Long-term Workhouse Inmates in Belper Union, Derbyshire, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eliza England | 18 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| William Wagstaffe | 17 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Mary Gregory | 15 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Elizabeth Rhodes | 6 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| James Poundall | 20 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Ann Allsop | 15 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Martha Sellers | 13 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Elizabeth Spencer | 6 | 0 | Old age | no. |
| George Cheetham | 16 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| William Smiles | 7 | 0 | Old age | no. |
| Martha Shardlow | 16 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Caroline Lovatt | 10 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Ann Walker | 6 | 0 | Old age | no. |
| William Martin | 7 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Henry Hutchinson | 10 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Sarah Deverall | 8 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Harriet Hough | 9 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Thomas Walker | 14 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Thomas Hall | 10 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| William Hill | 11 | 0 | Weak mind | no. |
| Mary Bunting | 10 | 0 | Old age. | no. |
| William Horobin | 6 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Benjamin Stevenson | 11 | 0 | Old age | no. |
For US readers 
Unless otherwise indicated, this page () is copyright Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.