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Indexes to Griffith's and Tithe Books.

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Poor Law Union

The Poor Law Act of 1838 introduced another administrative division - the Poor Law Union. Initially there were 130 and eventually 163 poor law unions. Between 1838 and 1852, 163 workhouses were built throughout the country, each at the centre of an area known as a Poor Law Union. The workhouses were normally situated in a large market town, and the Poor Law Union comprised the town and its catchment area, with the result that the Unions in many cases ignored the existing boundaries of parish and county. The workhouse in the town provided relief for the unemployed and destitute, generally under very harsh conditions. Records were kept of the inmates and these can sometimes provide useful research material, where they have survived.