Poorhouses & Poverty » The Poor Law, Work Houses, Poor Houses & Poor House Unions in the U.K.

A Short Explanation of the Poor Law

Alcester Union and Guardians Part 2: The Workhouse

Ancestry.com - Lancashire, England, Vagrant Passes, 1801-1835 $

Original source: Register of Vagrants Deported, 1801

Ancestry.com - Search Schools, Directories & Church Histories

Ancestry.com has searchable indexes; database results and some digitized images are available with a fee-based subscription.

Ancestry.com - Warwickshire, England, Parish Poor Law, 1546-1904 $

Original source: Warwickshire Parish Poor Law. Warwick, England: Warwickshire County Record Office. Ancestry.com has searchable indexes; database results and some digitized images are available with a fee-based subscription. Free articles and helpful research materials.

Ayrshire Roots - Poor Relief Records

Scotland.

Bedford Borough Council: Poor Law Union Records

United Kingdom.

Care Of The Poor

Wales. From the Powys Digital History Project.

Database of Poor Law records for West Sussex, 1662-1835

Dundee Poorhouse Records

Dundee, Scotland. Research guide from the Friends of Dundee City Archives.

FamilySearch - Index of Cambridgeshire poor law papers

Available to users at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

FamilySearch Wiki - England Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

FamilySearch Wiki - Warwickshire Poor Law Unions

Findmypast - Manchester Birth Register $

Original source: Birth register from the Withington Workhouse in Chorlton, Manchester, 1857 to 1911. Findmypast has searchable indexes; database results and some digitized images are available with a fee-based subscription.

Friends of Dundee City Archives - Index of Poor Registers

Dundee, Scotland. From the Friends of Dundee City Archives. Online index of Liff & Benvie Register of Poor (1854-1865) and Dundee East Poorhouse Register (1856-1878).

GENUKI: Index to Paupers in Workhouses 1861 (10% sample)

This lists adult paupers in workhouses in England and Wales.

Headington Union Workhouse Formerly on London Road

Oxfordshire, England.

History of the Workhouse

Excellent site full of information on the UK workhouse system. Includes information on the Poor Laws, maps of the Poor Law Unions, scans of original records on diet, instruction, and rules, and more.

How It Was: Conditions in the Workhouse

Article by Dr. Marjie Bloy.

Leitrim Poor Law Union Map

Ireland.