Poor Law confusion

[guybrush]

Hi,

I've just got back from a trip away and went straight to the new LMA records on Ancestry. The baptisms and deaths were disappointing so I've just clicked into the Poor Law ones. I know for certain a relative was in a workhouse in Southwark in 1851. So how on earth do I search through the info? I'm hoping it's not a matter of browsing the 6,036 southwark records.

Cheers

Mr Threepwood

[Little Nell]

The Southwark records online appear to be the Newington Creed Register.

[guybrush]

Oh right

[Sue from Southend]

Go to the Poor Law search page. Scroll down to the list of boroughs available (not many!), click on Southwark. Click on Southwark again. Then on Admissions and Discharge or Religious Creed and you'll get a list of the records available. If you know where your ancestor was you might be lucky but there's no search facility so you have to trawl through the lot to find him! Good Luck!

[Phoenix]

Was at TNA on Sautrday, so looked at LMA on ancestry.
I realise that there are lots of teething troubles which will be sorted out, but displaying the board of guardians stuff as individual pages, without subdividing it into specific records made life more difficult than it might be.
As for Lambeth, when I looked at the burials, I had no idea what exactly I was viewing and approx 4 burials per year sounded rather less than the number of pauper burials I might expect. Is there anything which describes EXACTLY what you are looking at?

[Sue from Southend]

By accessing the burials in the same way described in previous post (not by a name search) I've found the Lambeth burials, dated 1873 - 1922 subdivided into 5 individual "records". The few pages I looked at were full (not just 4 burials a year) but at no point is there an indication of what you're looking at - unless there was only one Workhouse in Lambeth and you're expected to know that!!

I've just had a look at Stepney Deaths/Burials and the years 1836 - 1923 are divided in the same way except into 25 sections. All just classified as Stepney. However when you go in into a set of records it seems to be pot luck as to what Institution you'll be viewing ie Ratcliff Workhouse, St George WH, or Whitechapel Union Infirmary (there may be others) or if you're unlucky an unnamed set as per Lambeth:(. The only reason that you might know the name of the Institution is if they labelled the top of their pages.
They're certainly not making life easy!

[Phoenix]

Lambeth had two workhouses: Princes Road & Renfrew Road, both of which were operating in the period. I know of someone who died in Renfrew Road in the period covered, but no trace of a burial. What I meant to say in my earlier post was that there was no way that the meagre number could have represented all workhouse burials.

[guybrush]

So it looks like I'm going to be a fare while browsing the records...

Just one question though for Sue from Southend. Where you say:-

Then on Admissions and Discharge or Religious Creed and you'll get a list of the records available.

I've got two dropdowns (Borough and union). If I select Southwark on both and click search I'm faced with 6000 pages to browse through. I dont see any clickable Admissions and Discharges or Religious Creeds. Am I missing something? Perhaps it's because I'm using the old search.

[Sue from Southend]

Guy

Ignore the search box with the dropdowns. Scroll further down that page past all the Source Information and you'll see a list of Boroughs. Click on Southwark .....

Hope this helps. I probably wasn't very clear first thing this morning, lol

[guybrush]

Ahhhh!! thank you.