orphan | no. |
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