Prior to 1834
Prior to the passing of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, the administration and finance of poor relief and workhouses was, for the most part, organized at the parish level — a situation which had been laid out by the 1601 statute An Acte for the Reliefe of the Poore.
After 1834
The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act introduced a new national system of poor relief covering the whole of England and Wales. The system was based on a new administrative area called the Poor Law Union, each of which was required to operate a Union workhouse as the principal channel for providing relief. The organization and administration of the new scheme, at the both the national and local level, was a complex operation.
- Cornwall
Redruth, Cornwall
Up to 1834
A parliamentary report of 1777 recorded parish workhouses in operation at Redruth (for up to 60 inmates), Gwennop [Gwennap] (50), and Guinear [Gwinear](40).
After 1834
Redruth Poor Law Union was officially formed on 10th June 1837. Its operation was overseen by an elected Board of Guardians, 29 in number, representing its 8 constituent parishes as listed below (figures in brackets indicate numbers of Guardians if more than one):
Cornwall: Camborne (5), Gwennap (6), Gwinear (2), Gwithian, Illogan (4), Phillack (3), Redruth (6), Stythians (2).
The population falling within the Union at the 1831 census had been 38,695 with parishes ranging in size from Gwithian (population 539) to Gwennap (8,539) and Redruth itself (8,191). The average annual poor-rate expenditure for the period 1834-36 had been £8,485 or 4s.5d. per head of the population.
The Redruth Union workhouse was built in 1838 at Carn Brea near Redruth. It was designed by George Gilbert Scott and his partner William Bonython Moffatt who were also the architects for other Cornish workhouses in Liskeard, Penzance, St Austell, and St Columb Major. Intended to accommodate 450 inmates, the Poor Law Commissioners authorised the sum of £6,000 on its construction. The workhouse location and layout are shown on the 1906 map below.
Penzance, Cornwall
Up to 1834
A parliamentary report of 1777 recorded parish workhouses in operation at Penzance for up to 30 inmates, and at Marazion for up to 8.
After 1834
Penzance Poor Law Union was formed on 10th June 1837. Its operation was overseen by an elected Board of Guardians, 44 in number, representing its 19 constituent parishes as listed below (figures in brackets indicate numbers of Guardians if more than one):
Cornwall: St Buryan (2), St Erth (2), Gulval (2), St Hilary (2), St Ives (4), St Just (4), St Levan, Ludgvan (3), Madron (2), Marazion (2), Morvah (2), Paul (4), Penzance (6), Perranuthno, Sancreed (2), Sennen, Towednack, Uny Lelant (2), Zennor.
Later additions: St Michael's Mount (from 1858).
The Isles of Scilly also appear to have been included as a parish within the Penzance Poor Law Union.
The population falling within the union at the 1831 census had been 39,627 with parishes ranging in size from Morvah (population 377) to Penzance itself (6,563). The average annual poor-rate expenditure for the period 1834-36 had been £6,312 or 4s.3d. per head of the population.
The Penzance Union workhouse was built in 1838 at Madron, near Penzance. It was designed by George Gilbert Scott and his partner William Bonython Moffatt who were also the architects for other Cornish workhouses in Liskeard, Redruth, St Austell, and St Columb Major. Intended to accommodate 400 inmates, the Poor Law Commissioners authorised the sum of £6,050 on its construction. The workhouse location and layout are shown on the 1906 map below.
www.workhouses.org.uk › Redruth
The Redruth Union workhouse was built in 1838 at Carn Brea near Redruth. It was designed by George Gilbert Scott and his partner William Bonython Moffatt who ...
Truro, Cornwall. [Up to 1834] [After 1834] [Staff] [Inmates] [Records] [Bibliography] [Links]. Up to 1834. In 1743, Lord Falmouth contributed £500 towards ...
www.workhouses.org.uk › StAustell
The St Austell Union workhouse was built in 1838 on a two-acre site at Priory Road, to the north of St Austell. It was designed by George Gilbert Scott and his ...
Helston, Cornwall. [Up to 1834] [After 1834] [Staff] [Inmates] [Records] [Bibliography] [Links]. Up to 1834. A parliamentary report of 1777 recorded a large ...
Stratton, Cornwall. [Up to 1834] [After 1834] [Staff] [Inmates] [Records] [Bibliography] [Links]. Up to 1834. A parliamentary report of 1777 recorded a ...
