London Records of the Poor

The City of London Poor Law Union
Starting in 1834, a single poor law union had responsibility over the City of London called The City of London Poor Law Union.


 * The City of London Poor Law Union and Workhouse

The Records
Records from the poorlaw unions, which were created from this time forward include the following:


 * 1) Guardianship
 * 2) Creed Registers
 * 3) Rate books
 * 4) Workhouse Lists of Inmates
 * 5) Register of Apprentices
 * 6) Register of Births
 * 7) Register of Deaths
 * 8) Vestry Rate Books
 * 9) Admission and Discharge Registers
 * 10) Board of Guardians' Records

Online Poor Law Records
Ancestry.co.uk has the largest collection of online London poor law records:


 * Ancestry.co.uk ($) has poorlaw records transcribed from 1834-1940

Other sites include:


 * 1) The Pauper Biographies Project provides detailed information including maps and working papers.


 * 1) For more information on the history of the workhouse, see Peter Higginbotham's web site: www.workhouses.org.uk


 * 1) Here's a general website providing data on approximately 10 percent of the county's poor

Family History Library Collection
To determine records availability for each poor law union, search the Family History Library Catalog under the name of the county (London), and then under the name of the poor law union, i.e. City of London; then search under the term[s] "poorlaw" or "poorhouses".

Guides to London Poor Law Records

 * Webb, Cliff. London, Middlesex and Surrey Workhouse Records: A Guide to Their Nature and Location. West Surrey Family History Society, c1991..
 * Webb, Cliff. A Provisional List of City of London Poor Law Records. West Surrey Family History Society, c1992..

Pre-1834 Records
Workhouses and the City of London Corporation of the Poor existed in the City before 1834. For further information, see:


 * The City of London Corporation of the Poor
 * Parish Workhouses in the Old City of London

Parish chest records contain a great deal of information about the care of London's poor before 1834, when it was a parish responsibility. Refer to individual City of London parish pages to learn more about parish chest records.

Foundlings
Foundlings were abandoned babies. Abandoning babies has been a common phenomena in urban areas.

1741-1950s
The London Foundling Hospital opened in 1741. In the 1950s, most business dropped off, as adoption became more common. The Hospital created records on more than (100,000) infants dropped off during that period. For tips on finding foundling records, see Research Resources at The Foundling Museum website.

Pre-1741
Before 1741, the care of foundlings fell to the parishes where they were discovered. Officials often named these nameless infants after their parish or streets where they were found. Individuals charged with raising these children were supported by parish rates.

A few guides and databases have been prepared about pre-1741 London foundlings.

Hospitals

 * Webb, Cliff. An Index to London Hospitals and Their Records. London: Society of Genealogists, c2008..

Websites

 * The Foundling Museum