St Ives Union Workhouse 1861 census

St Ives Workhouse 1861 Census

The 1861 census was taken on the evening of the 7 April. For the first time it included information about houses inhabited and uninhabited by those recorded.

At the St Ives Union Workhouse there was no workhouse master shown. Possibly the Guardians were seeking a replacement. Susan Biggs was still the matron, at least 20 years in the post and the only employee still in place from 1851. All her family had left, including her daughter Mary, who was workhouse schoolmistress in the previous census.

The 1861 census records only the initials of inmates. This was not unusual for people living in institutions, the aim being to afford privacy.

The most notable feature of the 1861 workhouse census is a reduction in the number of inmates. After the employment crisis resulting in a quadrupling of the workhouse population from 88 in 1841 to 320 in 1951, 1861 inmates halved to 151.

Unemployment was still the major cause of being in the workhouse, but was now close to other reasons such as age or infirmity, widowed or abandoned mothers and children. There were less agricultural workers facing hardship, probably more a case of finding alternative employment than an increase in agricultural jobs. This occupation, along with servants and widows or abandoned wives with no occupation, remained one of the top categories of working age inmates.

One difference is that the 1861 census recorded inmates in groups. The census recorded adult males first, including wives and children where applicable. Next came single females, widows and unmarried mothers with their children. Finally, orphaned or abandoned children.

Segregation was common. Some workhouses kept married couples apart to avoid further 'breeding'. The 1861 St Ives Union Workhouse census shows the use of segregation for the first time.

To view details of the 1861 census, click here.