Master of the Workhouse

I have found during researching William Barlow's life that he spent around five years living in the County of Hertfordshire.

It was in Bishops Stortford, Herts that William and his second wife Hannah were Master and Mistress of The Bishops Stortford Union Workhouse from January 1848 to November 1850.

During the time that William and Hannah were in these positions they were also applying for other jobs. I have transcribed a series of "testimonials" or references and placed them on another page here.

Diary of a Workhouse Master (1849-1850)

How fortunate we are to have William's diary from this time period, it is held by a
direct descendant and I have transcribed it and placed a link to a PDF version here

Workhouses in the UK - More information

Petr Higginbotham has a fantastic website at Workhouses. You can search for individual locations by county, read about the Poor Laws and life in the workhouses and much more.

More information about Bishops Stortford and the workhouse can be found here Hertfordshire Family History Society

I have been very fortunate to have received the assistance of the staff at the Hertfordshire Archives & Local Studies (HALS) They provided me with a copy of the minutes from the Board of Governors and in return, I gave them a transcription of William's diary when he was Master of the Workhouse.

This link will take you to the Genuki site which includes information relating to all areas of Hertfordshire