Record revealed
Letter from a ‘destitute’ man to the Poor Law Commission
In this letter, Thomas Henshaw of Derbyshire complained of his treatment by local officials who denied him welfare despite his ‘most distressing’ situation.
Item
Folios 307-309. Letter from W and E Willoby [William Willoby and Edward Willoby],...
Catalogue reference: MH 12/8976/185
What’s it about?
This record is about the Folios 307-309. Letter from W and E Willoby [William Willoby and Edward Willoby],... dating from 8 Feb 1840 in the series Local Government Board and predecessors: Correspondence with Poor Law Unions and.... It is held at The National Archives, Kew.
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Full description and record details
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Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
- MH 12/8976/185
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Date (When the record was created)
- 8 Feb 1840
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Description (What the record is about)
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- Content
- Folios 307-309. Letter from W and E Willoby [William Willoby and Edward Willoby], Clerks to the Guardians of the Berwick-upon-Tweed Poor Law Union, to Edwin Chadwick Secretary to the Poor Law Commission. It encloses a memorial passed by the Berwick-upon-Tweed Board of Guardians at their meeting held on 4 February 1840 concerning alterations in mode of charging establishment charges and also an extract from the minutes showing the members who voted for and against the memorial. The memorial states: The administration of law and justice in the union contains discrepancies in certain points at variance with the recognised principles of the Act - that each parish should pay all the expenses relating to the maintenance of its own poor both in and out of the workhouse. They wish to point out that the workhouse and school establishment charges are at variance with the interest of property and equity - that these charges after three years experience have become most oppressive and unequal to the country parishes; these parishes having comparatively few paupers in the workhouse and many of them none in the school. This can be seen from the quarterly returns. They have passed the following resolutions as the only means to allay the current discontent. 1. That the establishment charges of the workhouse and school be kept by themselves. 2. That in future that an account be kept by the clerk of all items of expense of these departments and added to the amount for food and clothing. 3. That when these amounts are added together to ascertain the amount per head and for each of the respective parishes that have paupers in the workhouse to pay the sum per head as they do at present for food and clothing. 4. That, if instituted, it would remove all valid objections and complaints from the country guardians and ratepayers, because the number of paupers from each or all of the parishes at any one time in the workhouse or school would regulate the demands upon their respective parishes for their maintenance, attendance and education. Signed by [Nathaniel Dodds], Chairman. Extract from the minutes showing the votes made: The memorial was proposed by [Ebenezer Black] and seconded by [John Oswald]. An amendment that it was not expedient for the Board to memorialize the Commissioners upon the subject was proposed by [Alexander Christison] and seconded by [Alexander Gillie]. Those for the motion: Mr Hogarth, Ancroft. Mr Oswald], Ancroft. Mr Nicholson, Thornton. Mr Elliott], Longridge. Mr Bell, Horncliffe. Mr Laing, Tweedmouth. Mr Laing, Cornhill. Mr Chisholm, Holy Island. Mr Carr, Duddo; [Norham parish]. Mr Archbold, Twizel; [Cornhill or Norham parish]. Mr Richardson, Loanend; [Norham parish]. Mr Smith, Norham. Mr McLeod, Norham Mains; [Norham parish]. Mr Black, Grindon; [Norham parish]. Mr Dodds, Shoreswood. [Norham parish]. Those for the amendment: Young, Berwick-upon- Tweed. Christison, Berwick-upon- Tweed. Tait, Berwick-upon- Tweed. Gillie, Berwick-upon- Tweed. Fleming, Berwick-upon- Tweed. Bell, Tweedmouth. Hownam, Tweedmouth. Nesbitt, Guardian for Tweedmouth. The motion was carried by a majority of eight. The clerk was ordered to send it to the Commissioners, with the names of the guardians and their parishes and how they voted. Annotated; refer to Sir John Walsham [Assistant Poor Law Commissioner] with the letter received from Ebenezer Black [Paper 1277/A/ 1840]. Paper Number: 1415/A/1840. Town and County of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland and North Durham [detached].
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Held by (Who holds the record)
- The National Archives, Kew
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Legal status (A note as to whether the record being described is a Public Record or not)
- Public Record(s)
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Language (The language of the record)
- English
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Closure status (Whether the record is ‘open’ (available to the public) or ‘closed’ (not available due to a legal exemption))
- Open Document, Open Description
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Subjects (Categories and themes found in our collection (our subject list is under development, and some records may have no subjects or fewer than expected))
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C10564110/
Series information
MH 12
Local Government Board and predecessors: Correspondence with Poor Law Unions and...
See the series level description for more information about this record.
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Folios 307-309. Letter from W and E Willoby [William Willoby and Edward Willoby],...
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