The Manchester Collection
Workhouse Registers
These records contain 357,000 admission registers, 280,000 creed registers and 16,000 discharge registers.
New Bridge Street Workhouse (Manchester Union)
The Manchester Union workhouse was originally situated in New Bridge Street (built 1792), but when this building proved inadequate for its purpose, a new workhouse was built in Crumpsall in 1855 on a site adjacent to the Prestwich Union Workhouse just north of Crescent Road.
The aged and infirm remained at New Bridge Street until 1875 when an Infirmary was opened with the workhouse at Crumpsall. However the head offices remained at New Bridge Street and destitute people would apply for relief there before they were sent to either the Infirmary or the Workhouse.
The creed registers cover 1881-1911 and give:
- Name
- Year born
- Date of admission
- Name of informant
- Religion
- Date of discharge
The original records are held by Manchester Archives and Local Studies (ref: GB127. GB127.M4/11).
Withington Workhouse (Chorlton Union)
The first Chorlton Union workhouse was located on Stretford New Road, near Leaf Street, and accommodated 300 inmates. However, this became inadequate to cope with the demands of the rapidly increasing population of the area and the guardians decided that a completely new workhouse was needed.
The Chorlton Union Workhouse, Nell Lane, Withington was opened in 1855. The workhouse site also included the Chorlton Union Cemetery which served the Chorlton Union area, as well as the workhouse and hospital, until it reached its capacity in 1920. The cemetery was formally closed in 1970 and the remains were re-interred at Southern Cemetery where some remains had already been re-interred to accommodate the building of Princess Road over the old cemetery site. During the First World War the hospital became a military hospital and it is sometimes known as Nell Lane Military Hospital.
The collection consists of admission registers, creed registers, birth registers and death registers.
The creed registers cover 1869-1911 and usually give:
- Admission date
- Township admitted from
- Age
- Name of informant
- Religion
- Date of discharge
In some cases the address and the next of kin is given.
The admission registers cover 1870-1884 and give:
- Date of admission
- Name
- Township (abbreviated)
- Date of discharge
- Number in relief list
- Initial of receiving officer
The birth registers cover 1857-1911 and give:
- Name
- Date of birth
- Name of parents
- Township of parents
- Occupation of the father
In some cases the address of the parents and the maiden name of the mother is given.
The death registers cover 1857-1949 and give:
- Name
- Date of death
- Age
- Township admitted from
- Place of burial
The interment registers cover 1898-1915 and give:
- Name
- Date of admission
- Age
- Religion
- Date of burial
- Place of burial
- Grave no. (this is sometimes omitted)
- Details of the next of kin, including their address
- Signature of the undertaker
The original records are held by Manchester Archives and Local Studies (ref: GB127. GB127.M327).
Bury Union Workhouse, Lancashire
Bury's first workhouse, also known as the Redvales workhouse, was erected in 1775 to the south of Bury on the Manchester Road. A new workhouse was opened at Jericho in 1857. It was renamed Jericho Institution in 1929. In 1948 it became Fairfield Hospital.
The transcripts of the admission registers cover 1846-1907 and give:
- Date of admission
- Name
- Occupation
- Religion
- Parish
- Year born
- Cause
The transcripts of the discharge registers cover 1864-1907 and give:
- Date of discharge
- Name
- Method
- Parish admitted from
- Place of burial, where applicable
On some occasions further information is given in the observations section.
The transcripts of the creed registers cover 1869-1891 and give:
- Entry number
- Date
- Name
- Date of birth (from 1876 onwards)
- Township admitted from
- Religion
- Name of informant (from 1869 onwards)
- Whether discharged or died
- Date of the discharge
Please note these are full transcripts of the originals — we are not publishing images of the registers. The original records are held by Bury Archives.
Search the Workhouse Registers now
Find out more about workhouses in the Manchester area:
http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Manchester
http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Chorlton
http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Bury
We also recommend Gerard Lodge's Manchester Family History Research website