How to find out if your ancestor was in a workhouse

While building your family tree, you might come across hints that suggest someone spent time in a workhouse. These may include: 

• A census record lists the workhouse as an address (often called a ‘Union Workhouse’) 
• An occupation listed as ‘pauper’, ‘inmate’  or simply ‘none’  
• A child who appears in a workhouse school or industrial school record 
• A death certificate which lists a workhouse infirmary as the place of death 

While they did serve as last resorts for the most impoverished in society, workhouses didn’t just house the destitute. They also contained infirmaries, maternity wards and orphan schools. Your ancestor’s stay may have been temporary, or the result of illness rather than destitution. 

A growing number of workhouse records are available to search online on genealogy websites like Findmypast. These can include: 

• Admission and discharge registers, which show who entered the workhouse, when, and why 
• Creed registers – these include religion, age, and other personal details 
• Birth and death registers. If your ancestor was born or died in a workhouse, they may appear here 
• Workhouse infirmary records, which are especially useful if your ancestor was ill or elderly 

When searching these records online, be sure to try different name variations and keep your date ranges as flexible as you can. Poor Law records are often patchy and inconsistently kept, so it may take a few tries to uncover useful information. 

In England and Wales, censuses from 1841 onwards list individuals in institutions - including workhouses. These can give you a snapshot of your ancestor’s life at a specific time and help you to uncover what they experienced. 

If you see your ancestor’s name on a census record listed under a Poor Law Union address alongside dozens of other residents, chances are they were in a workhouse. Occupation and marital status fields can provide context that helps you to delve deeper - for instance, a widowed elderly woman listed as a pauper likely entered due to poverty and ill health. 

Before formal workhouses were widespread, support for the poor was provided by the parish. You may find earlier ancestors in: 

• Poor Law settlement records, taken from the process which determined whether someone was eligible for support 
• Bastardy records - linked to unmarried mothers seeking financial help 
• Apprenticeship records may help to trace family connections, as children of workhouse inmates often became apprentices 

Held in county archives, many of these useful records are now available to search online. They may prove helpful for researching the period before the Poor Law Amendment Act restructured the workhouse system in 1834. 

Being in a workhouse didn’t define a person, but it does offer insight into the social and economic challenges they faced. Poverty was common, and many families spent time in these institutions through no fault of their own. 

Learning about your ancestor’s time in a workhouse – why they were there, how long they stayed, and what happened afterwards – can help you build a more nuanced portrait of their life.