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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Lancashire => Topic started by: msr on Friday 31 July 09 15:20 BST (UK)
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Does anyone know if records for Brindle Workhouse still exist?
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Just enter Brindle in the search box on this site:
http://www.workhouses.org.uk/index.html?records/records.shtml
Barbara :)
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I've done a fair amount of work on Brindle Workhouse. A number of the 1800s Censuses have details of inmates and I've analysed these plus many of the documents in lancs County Records office as well as putting together a short leaflet on it. If you let me know what you're interested in, I'll try to help. I've lodged a lot of the information with Brindle Historical Society archive a couple of years ago and written a couple of articles on it.
it started after the reformation, took lots of non local people, peaked at about 200 inmates, had a very harsh regime and was eventually closed in 1872 when the new Chorley workhouse opened. Lots more detail if interested.
BernardF
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Should have mentioned in my previous post - I'm still working on the Brindle Workhouse project so anyone with any information welcome. I live a few yards from it's site and am also looking at the history of the street - Top o' th' Lane.
For anyone interested, there's a plaque on the wall by the site in memory of the inmates and I'm hoping to get the site 'geophysed' in the forseeable future. There is information also on it in the Chorley Poor Law Union minutes and a number of newspaper articles from the 1800s, even mentions in the Victoria History of Lancashire and 'Baines Directory'. At least one other person locally doing research on this and the Houghton workhouse.
It's interest, apart from local, is that it's a very old one (predating poor laws), it was fairly notorious in its time - run as a business for the hard cases across the region, and there are a number of interesting stories about it.
I gave a talk to Brindle Historical Society about it some years back and am intending something similar once I've got the new research together with the stuff on the houses at Top o' th' Lane.
Anything on top o' th' lane greatly appreciated.
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Hi Bernard
We believe that husband's GG Grandmother ELIZABETH RILEY was born in Brindle Workhouse May 1842. Not confirmed as yet. Parents were James and Mary Riley, there was a sister born around 1837 named Mary. Has your research shown children in workhouse or left with relatives?
Grateful for any help.
Susan
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I've had a look at the Census for 1841 and 1851 (nearest censuses to your dates) but afraid I can't see any Rileys at all. Although the workhouse was quite big and visibly operating at that time the 1841 census isn't very clear about it - it does list lots of people in Brindle with no address - possibly workhouse inmates - but again no Rileys. The 1851 Census is quite clear about the workhouse and again no Rileys. Sorry.
This was a time when there was a lot of 'politicking' going on around the local workhouses about which should be the big one for the area - Leyland, Croston and Chorley were also in the picture. the minutes of the Chorley Poor Law Union are in the County Records Office and there are minutes about the time on Brindle Workhouse at the point you're interested in. I don't see any mentions of Riley in my notes, but I only transcribed ones about the operation of the workhouse, so it might be worth taking a look in case there's a mention of your family.
There definitely were children some children there, there is a guy in Chorley Historical Society who knows more about these than I do who is looking at how they charged the parishes of parents - I'll drop him a line.
This was a period when the workhouse was getting a little better - pleas had been made by local JPs to get it closed down because of conditions in 1826 - there's a fairly scary letter about this in the records office. By 1837, things were getting better and a year or two later it was rebuilt capable of taking 200 (though it never got that big again.) having said that, it was still pretty grim.
Despite not being able to definitely say the Riley(s) were there, it is quite possible they were but the records aren't available - it took people from all over the North West.
Sorry I can't give you any hard evidence, if I come across anything, I'll pass it on.
I've at least got a plaque on the site for those who died there as they would have been buried in unmarked graves. N.B. Not everyone stayed in the workhouse - it's quite possible they were there only for a time, especially if they wern't elderley or disabled.
All the best,
Bernard
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Susan,
my contact in Chorley can't find any Rileys either and he's checked baptisms etc. as well. He's interested to know what made you think she was born at the workhouse that year as his information suggests (due to the politicking presumably) that Brindle wasn't accepting that year 1841 - at least not officially.
