Explore thousands of records from Sheffield workhouses including examination records, removal orders and workhouse admissions.
Explore thousands of records from Sheffield workhouses including examination records, removal orders and workhouse admissions.
Each record includes a transcript of the vital details that were taken from the workhouse and poor law records held at the Sheffield Archives. Most transcripts will include the following facts:
This index of workhouse records was created by the Sheffield Archives. They include the names of those who were admitted to the workhouse along with names from other poor law union records. The records include the names of those who were admitted to both the Bradfield and Ecclesall workhouses. Below is a list of the various record types you will find in this collection:
Some of the records include additional details and even describe the individual circumstances. You can discover that John Ryalls arrived at Bradfield Workhouse from Sheffield in 1794 and he was described as ‘in a ragged state’. John was admitted to the workhouse 11 times between 1821 and 1838. We also discovered Joseph Wortley in 1833 left his wife Mary and his three children, Rebecca, Ann and William at the workhouse. We can presume that Joseph left to try to find work since he could not support his family.
The records use the language of the day. Some terms such as lame or idiot would be considered insensitive or out of date today.