Long-term Workhouse Inmates in West Derby Union, Lancashire, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ephraim McMullen | 11 | 0 | Old age and infirmity | no. |
| Richard Emery | 5 | 1 | ditto | no. |
| Elizabeth Jones | 8 | 3 | Infirmity and sickness | no. |
| Sarah Perry | 8 | 6 | Illegitimate children | no. |
| Sarah Lancaster | 6 | 2 | Idiot | no. |
| Elizabeth Rainford | 6 | 2 | ditto | no. |
| James Rainford | 5 | 3 | ditto | no. |
| Thomas Rainford | 5 | 3 | ditto | no. |
| Alice Tunstall | 5 | 1 | Infirmity | no. |
| George Harrison | 5 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Joseph Taylor | 13 | 1 | ditto | no. |
| William Rushton | 5 | 3 | Old age | no. |
| Frances Hutchinson | 7 | 0 | Debility | no. |
| Thomas Roberts | 11 | 0 | Old age | no. |
| James Malley | 5 | 0 | ditto | no. |
| Margaret McCoy | 5 | 2 | ditto | no. |
| Peter McDonald | 8 | 0 | Old age and infirmity | no. |
| Catherine Ward | 7 | 5 | Paralysis | no. |
| William Young | 8 | 4 | Sickness and old age | no. |
| Ellen Spencer | 16 | 5 | Paralysis | no. |
| William Wakefield | 7 | 4 | Old age and epilepsy | no. |
| Thomas Jones | 6 | 0 | Idiot | no. |
| Francis Kenney | 7 | 2 | Paralysis | no. |
| Richard Houghton | 5 | 3 | Old age | no. |
| Mary Horrocks | 7 | 1 | ditto | no. |
| James Worrall | 8 | 2 | Old age and sickness | no. |
| Thomas Magill | 7 | 3 | Asthma | no. |
| James Brandon | 5 | 2 | Old age | no. |
| Bridget Diamond | 10 | 5 | ditto | no. |
| Betty Humphreys | 14 | 1 | ditto | no. |
| John Wilks | 6 | 9 | ditto | no. |
| James Redman | 5 | 6 | ditto | no. |
For US readers 
Unless otherwise indicated, this page () is copyright Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.