Manchester Workhouse
Registers 1859-1911

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Workhouse Registers

These records contain 357,000 admission registers, 280,000 creed registers and 16,000 discharge registers.

New Bridge Street Workhouse (Manchester Union)

These 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).

Find out more about New Bridge Street Workhouse here

Withington Workhouse (Chorlton Union)

This 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).

Find out more about Withington Workhouse here

Bury Union Workhouse, Lancashire

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
  • The 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.

Find out more about Bury Union Workhouse here

Search the entire Manchester Collection

For more information about the workhouses of the Manchester area, visit Gerard Lodge's website

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The name of the person you are searching for may not be recorded in the way you expect. Henry John Davies, for example, may have been recorded as Henry Davies, Henry J Davies, H Davies, or even H J Davies. We would therefore suggest that you initially search using their last name only. If you receive too many results, you can then add a first name to narrow them down.

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Your ancestor might have used a different first name in everyday life from the one that appears on official records. For example, your great-uncle Jack’s birth name might have been John. If you can’t find someone recorded under the name you expect, try variations of that name. And if you still can’t find your ancestor using their full forename, try entering their first initial instead. 

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