Stratford Borough Workhouse

Stratford Borough Workhouse

Before the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act in 1834, individual parishes were responsible for the maintenance of their poor, and many had their own workhouse managed by the Overseers of the Poor. Parishes which had no workhouse sometimes paid for their poor to be sent to a neighbouring parish which did. The Borough of Stratford had a workhouse in Henley Street, and records survive from 1819, which give the inmates’ names, their age, and their dates of entry and departure. Most lived in the town but others could have been sent from neighbouring parishes.

Details of these inmates from 1819 to 1834 are being entered into the database and can be searched by name, age and date of entry