London, England, Poor Law Records, 1834-1940
are provided in Association with
Source Information
Board of Guardians records held by the London Metropolitan Archives and Guildhall Library Manuscripts, London, England.
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About London, England, Poor Law Records, 1834-1940
Historical Background:
For many centuries, the responsibility of caring for the poor was left to the church. In 1572 the office of the overseer of the poor was established to help with this cause. In 1601 the Poor Law Act was enacted, which provided for a poor rate levy (to help with the funding), and the distribution of the relief by the overseers.
The 1601 law remained in effect until 1834 when a new law, the Poor Law Amendment Act was enacted. This new law formed parishes into groups called Unions. Each Union elected a Board of Guardians, which was then responsible for the care of the poor, rather than the individual parishes.
Individuals who received relief generally included the elderly, orphaned, unemployed, or sick and afflicted. In addition to monetary relief, other daily necessities such as food, clothing, and work were provided. Children could be appointed to apprenticeships or placed in schools and other institutions.
What’s Included in This Database:
This database contains various poor law records for London from 1695-1940. Examples of the types of records found in this collection include:
- Admission and discharge books of workhouses
- Registers of individuals in the infirmary
- Creed registers
- School registers
- Registers of children boarded out or sent to various other institutions
- Registers of apprentices
- Registers of lunatics
- Registers of servants
- Registers of children
- Registers of relief to wives and children
- Registers of inmates
- Registers of indoor poor
- Registers of deserted children
Poor law records can be great sources of genealogical information. They can provide a lot of details and clues about our ancestors and their family members. The amount and type of information provided about an individual will vary according to record type. For example, on an admission and discharge register you may see the name of the individual, their date of admission, age, religious persuasion, and date of discharge. On an apprentice register you may see the name of the apprentice, their gender, age, name of person to whom bound, date of indenture, parents’ names, trade, and residence.
Information gathered from these records may help you determine family relationships, estimate dates and places of birth or death, know where to look for religious and occupational records, etc.
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