Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, Poor Law Records, 1695-1921

Source Information

Ancestry.com. Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, Poor Law Records, 1695-1921 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2023.
Original data: Kensington and Chelsea Poor Law Records. London, England: The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: Local studies and archives.

About Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, Poor Law Records, 1695-1921

General collection information

This collection includes a variety of records from the Poor Law Unions in Kensington and Chelsea, England between the years of 1695 and 1921. Types of records available may include:

  • Pension records
  • Account books
  • Paternity affidavits
  • Creed registers
  • Applications for aid
  • Lists detailing contributions from donors
  • Correspondence from parishes

    • While all records are in English, record formats will vary greatly. Many are handwritten, but newer records may be printed.

    Using this collection

    Records in this collection may include the following information:

  • Name
  • Age
  • Birth date
  • Birthplace
  • Names and birthplaces of parents
  • Date and place of parents' marriage
  • Marital status
  • Marriage date and place
  • Spouse's name and birthplace
  • Date of event
  • Date of arrival
  • Date of departure
  • Names and relationships to next of kin
  • Information about types of aid received

    • Poor law records can be an excellent tool for genealogical research. Creed registers will often include the names and addresses of next of kin, sometimes labelled in the registry as "informant." The more specific details available about other family members will allow you to further build your tree while also ensuring accuracy. Additionally, records may also contain information about your family member's quality of life as records frequently contain financial information.

    If you can't find a record, try searching for your family member's address. Poor Law Unions were divided by parish, and creed registers contain information on your ancestor's religious affiliation. If you know your ancestor's Poor Law Union location and religion, you can search nearby parish records for more information.

    Collection in context

    Although the earliest documented workhouse was built in 1652, The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 (also known as The New Poor Law) is considered to be the origin of the Victorian workhouse model. Poor Laws offered two kinds of relief: outdoor relief and indoor relief. Most of the records in this collection pertain to outdoor relief - aid (such as food or money) given to people living independently.

    Indoor relief was much harsher and required admittance to an institution, such as a workhouse or orphanage. These institutions required that individuals perform labor under harsh conditions as payment for the aid that they received. Indoor relief policy was grounded in the idea that relief should be so uncomfortable that no one should be willing to take it voluntarily or want to stay in that situation. The New Poor Law organised parishes into Poor Law Unions, with each union having its own workhouse.

    At the time The New Poor Law did elicit opposition and civil unrest however in spite of this, workhouses were not abolished until 1930. The era of the Poor Law Unions officially ended in 1948 with the advent of the National Assistance Act.

    Bibliography

    BBC.com. "New Records Cast Light on Life in Victorian Workhouses." Last Modified August 19, 2010. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-11015965.

    Cable, Alison. "Workhouse Records Can Lead to Other Avenues of Research." Ancestry.com. Last Modified August 26, 2016. https://www.ancestry.com/corporate/blog/workhouse-records-can-lead-to-other-avenues-of-research.

    Higginbotham, Peter. "Chelsea, Middlesex, London." workhouses.org.uk. Last Modified 2021. https://www.workhouses.org.uk/Chelsea/.

    Higginbotham, Peter. "Kensington" workhouses.org.uk. Last Modified 2021. https://www.workhouses.org.uk/Kensington/.