Bedfordshire Poor Law Unions

An Act of Parliament in the year 1834 affected the administration of the poor. Each parish was grouped into a union of parishes. There were nearly 600 such unions throughout England, each one comprising 20 or more parishes, and were specifically setup to meet the demands of the poor among their own populations, with a workhouse on the premises. The responsbility was transferred from local parishes to a Board of Guardians in each union. These groupings or unions were known as poor-law unions.

Records of the poorlaw unions created from this time forward include the following:


 * Guardianship
 * Creed Registers
 * Rate books
 * Workhouse Lists of Inmates
 * Register of Apprentices
 * Register of Births
 * Register of Deaths
 * Vestry Rate Books
 * Admission and Discharge Registers
 * Board of Guardians' Records