Ancestry UK

Oswestry, Shropshire

[Up to 1834] [After 1834] [Staff] [Inmates] [Records] [Bibliography] [Links]

Up to 1834

A Parliamentary survey in 1776 reported that workhouses were in operation in Oswestry Parish (for 30 inmates), Oswestry Town (30) and Whittington (20).

Kinnerley had a workhouse in operation by 1774. Over the next twenty years it appears to have used several different premises for the purpose.

The success of the Shrewsbury Incorporation, formed in 1784, led to the formation of a number of other such Incorprations in the area, including Atcham, Ellesmere, Whitchurch, and Montgomery and Pool. In 1791, the parishes of the Oswestry Hundred (Oswestry Town, Oswestry Parish, St Martins, Selattyn, Whittington, West Felton, Ruyton of the Eleven Towns, Kinnerley, Knockin, Llanyblodwel, and part of Llanymynech) and the parishes of Chirk and Llansilin were incorporated under a local Act for the better Relief and Employment of the Poor (31 Geo. 3. c.24). This gave it the power, amongst other things, to erect a workhouse which it did soon afterwards at a site at Morda.

After 1834

The Incorporation's local Act status made it largely immune from the provisions of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act and it maintained its independence until 1930, when local councils took over the administration of poor relief. In 1898, Weston Rhyn, formerly part of the parish of st Martins, became a member of the Incorporation in its own right.

After 1834, the Incorporation continued to use the workhouse at Morda. Its location and layout are shown on the 1901 map below.

Oswestry site, 1901.

The main workhouse was a substantial three-storey building which accommodated up to 300 inmates.

Oswestry main building south-west wing from the north, date unknown.

In January 1888, a New Year's amateur theatrical production was held at the workhouse in aid of the boys' band.

Oswestry theatrical programme, 1888.
© Peter Higginbotham.

In 1891, a 16-bed isolation hospital was erected to the south-east of the workhouse. It later became the Oswestry and Chirk Isolation Hospital, and then Greenfields Hospital. It now (2001) houses Morda Social Club.

Oswestry isolation hospital from the south, 2001.
© Peter Higginbotham.

The main workhouse building was destroyed in a fire in 1982. The only surviving part is a two-storey section at the west which has been incorporated into a house.

Oswestry from the north-west, 2001.
© Peter Higginbotham.

St Anne's Church, the workhouse chapel to the north-east of the main building, and the nurses home to the east of the workhouse, have also been demolished.

Staff

Inmates

Records

Note: many repositories impose a closure period of up to 100 years for records identifying individuals. Before travelling a long distance, always check that the records you want to consult will be available.

  • Shropshire Archives, Castle Gates, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY1 2AQ. Please note that records may contain gaps or have access restrictions - please check before visiting. Holdings include: Act of Incorporation (1790); Guardians' Minutes (1791-1930); Births (1857-1950); Baptisms (1813-1923); Deaths (1857-1955); Burials (1813-56); Punishment book (1855-1910); Admissions and discharges (1916-25); Register of lunatics (1923-33); Register of mechanical restraint (1892-1935); etc.

Bibliography

Links

  • None.

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