Long-term Workhouse Inmates in Devizes Union, Wiltshire, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Phipp | 20 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Thomas Melsom | 10 | 0 | Infirm | no. |
| Mahala Few | 20 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Abraham Smith | 20 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Susan Perrett | 10 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| John Topp | 8 | 0 | Deaf, dumb and blind | no. |
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