Billericay, Essex Poor Law Union

History
Billericay’s first town workhouse is recorded in 1725 (Billerica) together with one at Brentwood. The Billericay workhouse may have dated from as early as 1719 when parish records note that a bond for £50 was borrowed in connection with the building of a house for the poor. Brentwood's workhouse was located on Back Street. The Shenfield workhouse stood to the north-east of Brentwood, just across the parish boundary which divided the two parishes. In 1837, the Shenfield premises were sold off by auction at the Green Dragon public house for £380. The Shen Place almshouses now occupy the site. In 1898, additional land was acquired to the north of the workhouse. Additions included an infirmary to the north of the workhouse, and casual wards and a Labour Master's house at the north-west accessed from their own entrance on Stock Road. Further developments were a receiving ward near the main entrance in 1907, and a new infirmary at the north in 1927. The workhouse, or at least its casual ward, became known locally as "The Grubber" — presumably because it provided "grub" or food. After 1930, the workhouse became Billericay Public Assistance Institution under the control of Essex County Council. The site later became St Andrew's Hospital but following its closure in 1998 has now been redeveloped for residential use.

Billericay Poor Law Union was formed on 10th October 1835. The new Billericay workhouse was built in 1839-40 on an 11½ acre site in Billericay known as Stock Hill Field, between Stock Road to the west and Norsey Road to the east. It was designed by George Gilbert Scott and William Bonython Moffatt where were the architects of many other workhouses during this period including ones for the Witham, Dunmow and Tendring Unions. Their design for Billericay was in an Elizabethan Tudor style and cost £11,000 to build.

Billericay Children’s Home
The Union operated a Children’s home at "Foxcroft", a house at 100 High High Street in Billericay.

Constituent Parishes
Basildon, Essex

Billericay, Essex

North Benfleet, Essex

South Benfleet, Essex

Bowers Gifford, Essex

Brentwood, Essex

Great Burstead, Essex

Little Burstead, Essex

Childerditch, Essex

Downham, Essex

Dunton, Waylett, Essex

East Horndon, Essex

Hutton, Essex

West Horndon with Ingrave, Essex

Laindon, Essex

Mountnessing, Essex

Nevendon, Essex

Pitsea, Essex

Bellhouse, Essex or Ramsden Bellhouse

Ramsden Crays, Essex

Shenfield, Essex

Thundersley, Essex

Vange, Essex

Little Warley, Essex

South Weald, Essex

Wickford, Essex

Later Additions: Basildon, Lee Chapel (from 1858).

Records
Essex Record Office, Wharf Road Chelmsford CM2 6YT. Holdings include: Guardians' minutes (1835-1915, 1920-30); Ledgers (1835-1930)

The surviving records are held at Essex Record Office reference G/Bi Title [BILLERICAY UNION] The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 removed responsibility for the poor from parishes (see D/P.../11-18) and transferred administration to Boards of Guardians of the poor. The Guardians administered groups of parishes or Poor Law UNIONs. Each UNION had its own workhouse. In 1872 the Public Health Act created urban and rural sanitary authorities, with the Guardians constituted as the rural sanitary authority for those parts of each UNION not in an urban sanitary authority. The Local Government Act of 1894 replaced rural sanitary authorities with rural district councils (see D/R). The Local Government Act of 1929 abolished the Boards of Guardians and transferred their powers to the Public Assistance Committees of County Councils (for minutes of Essex County Council Public Assistance Committee 1929-1948 see C/Ma 1-22). Many of the workhouse infirmaries continued as hospitals after 1930, continuing after the introduction of the National Health Service in 1948. For other records illustrating the work of the Guardians see D/P.../19. For orders, directions and declarations of poor Law Commissioners responsible for grouping parishes into UNIONs, 1835-1837, see Q/RSw 2-5. For catalogue of correspondence between poor Law UNIONs and Poor Law Commissioners responsible for grouping parishes into UNIONs, 1835-1837, see Q/RSw 2-5. For catalogue of correspondence between Poor Law UNIONs and Poor Law Commission (later Poor Law Board and Local Government Board) 1834-1900 see List and Index Society vol. 56. G. Cuttle The Legacy of the Rural Guardians (Heffer, 1934 E.R.O. Library 362.50942) provides a good account of the work of the Guardians in six mid-Essex UNIONs, together with the newscuttings he collected and used in writing the book (T/P 181). For analysis of ledgers see Journal of the Society of Archivists II, pp. 367-369. For copy of calculation of Poor Law Board of average annual expense of each parish in the Rochford UNION 1858, see T/P 83/3 pp. 13-15 and for balance sheet of Rochford UNION, 1868, see T/P 83/3 pp. 92-96.

The BILLERICAY UNION consisted of the parishes of Basildon, North Benfleet, South Benfleet, Bowers Gifford, Brentwood, Great Burstead, Little Burstead, Childerditch, Downham, Dunton, East Horndon, West Horndon, Hutton, Ingrave, Laindon, Mountnessing, Nevendon, Pitsea, Ramsden Bellhouse, Ramsden Crays, Shenfield, South Weald, Thundersley, Vange, Little Warley, Wickford.