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Poor Houses, Poor Law information for Stafford and places above it in the hierarchy

Stafford

Stafford gave name to, and became part of Stafford Union following the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834.
Stafford Union comprised the 20 parishes and townships of Baswich, Bradley, Brockton, Castle Church, Colwich, Ellenhall, Fradswell, Gayton, Haughton, Hopton-and-Coton, Ingestre, Marston, Ranton, Salt-and-Enson, Seighford, Stafford (St Mary & St Chad), Stowe, Tixall, Weston-on-Trent, and Whitgreave.
The Union had an area of 78 square miles and a total population of 20,293 inhabitants in 1841.
The Workhouse was a neat brick building in County Road, Stafford, erected in 1838, with room for about 300 paupers.

The records of the union deposited at Staffordshire Record Office include:
Minutes 1836-1925
Ledgers 1836-1930
Admission and Discharge Registers 1842-1930
Certificates of Baptism 1900-1927
Births Register 1914-1930
Deaths Register 1858-1930
Out Relief Order Books 1913-1917
Apprenticeship Registers 1885-1899
Removal Orders 1842-1845 & 1886-1888
Poor Rate Books 1897-1926
Valuation Lists 1848-1922

The following records of the union are deposited at the Public Records Office, Kew:
Correspondence, etc 1834-1900 (Class ref MH12/11458-98)
Staff Registers 1837-1921 (Class ref MH9/16)

Staffordshire

England

UK and Ireland

  • Peter Higginbotham's comprehensive The Workhouse website provides a wealth of information about Workhouses, the Poor Law and related issues.catalogue
  • If you are looking for someone who was in a workhouse, it is worth checking if they also appear in the Quarter Sessions records, held in County Record Offices - see the British Library's Discovery catalogue (use Advanced Search and select "Search Other Archives"). 
  • You can search and freely download documents of a number of Poor Law Unions across England and Wales from TNA.
  • Settlement Examinations in England and Wales - a detailed explanation, from LDS Familysearch, based on an article by Anthony Camp.