Workhouse populations, 1851-1911

Williams, Samantha and Newton, Gill and Satchell, Max (2020). Workhouse populations, 1851-1911. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Service. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-853999

The workhouse was a central feature of the new poor law (1834-1948), intended to house, feed and occupy those unable to provide for themselves, in a controlled environment. Parishes were grouped into some 600 poor law unions. By 1841 around 320 new workhouses had been built, and by 1870 some 520, whilst other unions adapted existing workhouses.
The purpose of this project was to build an evidential foundation for the first really comprehensive and systematic study of workhouse populations, providing a nationwide picture of the institutionalised poor from 1851 until 1911, using data extracted from the Integrated Census Microdata (I-CeM) digitised England and Wales decennial population census dataset, UKDA study number 7481. A subsample of workhouses that were successfully extracted from every available Census enables closer study of trends over time.
This research forms part of a larger study on the workhouse being undertaken by Samantha Williams, including analysis of pauper offences and punishments in selected workhouses.

Data description (abstract)

This dataset constitutes a sample of individuals resident in nineteenth and early twentieth century workhouses (residential institutions for the poor). These data were collected for preliminary investigations of the demographic characteristics of the workhouse-resident population between 1851 and 1911, as part of wider research by Samantha Williams on the workhouse. The sample represents between 45% and 78% of the entire England and Wales workhouse population reported for each decennial Census from 1851 to 1911 but not including 1871, and comprises complete enumerations of between 400 and 730 workhouses. Additionally there is a 10% subsample of workhouses present in every Census year. This dataset is derived from Schurer and Higgs' Integrated Census Microdata dataset held at the UK Data Archive, which comprises all persons enumerated in the England and Wales Censuses of 1851 through 1911, not including 1871, and may be linked to that resource.

Data creators:

Creator Name	Affiliation	ORCID (as URL)
Williams Samantha	University of Cambridge
Newton Gill	University of Cambridge	https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0386-8166
Satchell Max	University of Cambridge	https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3340-9825

Contributors:

Name	Affiliation	ORCID (as URL)
Schurer Kevin	University of Leicester
Higgs Eddy	University of Essex

Sponsors:

Cambridge University Humanities Research Grants

Grant reference:

N/A

Topic classification:

Social welfare policy and systems
History
Demography (population, vital statistics and censuses)

Keywords:

workhouses, census records, population, social welfare

Project title:

Paupers and the workhouse 1841-1911

Grant holders:

Samantha Williams

Project dates:

From	To
1 September 2019	30 November 2019

Date published:

06 Apr 2020 11:39

Last modified:

06 Apr 2020 11:39

Coverage and Methodology

Temporal coverage:

From	To
1 January 1851	31 December 1911

Country:

England and Wales

Spatial unit:

Other

Data collection method:

This is a non-random, maximal sample derived from the whole population datasets that the 1851 to 1911 Integrated Census Microdata dataset (ICeM) represent. The sample constitutes residents of all workhouses that were readily identifiable from the string values of Integrated Census Microdata addresses, institution names, institution descriptions, registration district names or registration subdistrict names. It only includes workhouses that could be extracted in their entirety, that is where the total number of persons extracted was +/- 2% of the reported residents in that workhouse in 1881 to 1911, or 100 to 115% of reported workhouse paupers in that Registration District in 1851 to 1861. It is mappable in nineteenth century Registration Districts using CAMPOP shapefiles. Only personal identifier, workhouse identifier, geographical variables, age and sex of individuals is included in this dataset but it may be linked to ICeM for further variables, including names and addresses available under special licence conditions.

Observation unit:

Individual, Organization, Geographic unit

Kind of data:

Numeric, Text

Type of data:

Census data , Historical data

Resource language:

English

Access and Administration

Data sourcing, processing and preparation:

Data were extracted from a CAMPOP-corrected as yet unreleased version of the Integrated Census Microdata dataset (ICeM) using targeted searches on string values in address and institution name and description variables. Whole workhouses were reconstituted where extracted in several parts, identified and labelled, and linked to Registration District boundary data for mapping. Parliamentary papers report the number of workhouse residents, or total of workhouse residents in a Census Registration District, in every Census year, and these reported workhouse populations were used to check that entire workhouse populations had been extracted and to discard those that appeared to be incomplete. Workhouses present in the sample in every Census year were identified and linked together.

Rights owners:

Name	Affiliation	ORCID (as URL)
William Samantha	University of Cambridge
Schurer Kevin	University of Leicester

Contact:

Name	Email	Affiliation	ORCID (as URL)
Williams, Samantha	skw30@cam.ac.uk	University of Cambridge	Unspecified

Notes on access:

The UK Data Archive has granted a dissemination embargo. The embargo will end in December 2021 and the data will then be available in accordance with the access level selected.

Publisher:

UK Data Service

Last modified:

06 Apr 2020 11:39