Long-term Workhouse Inmates in Berwick-upon-Tweed Union, Northumberland, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Pringle | 13 | 0 | Destitute, through debility | no. |
| Matthew Weatherly | 9 | 0 | Idiotcy | no. |
| Thomas Dexter | 7 | 4 | Destitute, through paralysis | no. |
| Ralph Riddle | 6 | 9 | Destitute, through debility | no. |
| George Smith | 6 | 4 | Ditto | no. |
| John Patterson | 5 | 2 | Idiotcy | no. |
| Sarah Joy | 21 | 3 | Destitute, through debility | no. |
| Alice Brown | 20 | 5 | ditto | no. |
| Sophia Johnson | 18 | 8 | ditto | no. |
| Margaret Allen | 14 | 3 | ditto | no. |
| Margery Crystal | 13 | 2 | Idiotcy | no. |
| Margaret Crisp | 6 | 11 | ditto | no. |
For US readers 
Unless otherwise indicated, this page () is copyright Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.