Anglesey Poor Law Unions
Under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 all parishes in Wales and England were grouped together into Poor Law Unions. Each Poor Law Union had to provide a place where people who were unable to support themselves could live and work, known as the workhouse. Conditions in the workhouses were deliberately made to be harsh, spartan and degrading so as to deter all but the absolutely destitute.
Before the 1834 Act, although some workhouses did exist, individual parishes provided relief in the form of money, food, clothing or goods, but the recipients continued to live independently.
The Workhouse system was not abolished until the 1930s.
These Poor Law Unions were based on neither county boundaries nor national boundaries, with many Unions along the Wales-England border covering parts of both countries.
The county of Anglesey was covered by two Unions:
Union | Parishes & Townships included |
---|---|
Anglesey |
The Anglesey Union was created on 1 June, 1837, covering the whole island, and comprised the parishes and townships of:
The Workhouse was built about 1868 on the Amlwch Road in Llanerchymedd. The records of the Anglesey Union are held at Anglesey Record Office in Llangefni. |
Holyhead | The Holyhead Poor Law Union was created on 29 September 1852, taking over the western part of the existing Anglesey Union, and comprised the parishes and townships of:
The Workhouse was opened in 1868 in Valley, east of Holyhead. It later bacame the Valley Hospital but was later demolished. The records of the Holyhead Union are held at Anglesey Record Office in Llangefni. |
See also[edit | edit source]
External Links[edit | edit source]
- Workhouses (National Library)
- Poor Law Administration (National Library)
- Llanfyllin Workhouse restoration (BBC Wales)
|
|