Find your ancestors in Westminster, poor law and parish administration - Poor law and workhouse records

What can these records tell me?

This collection houses several types of records. The amount of available information will vary depending on record type. Both transcripts and images of the original documents are provided for you in results.

Poor law

  • First name(s)
  • Last name
  • Year
  • Event date
  • Place
  • County

Images can often provide additional details about bills and accounts.

Workhouse records (including day books, lists, and registers)

Depending on the specific type of workhouse records, you will discover a combination of the following fields:

  • First name(s)
  • Last name
  • Age
  • Birth year
  • Year
  • Event date
  • Admission year
  • Discharge year
  • Place
  • County

The images may include additional remarks or notations that will help provide additional information about your ancestor. For example, you may be able to discover when your ancestor was discharged and to whom or why your ancestor was admitted, such as ‘mother in prison’. If your ancestor died in the workhouse, this may also be noted in the original document.

The parishes included in the poor law and workhouse records are as follows, with year range in parentheses:

  • St Anne, Soho (1793-1828)
  • St Clement Danes (1677-1860)
  • St George, Hanover Square (1731-1911)
  • St Margaret (1561-1780)
  • St Martin-in-the-Fields (1660-1856)
  • St Paul, Covent Garden (1715-1876)

Discover more about these records

The Poor Law Act of 1601 included laws surrounding settlement, which constituted the place where individuals could receive poor relief. Under this law, an individual had to reside in a parish for at least one month to be eligible. In the Settlement Act of 1662, this was extended to allow individuals to receive settlement in any given parish through apprenticeship, marriage, over a year of domestic service, or living in a property worth more than £10 per year. If the eligibility criteria were not met, that individual could be removed to their previous parish; removals began in 1691.

A pauper was, therefore, an individual who was receiving aid under the poor laws. A settlement certificate was used by paupers who moved into new parishes to prove that their parish of legal settlement would receive the pauper if needed. Additionally, if a pauper requested relief from the parish, an examination would be held to determine in which parish the pauper’s legal right of settlement was. As such, examination books often contain a wealth of information about paupers.

One form of poor relief that a pauper might receive is called outdoor relief. This type of relief provided funds to supplement the income of the pauper. After 1834, this type of relief declined and utilization of workhouses became more prevalent, where the poor were sent to work off their relief. This was a common fate for unwed mothers.

A child born out of wedlock was legally considered illegitimate. If the father did not admit his responsibility, an examination was held to established paternity. During the examination, the mother usually was able to name the father. If the father could be identified and located, he was required to enter into a bastardy bond to support the child. This support would last until the child was of age to become an apprentice.

With the enactment the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, the administration of poor law relief was taken away from the parishes and given to boards of guardians.