Long-term Workhouse Inmates in Mile End Old Town, Middlesex, 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 Ashton | 13 | 0 | Blind | no. |
| Hannah Brittain | 10 | 0 | A dwarf | no. |
| Isabella Birnie | 14 | 0 | Infirm | no. |
| Hannah Beland | 25 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Eliza Banks | 6 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Sophia Bridge | 14 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Elizabeth Baker | 5 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Matilda Bendend | 5 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Mary Booth | 5 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Mary Briggs | 14 | 0 | Infirm | no. |
| Martha Brickhill | 25 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Mary Ann Clarke | 9 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Mary Carr | 5 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Margaret Davey | 5 | 0 | Infirm | no. |
| Louisa Ditcham | 18 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Catherine Dear | 7 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Sophia Edwards | 5 | 0 | Infirm | no. |
| Mary Elphick | 5 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Esther Falkner | 5 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Margaret Fotheringham | 15 | 0 | Infirm | no. |
| Ann Field | 5 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Elizabeth Goodyear | 15 | 0 | Infirm | no. |
| Phillis Hamilton | 6 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Lydia Hubbard | 12 | 0 | Infirm and lame | no. |
| Elizabeth Hales | 8 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Ann Hall | 7 | 0 | Infirm | no. |
| Margaret Jenkins | 10 | 0 | Paralyzed | no. |
| Ann Laws | 16 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Jemima Laing | 5 | 0 | Infirm | no. |
| Johanna Looney | 9 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Mary Ann Lucas | 5 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Mary McDermott | 6 | 0 | Infirm | no. |
| Jane Machin | 5 | 0 | Idiot | workh. school. |
| Sarah Parkhurst | 5 | 0 | Infirm | no. |
| Ann Porter | 5 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Caroline Portlock | 5 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Sarah Pratt | 10 | 0 | Blind | no. |
| Susannah Parker | 14 | 0 | Infirm | no. |
| Mary Stevens | 20 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Elizabeth Scat | 7 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Ann Short | 8 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Ann Suett | 10 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Rebecca Wiggins | 5 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Elizabeth Wright | 8 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Jane Crump | 5 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Jane Blackett | 13 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Susannah Weedon | 6 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Charles Barham | 10 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Francis Bacon | 18 | 0 | Infirm | no. |
| James Bickers | 7 | 0 | Blind | no. |
| John Clancey | 8 | 0 | A cripple | no. |
| Richard Cuett | 18 | 0 | Infirm | no. |
| Robert Cox | 6 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| John Fowell | 6 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| David Glasscock | 6 | 0 | Infirm | no. |
| John Hart | 9 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| William Luntz | 20 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| John Machin | 5 | 0 | Ditto | workh. school. |
| Joseph Noades | 5 | 0 | Infirm | no. |
| Peter Ormby | 8 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| George Pragnell | 5 | 0 | Paralyzed | no. |
| Samuel Pearson | 8 | 0 | Infirm | no. |
| John Pazey | 15 | 0 | Weak intellect | no. |
| Henry Richardson | 8 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| John Sanders | 5 | 0 | Infirm | no. |
| John Scott | 7 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| George Thompson | 5 | 0 | Paralyzed | no. |
| Thomas Underwood | 5 | 0 | Infirm | no. |
| Richard Williams | 8 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Thomas Weedon | 6 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Abraham Brinton | 12 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
For US readers 
Unless otherwise indicated, this page () is copyright Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.