Long-term Workhouse Inmates in Wokingham Union, Berkshire, 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Harriett Cheeseman | 8 | 0 | Weak intellect | no. |
Henry Stevens | 7 | 0 | Idiotcy from birth | no. |
Jane Paine | 8 | 0 | Infirmity by asthma | no. |
John Clarke Larwill | 8 | 0 | Infirmity by age and other causes | no. |
Thomas White | 14 | 0 | Infirmity by epileptic fits from birth. | no. |
Ann Moorcock | 6 | 0 | Infirmity by rheumatism and dropsy. | no. |
Mary Batten | 22 | 0 | Blindness; partial 12 years, total 10 years. | no. |
Madeline A' Bear | 13 | 0 | Unable to support self and three illegitimate children; partially disabled the last four years. | no. |
Unless otherwise indicated, this page () is copyright Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.