Bermondsey Poor Law Union x Saint Olave's Poor Law Union x Bermondsey Board of Guardians Saint Mary Magdalen Board of Guardians

Bermondsey Poor Law Union x Saint Olave's Poor Law Union x Bermondsey Board of Guardians Saint Mary Magdalen Board of Guardians

Poor relief was based on the Act for the Relief of the Poor of 1601 which obliged parishes to take care of the aged and needy in their area. Parish overseers were empowered to collect a local income tax known as the poor-rate which would be put towards the relief of the poor. This evolved into the rating system, where the amount of poor-rate charged was based on the value of a person's property. Early workhouses were constructed and managed by the parish. However, this process was expensive and various schemes were devised where groups of parishes could act together and pool their resources. As early as 1647 towns were setting up 'Corporations' of parishes. An Act of 1782, promoted by Thomas Gilbert, allowed adjacent parishes to combine into Unions and provide workhouses. These were known as 'Gilbert's Unions' and were managed by a board of Guardians.

Under the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, the Poor Law Commission was given the power to unite parishes in England and Wales into Poor Law Unions. Each Union was to be administered by a local Board of Guardians. Relief was to be provided through the provision of a workhouse. An amendment to the 1834 Act allowed already existing 'Gilbert's Unions' or Corporations of parishes to remain in existence, although they were encouraged to convert themselves into Poor Law Unions. Although there was some reorganisation of union boundaries, particularly in London, the majority of Unions created under the 1834 Act remained in operation until 1930. In March 1930 a new Local Government Bill abolished the Poor Law Unions and the Board of Guardians. Responsibility for their institutions passed to Public Assistance Committees managed by the county councils - in the metropolis either the London County Council or the Middlesex County Council.

The Saint Olave's Poor Law Union was founded in 1836, consisting of the parishes of Saint Olave's, Saint Thomas and Saint John Horsleydown, in the Southwark - Bermondsey area. In 1836 a separate Board of Guardians for the parish of Saint Mary Magdalen was constituted. In 1869 the Saint Mary Magdalen parish joined the Saint Olave's Union, along with the parish of Saint Mary Rotherhithe. In 1904 the Union was renamed Bermondsey Poor Law Union.

Saint Olave's Workhouse on Parish Street was well established as early as 1729, run by the parish of Saint John Horsleydown. The Union was also responsible for the Bermondsey Workhouse on Tanner Street and the Rotherhithe Workhouse on Lower Road. In 1873 to 1875, a new infirmary was constructed at the west side of Lower Road, opposite the workhouse. An infirmary for the aged was constructed at Ladywell in 1897. The Union provided several institutions for children, including the Shirley Schools cottage homes in Croydon.

Source of information: Peter Higginbotham at The Workhouse website.