Before 1835, individual parishes sometimes had their own workhouses, which were often little more than run- down cottages. These buildings housed the poor who had no homes of their own. Very few records survive.
Cambridgeshire
The eighteenth century saw the foundation of a number of workhouses in Cambridgeshire under the impetus of the 1723 General Workhouse Act. This act established a statutory basis for the setting up of workhouses and allowed smaller parishes to join together to form “unions” in order to build shared workhouses.
Further information about the pre-1834 workhouses can be found in 'The Treatment of Poverty in Cambridgeshire' which is available in the searchroom.
For a list of available records, please click on the link below.
Huntingdonshire
Try our online CALM database.