Bedwellty Board of Guardians Records

Records of Bedwellty Poor Law Union, 1849-1930, including Guardians' minute books, 1849-1930; committee minute books, 1896-1930; correspondence, 1870-1930; relief order books, 1887-1914; Relieving Officer's records, 1887-1930; District Medical relief book, 1924-1926; registers and returns, c.1890-1930; financial records, 1849-1930; workhouse administration records, c.1900-1924.

Until the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, relief of the poor was the responsibility of the parish. Following the Act, parishes were grouped into Unions that were charged to provide a workhouse for the relief of the able-bodied poor. Bedwellty Poor Law Union was formed in 1849 by the separation of the parishes if Aberystruth and Bedwellty from the Abergavenny Union. The Union was subsequently enlarged by the addition of the parishes of Abertillery, Ebbw Vale, Rhymney and Tredegar. The Union workhouse was situated at Georgetown near Tredegar and built in 1852. The workhouse was substantially enlarged in 1908. The Board of Guardians responsible for the Union had other duties from time to time, including the registration of births, marriages and deaths, vaccinations, assessments of rates, sanitation, school attendance and infant life protection. By the time of the Local Government Act 1929. Unions were abolished and their duties transferred to County Councils, with responsibility for the poor being transferred to the Public Assistance Committee until 1948.

Arranged into the following: General administration; Poor relief; Medical; Reports, registers and returns; Finance; Workhouse administration.

No restrictions

Source not recorded

Compiled by Richard Burman for the ANW project. The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Gwent Record Office, Bedwellty Board of Guardians, catalogue; The History of Poor Law website (http://users.ox.ac.uk/~peter/workhouse/unions.html), viewed 20 September 2005.

A hard copy of the catalogue is available in Gwent Record Office.

Usual copyright regulations apply.

All records deposited at Gwent Record Office have been retained.

Accruals are not expected

Further material relating to Bedwellty poor law is Gwent Record Office, CSW.BG.A.