Bernard
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Hi Bernard
Don't know where info came from. Husband's cousin has date of May 1842 at Workhouse, waiting to hear from her.
Regards
Susan
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Sorry to resurrect an old topic.
The 1871 census shows Hugh Brennan as an inmate. Are there any additional records which may show where he lived before being admitted and also his place of birth - Ireland is mentioned on the census.
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Hi,
The Brindle Workhouse closed the year after the 1871 Census, Christmas 1872, so if he was still there then, he probably was transferred to the, then new, Eaves Lane workhouse in Chorley, where all the inmates moved to. It may be worth looking with that address for a death record and/or in a later Census - 1881 etc. as they may say more than just Ireland.
From my own researches on other things I know it's almost impossible to trace births etc. in Ireland unless you have some sort of locality to go on. (As most central records were destroyed in the 'troubles' - though the local copies are still in the parishes.) The Lancashire Family History & Heraldry Society have an Irish Branch that are very well informed and helpful. They even have their own library. See their website http://www.lfhhs.org.uk/irish/index.htm
Failing that, best I can suggest, if you haven't already tried is to look at the scan of the actual census return rather than the transcript. Sometimes there's more detail on the form itself - I'll check my copy and get back to you if there is more than Ireland mentioned. Only other thing I can think of might be to ask at the nearest Catholic Church if they've any record - St Joseph's Benedictine 'Mission', http://www.brindlestjosephs.org.uk/ I know they dealt with the workhouse catholic inmates.
Sorry couldn't be more definite, hope this helps,
Bernard
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I am very grateful for your reply. Unfortunately, as I discovered earlier to-night, I have been "barking up the wrong tree" - this Hugh Brennan is not the one I was looking for, just the only one I could find about the right age, even though the name spelling was incorrect.
Basically, the Hugh Brannen I was looking for turned up living in Mossley in 1871 (which is where the whole family were based). I had not found him on Ancestry owing to errors in the transcription - Ancestry had his age as 87 whereas he was 67 (the age is quite clear on the census record itself) and his name was shown as Branam, hence all the difficulty in tracking him down. To make matters worse he was living with one of his daughters, husband and children and their surname was different to his.
Anyway all is well now, although his grandfather was from Ireland, so the Irish investigation will have to start soon - I'm just trying to identify a location in Ireland otherwise, as you say, it's difficult to progress.
Thanks again for the information.
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Glad you've got things sorted out. best of luck with the Irish connection.
Bernard
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Hello Bernard
Enjoyed your thought-provoking talk at UClan in February, and so was pleased to find a link to Brindle Workhouse when trying to solve some of the many mysteries surrounding my 3g-grandmother, Betty Marsden. I know her to have had at least seven illegitimate children but there may well have been others. Her known children were baptised at a variety of places (two at Rivington, two at Chorley, one at Horwich Chapel Independent, and no baptisms have been found yet for two other children. I've just found the baptism of a Thomas Marsden in 1811 born at Brindle Workhouse:
Baptism: 13 Jan 1811 St James, Brindle, Lancashire, England
Thos. Marsden - Son of Betty Marsden
Abode - Brindle workhouse
Baptisms 1789 - 1812, Page 87, Entry 4 - LDS Film 1849648
I'm wondering if this could be "my" Betty (allegedly born Anderton, Lancs, c 1785), and whether there is anything in Brindle Workhouse records about this mother and her son. If you have time I'd be very grateful if you could let me know.
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Hello Mary and welcome to Rootschat,
Bernard hasn't been online here since 2010 but hopefully will receive an email notification that you have posted on this thread.
Otherwise it might be worth trying to contact him via UCLan:
http://www.uclan.ac.uk/schools/forensic_investigative/archaeology_research_workhouse.php
Jean
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Hello Mary and welcome to Rootschat,
Bernard hasn't been online here since 2010
Jean
Many thanks for letting me know, Jean