Search Westminster, poor law and parish administration

This collection houses several types of records. The amount of available information will vary depending on the record type. A transcript of information from the original documents is provided for you in results.

Admissions – Workhouse admission records

• First name(s)
• Last name
• Age
• Birth year
• Year
• Admitted date
• Death year
• Death date
• Place
• County
• Country

Apprentices

• First name(s)
• Last name
• Age
• Year born or received
• Date born or received
• Apprentice date and year
• Time placed out
• Father’s first name(s)
• Mother’s first name(s)
• Master’s name
• Master’s occupation
• Address
• Place
• County

Bastardy

• First name(s)
• Last name
• Birth year
• Year
• Event date
• Role
• Father’s first name(s)
• Father’s last name
• Mother’s first name(s)
• Mother’s last name
• Mother’s age
• Mother’s birth year
• Place
• County

Examinations (settlement) – a poor person being examined by parish authorities to see if they are settled in a Westminster parish or can be removed to another parish for poor relief.

• First name(s)
• Last name
• Age
• Birth year
• Year
• Marital status
• Spouse’s first name(s)
• Spouse’s last name
• Father’s first name(s)
• Father’s last name
• Mother’s first name(s)
• Mother’s last name
• Children’s names
• Place
• County

Land tax

• First name(s)
• Last name
• Year
• Address
• Place
• County

Paupers

• First name(s)
• Last name
• Age
• Birth year
• Year
• Admission year
• Other year
• Address
• Place
• County

Poor law

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

Valuations

• First name(s)
• Last name
• Organisation
• Year
• Event date
• Owner’s / occupier’s / other name and organisation
• House number
• Address
• Place
• County
• Folio number

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 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.

The City of Westminster included the following parishes:

• Liberty of the Rolls
• Precinct of the Savoy
• St Anne, Soho
• St Clement Danes
• St George, Hanover Square
• St James, Piccadilly
• St Margaret
• St John the Evangelist
• St Martin-in-the-Fields
• St Mary-le-Strand
• St Paul, Covent Garden

In this collection, nine parishes are included. The two not included are the Precinct of the Savoy and St John the Evangelist.

The breakdown of parishes by record type is as follows, with years in parentheses:

Admissions

• St Mary-le-Strand (1639-1644)
• St James, Piccadilly (1791-1858)

Apprentice

• St Anne, Soho (1686-1843)
• St Clement Danes (1640-1829)
• St Margaret (1612-1939)
• St Martin-in-the-Fields (1638-1802)
• St Mary-le-Strand (1739-1799)

Bastardy

• St Martin-in-the-Fields (1574-1834)
• St Margaret (1726-1735)
• St Clement Danes (1786-1828)

Examinations

• Precinct of Liberty of the Rolls (1685-1832)
• St Clement Danes (1703-1742)
• St Margaret (1689-1860)
• St Martin-in-the-Fields (1514-1840)
• St Paul, Covent Garden (1747-1898)

Land tax

• St Anne, Soho (1726-1829)
• St Margaret (1698-1836)
• St Martin-in-the-Fields (1755-1840)

Paupers

• Parish chest records, 1774-1882, for Precinct of Liberty of the Rolls (1685-1832)
• Precinct of the Liberty of the Rolls (1677-1821)
• St Clement Danes (1605-1836)
• St Martin-in-the-Fields (1638-1871)
• St Mary-le-Strand (1639-1645)

Valuations

• St George, Hanover Square (1885-1900)

Workhouses

• 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)

The Grosvenors, given the title of Duke of Westminster in 1874 by Queen Victoria, appear in the poor law records due to their status as landlords. In recounting the minutes of the board, we read the following: ‘The application be made to Mr. Andrews, Steward to Sr. Richard Grosvenor to know the real rents of the several tenants at the neat houses & Chelsea against the next rating of the Books’. There are several entries for Earl Grosvenor and Countess Grosvenor. Robert Grosvenor was Earl Grosvenor from 1802 to 1845.