Statute Law Repeals - Law Commission - Ministry of Justice

8.12 The workhouse at Colchester was duly constructed pursuant to the 1697 Act in or
around 1700 in the old Crutched Friars building in Crouch Street. By 1711,
however, the workhouse moved away to East Street. A report by the Society for
Promoting Christian Knowledge in 1725 confirmed that the workhouse residents
included 40-50 children at work carding and spinning wool. By 1745, however, it
seems that the workhouse had ceased to operate because of the collapse of the
corporation in that year. 13 The closure of the workhouse and the abolition of
parish-run poor relief by the Local Government Act 1929 mean that the 1697 Act
has long been unnecessary.
Shaftesbury Workhouse Act of 1697
8.13 The Shaftesbury Workhouse Act of 1697 14 established a corporation with powers
to build a workhouse and set to work the poor of the borough of Shaftesbury,
Dorset. The corporation was also empowered to apprentice poor children once
they reached 16. The corporation’s costs were to be met out of taxes levied on
the local inhabitants.
8.14 Although the 1697 Act authorised the construction of a workhouse in
Shaftesbury, there is no evidence that any such building was ever constructed
pursuant to these powers. Historical records indicate that at least one workhouse
was subsequently built in Shaftesbury and was functioning by the early 19 th
century. 15 The Shaftesbury Poor Law Union was formed in 1836 following which
a new workhouse in Shaftesbury was opened. However it does not appear that
any of these later workhouses derived in any way from the 1697 Act. In any event
the abolition of parish-run poor relief by the Local Government Act 1929 means
that the 1697 Act has long been unnecessary.
St Botolph Aldgate Poor Relief Acts of 1742 and 1766
8.15 Two 18 th century Acts were passed to raise money in connection with the relief of
the poor living in the parish of St Botolph without Aldgate in the City of London. 16
8.16 The preamble to the St Botolph, Aldgate Poor Relief Act of 1742 17 recorded that
the money raised in recent years for the relief of the poor had not been sufficient
for the purpose. Moreover the parish had incurred debts from loans raised to
meet the shortfall. Accordingly the Act authorised trustees to levy rates on the
inhabitants of the parish to raise a sum not exceeding £2400 to pay the
outstanding debts.
13
The failure of the 1697 Act workhouse obliged adjacent parishes to provide their own
workhouse in Colchester.
14 9 Will.3 c.48.
15
Workhouses had been established in the neighbouring areas of Alcester and Gillingham by the
1770s.
16 At that time the parish of St Botolph without Aldgate was partly in the City of London and partly
in the County of Middlesex. Today it extends from Aldgate High Street to the junction of
Fenchurch Street and Leadenhall Street. “Aldgate” derives from one of the eight gates (ie old
gate) to the walled City of London. The present church of St Botolph without Aldgate was
completed in 1744. It replaced earlier churches on the site.
17 16 Geo.2 c.9.
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