Liskeard, Cornwall. [Up to 1834] [After 1834] [Staff] [Inmates] [Records] [Bibliography] [Links]. Up to 1834. A parliamentary report of 1777 recorded a ...
www.workhouses.org.uk › StColumbMajor
Newlyn East former poorhouse, 2005. © Peter Higginbotham. After 1834. St Columb Major Poor Law Union was formed on 9th May 1837. Its ...
A Comprehensive History of the Workhouse by Peter Higginbotham. ... Cornwall: St Mary Magdalen (4), St Stephen's with the Borough of Newport (2), ...
www.workhouses.org.uk › Penzance
The Penzance Union workhouse was built in 1838 at Madron, near Penzance. It was designed by George Gilbert Scott and his partner William Bonython Moffatt who ...
www.workhouses.org.uk › Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall. [Up to 1834] [After 1834] [Staff] [Inmates] [Records] [Bibliography] [Links]. Up to 1834. A parliamentary report of 1777 recorded parish ...
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The Redruth Union workhouse was built in 1838 at Carn Brea near Redruth. It was designed by George Gilbert Scott and his partner William Bonython Moffatt who ...
Truro, Cornwall. [Up to 1834] [After 1834] [Staff] [Inmates] [Records] [Bibliography] [Links]. Up to 1834. In 1743, Lord Falmouth contributed £500 towards ...
www.workhouses.org.uk › StAustell
The St Austell Union workhouse was built in 1838 on a two-acre site at Priory Road, to the north of St Austell. It was designed by George Gilbert Scott and his ...
Helston, Cornwall. [Up to 1834] [After 1834] [Staff] [Inmates] [Records] [Bibliography] [Links]. Up to 1834. A parliamentary report of 1777 recorded a large ...
Stratton, Cornwall. [Up to 1834] [After 1834] [Staff] [Inmates] [Records] [Bibliography] [Links]. Up to 1834. A parliamentary report of 1777 recorded a ...
Liskeard, Cornwall. [Up to 1834] [After 1834] [Staff] [Inmates] [Records] [Bibliography] [Links]. Up to 1834. A parliamentary report of 1777 recorded a ...
www.workhouses.org.uk › StColumbMajor
Newlyn East former poorhouse, 2005. © Peter Higginbotham. After 1834. St Columb Major Poor Law Union was formed on 9th May 1837. Its ...
A Comprehensive History of the Workhouse by Peter Higginbotham. ... Cornwall: St Mary Magdalen (4), St Stephen's with the Borough of Newport (2), ...
The Penzance Union workhouse was built in 1838 at Madron, near Penzance. It was designed by George Gilbert Scott and his partner William Bonython Moffatt who ...
www.workhouses.org.uk › Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall. [Up to 1834] [After 1834] [Staff] [Inmates] [Records] [Bibliography] [Links]. Up to 1834. A parliamentary report of 1777 recorded parish ...
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- Cornwall
Prior to 1834
Prior to the passing of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, the administration and finance of poor relief and workhouses was, for the most part, organized at the parish level — a situation which had been laid out by the 1601 statute An Acte for the Reliefe of the Poore.
Local administration of the 1601 Act was conducted by the Vestry which was the governing body of a parish. (The Vestry derived its name from the room where it usually met, which was originally where the priest put on his vestments.) The Vestry's membership comprised a chairman (the minister of the parish), the churchwardens, and a number of respected householders of the parish.
The officials who performed the assessment and collection of the poor-rates were called overseers, of which there were normally between two and four in each parish. Overseers were appointed annually, subject to the approval of the local Justices. In addition, churchwardens were able to act as ex-officio overseers. Since the post of was an honorary one, overseers received no remuneration for their work.
The distribution of poor relief and the setting-up and operation of workhouses often proved an onerous task for a parish. One solution to this was for the poor to be "farmed" by a contractor who, in return for an annual fee from the parish, would house and feed the paupers. The contractor might also benefit from the income from work performed by the workhouse inmates.
Several later developments extended the administration of poor relief to bodies other than the Vestry. A number of civic incorporations were formed through parliamentary local acts, beginning with Bristol in 1696. The were usually run by elected boards of guardians and had paid officers. The rural incorporations associated with East Anglia in the latter half of the eighteenth century operated along similar lines. Gilbert's Act of 1782 also allowed groups of parishes to form unions managed by elected guardians. The Sturges Bourne Acts of 1818 and 1819 provided for the setting up of "special vestries" which included a proportion of elected members, and also for the appointment of salaried assistant overseers.
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Workhouses and Parish Relief in Cornwall