Search Wales, Monmouthshire workhouse registers, 1843-1929

Each record will give you both a transcript and an image of the original record from the archive. The detail found in each record will vary depending on the type of document. Most transcripts will provide you with a combination of the following details:

• Name
• Age
• Birth year
• Residence
• Year
• Admission date
• Institution
• Register type
• Document type
• Volume
• Date range

Images

The images will be able to give you even more detail about your ancestor. Below we have listed each document type and the facts you can ascertain from each.

Admission and discharge books for both casual paupers and vagrants, 1843-1923

• Date of admission and the day of the week
• Name of the vagrant and family members admitted at the same time
• Where did the individual sleep the night before admission
• Occupation
• If any money found on the person and if so, the amount found
• Work completed by the individual in the workhouse
• Where did the individual go when discharged and additional remarks

District medical relief lists 1860-1910

• Age and residence
• Nature of disease
• Days when attended and what medicine was given
• Necessaries ordered to be given to the patient
• Present state of the patient or confirmation that the case has been terminated

Register of pauper cases refused, 1877-1890

• Date of register entry including day of the week and hour
• Circumstances under which the individual was refused

Register of paupers and orders of removal, 1858-1859

Not all the fields are complete for each entry.

• Date and age
• Name of the chargeable parish
• Residence
• Date of removal order
• Whether the order was common or suspended
• The name of the parish the individual was removed to
• Total cost of maintenance
• Amount recovered for maintenance
• Date when removed and by whom

Register of relief on loan, 1877-1890

• Date and residence
• The amount to be collected and the name of who will pay the sum

Religious Creed Register, 1868-1911

• Date of admission and from whence admitted
• Religious creed
• Name of informant (either self, parent, or relative)
• Either discharged or died – this will include a date for those who have died in the workhouse

School admission and discharge book, 1843-1889

• Name, age, and date of admission
• The chargeable parish
• Whether in a workhouse school before and length of time
• Whether in any other school before and length of time
• Date of discharge
• The conduct of the child in school
• The occasion of discharge and if the child entered service and the nature of the service

Superannuation register, 1866-1929

Not all fields are complete for each entry

• Name and office
• Date of entering appointment
• Office promotions or transfers and dates
• Salary of officer
• Increases in salary
• Contributions paid by officer into superannuation

The Wales, Monmouthshire workhouse registers, 1837-1929 records are retained by the Gwent Archives. The records focus on the Abergavenny Union. The Abergavenny Union was formed in 1837. The workhouse was located in Hatherleigh Place, Abergavenny. By 1891 the workhouse held 189 inmates. Workhouses were managed by the local poor law union. In order to deter paupers from entering the workhouse, the buildings were designed to look intimidating and prison-like.

This collection comprises a range of documents from the workhouse that can enlighten you to the life of your ancestor. Each document type allows you to discover unique information. In the register of pauper cases refused, you will find out why a person was refused. Grounds for refusal included such reasons as the person refusing to work, arriving too late to be admitted and the gates being locked, or the person being violent or drunk. The superannuation register allows you to track your ancestor’s career in the workhouse. For example, the records show that Margaret Lewis was appointed on 14 January 1898 as a rate collector and then promoted to the registrar of births and deaths. In 1903, Margaret voluntarily resigned. Some of the records also recorded the type of work your ancestor participated in while in the workhouse such as breaking stones, scrubbing floors, or pulling oakum. The register of relief on loan provides details about individual’s payments and whether they were able to pay. Some records showed that the person was too poor to pay, had left the district, or died.