Warrington Poor Law Union, Lancashire Genealogy

History
Early workhouses at Warrington 1728 (Church Street) Cuerdley (50), and at Great Sankey (45). Existed by 1777 when a Paliamentary report mentioned them. A workhouse was opened at Poulton with Fearnhead in around 1740. Newton-le-Willows had a workhouse on Bridge Street. Warrington Poor Law Union was formed on 2nd February, 1837 Constituent parishes included

Lancashire: Burton Wood, Lancashire, Cuerdley,  Golborne, Lancashire, Haydock;   Hollinfare, LancashireHoughton, Middletown and Arbury; Kenyon,  Newton in Mackerfield Newton in Makerfield, Lancashire, Penketh  Padgate, Lancashire, Poulton with Fearnhead, Rixton with Glazebrook, Great Sankey, Lancashire,  Croft with Southworth, Lancashire,  Warrington Christ Church, Lancashire Warrington Holy Trinity, Lancashire,Warrington St Elfin, Lancashire , Warrington St Paul, Lancashire Woolstone with Martinscrofts,  Winwick, Lancashire.

Cheshire:Grappenhall, Cheshire, Latchford, Cheshire Thelwall, Cheshire Later Addition: Little Sankey (from 1894).

Initially, the new Warrington Union took over existing township workhouses at Warrington and Newton-le-Willows.

Lovely Lane Workhouse
A new Warrington Union workhouse was built in 1849-51 at the east side of Lovely lane in Warrington, with its entrance from Guardian Street at the south of the site.

From 1904, to protect them from disadvantage in later life, the birth certificates for those born in the workhouse gave its address just as 99 Guardian Street, Warrington. During the First World War, the site became home to Whitecross Military Hospital. After 1930, the workhouse became Whitecross Institution and Hospital. With the inauguration of the National Health Service in 1948, the original workhouse buildings became Whitecross Homes and Hospital; the 1898 infirmary became Warrington General Hospital; and the isolation hospital became Aikin Street Hospital. In 1973, all the institutions on the site were united as Warrington District General Hospital.

Padgate Industrial Schools
In 1880-1, Warrington Union erected an Industrial School complex at Padgate. The site provided accommodation and training for pauper children away from the main workhouse site. The buildings included two boys' houses, two girls' houses, a school, Superintendent's house, and Porter's lodge. Play sheds were added in 1885. The Industrial Schools later became Padgate Cottage Homes. The surviving buildings have now been converted for business use.

Records

 * Lancashire Record Office, Bow Lane, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 2RE. Few records survive — main holdings are Guardians' minutes (1837-1900).
 * Workhouse register, 1824-1829 Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1990

Websites
http://www.workhouses.org.uk/index.html?Warrington/Warrington.shtml Peter Higginbotham site contains images, maps and history of the Union