Bantry workhouse Board of Guardians (BG43)

Descriptive list of the archive of Bantry workhouse/poor law union Board of Guardians. Items are in hard copy and may be accessed by appointment.

Bantry Board of Guardians

Ref. IE CCCA/BG/43

Descriptive List Cork City and County Archives

Table of Contents Identity Statement ....................................................................................................................................... 2 Context ......................................................................................................................................................... 2 Creator(s): ................................................................................................................................................ 2 Archival History ..................................................................................................................................... 2 Administrative & Biographical History............................................................................................... 2 Content & Structure ................................................................................................................................... 4 Scope & Content .................................................................................................................................... 4 Arrangement ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Conditions of Access & Use ..................................................................................................................... 5 Allied Materials:........................................................................................................................................... 5 Archivi st’s Note: ......................................................................................................................................... 5 List of Items and Descriptions ................................................................................................................. 6 1. Minute Books .................................................................................................................................. 6 BG/43/A Bantry Board of Guardians Minute Books .......................................................... 6 BG/43/AA Bantry Board of Guardians Rough Minute Books ........................................ 26 BG/43/AL Bantry Rural Sanitary Authority (Labourers’ Acts) Minute Books .............. 26

Bantry Board of Guardians

IE CCCA/BG/43

Identity Statement

Reference Code:

IE CCCA/BG/43

Title:

Bantry Board of Guardians

Dates:

1846 – 1924

Level of description:

Fonds

Extent:

113 items

Context

Creator(s): Bantry Board of Guardians

Archival History The surviving records of the Bantry Board of Guardians were deposited in the Archives in the early 1980s.

Administrative & Biographical History The Bantry Board of Guardians was the governing body of Bantry workhouse and poor law union. Bantry Poor Law Union was established under the Poor Law (Ireland) Act, 1838. It was one of 16 unions in the overall County Cork area. Each union was centred on a city or market town and its hinterland, and this union area sometimes ignored existing parish or county boundaries. In this central town was situated the union workhouse (usually built between 1838 and 1852) which provided relief for the unemployed and the destitute. Bantry Workhouse opened on 24 April 1845. Under huge pressure to assist victims of the Great Famine (1845-49) and unable to collect enough rates to fund its work, the board was dissolved in October 1847 ‘on the ground that through the default of the guardians the duties of the board have not been duly and effectually discharged’. The union’s affairs were managed by appointed vice-guardians up to October 1849, when a new Bantry union was created. The Castletown area had formerly formed part of the area of Bantry Poor Law Union, but two distinct unions were now created. Numbers of Castletown inmates continued to be accommodated in Bantry until February 1851. The area of the Bantry Union included the dispensary districts of Bantry, Glengarriff, Durrus and Kilcrohane, and Kealkil. Each workhouse was managed by a staff and officers under the charge of a workhouse master, who reported to the board. Overall responsibility rested with the union's board of guardians, some of whom were elected, and some of whom were ex-officio members appointed usually from amongst local magistrates. The board appointed its own inhouse committees, and received

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reports from workhouse officers and from dispensary district committees and district medical officers. It also made resolutions on internal and poor law matters and, sometimes, on wider political or social issues. Poor law services were principally financed by a poor rate levied on propert y owners in the union’s districts, and collected by rate collectors appointed by the board. Central government also provided loans. Each union was under the central supervision of the Poor Law Commissioners up to 1874 and thereafter of the Local Government Board (later Local Government Board for Ireland). These government-appointed bodies received reports from the board and its officers, appointed inspectors and auditors, sanctioned or rejected proposed expenditure, appointments, and policies, and made the final decision on major administrative issues. The PLC was responsible for abolishing the board and appointing vice-guardians in the period from 1847 to 1849, prior to the creation of the new Bantry Union and a distinct Castletown Union. On 31 August 1921 the board resolved to reject the authority of the Local Government Board for Ireland and to accept that of Dail Eireann. The responsibilities of the guardians increasingly encompassed public health, and to medical relief for the destitute at the workhouse and ‘outdoor’ relief though a system of dispensary districts were added other functions including overseeing smallpox vaccinations, the boarding- out of orphan and deserted children, monitoring contagious diseases in animals, and providing labourers’ cottages an d improved sanitation. The workhouse buildings included an infirmary and a fever hospital. The workhouse also provided nursery care and education to child inmates, and employed school teachers. Hospital and other medical services were available to all, not just the poor, although the latter received free treatment when inmates, or through the system of tickets issued by relieving officers and medical officers. The guardians’ changing responsibilities were governed by legislation, including the Public Health (Ireland) Acts 1874 and 1878, Medical Charities Acts, Vaccination Acts, Dispensary Houses Act, the Nuisances Removal and Diseases Prevention Acts (1848-49), Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act 1878, and Labourers’ Acts (1883 -86). While these acts tended to increase the role of the board, the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 saw most of its public health functions taken over by the newly-created Cork County Council and the Bantry Rural District Council. The board continued to administer the workhouse and its hospital, and to supervise some forms of outdoor relief. In January 1880, a portion of the workhouse which had been used as a barrack since 1865 was returned by the military. From October 1919 on, the British military came increasingly to occupy the workhouse buildings, and in late 1920 the remaining inmates were moved to a temporary hospital at Bantry House, where the board now also held its meetings. Many inmates were discharged or sent to other unions, including Skibbereen and Clonakilty. On 18 Jan 1922 an order was received stating that the workhouse would not reopen once evacuated, and was effectively abolished. In August 1922 much of the workhouse premises, including hospital buildings, were burned. Hospital services continued to be provided in Bantry House until the abolition of the board, with patients from Schull union and elsewhere also treated. The Local Government (Temporary Provisions) Act 1923 led to the abolition of the workhouse system, and its replacement with the formation of the county boards of health and public assistance. The last recorded meeting of Bantry Board of Guardians took place on 30 April 1924.

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Content & Structure

Scope & Content The surviving minutes of Bantry Board of Guardians (BG/43/A) cover almost the entire existence of that body, with only a few gaps. Some of these gaps are filled by the four volumes of ‘rough’ minutes als o present (BG/43/AA). The ordinary minutes include statistical information on workhouse inmates and details of workhouse life and administration. From the 1850s the volumes contain minutes of proceedings under the Medical Charities Acts and, from the 1870s, the Public Health Acts, documenting the board’s increasing role in health and sanitation, and the work of dispensaries and medical officers in the dispensary districts. The Bantry area was particularly severely affected by the Great Famine (1845-49), and its impact on the local population, and on the work of the board and the workhouse, is documented in stark detail in these minute books. One consequence was the dissolution of the Board of Guardians in 1847, with poor law services administered by two appointed vice-guardians until a new Bantry union, and a discrete Castletown union, were created in late 1849. Many selections from the minutes for this difficult period are included in the list below. Volumes for the last years of the union are also covered in some detail. Particular attention is paid to the military occupation of the workhouse, the gradual amalgamation and abolition of workhouses, and the removal of the board and the hospital to Bantry House. Selections from a few of the other minute books are also included. Throughout an effort has been made to reflect the daily provision of workhouse and dispensary services to the poor. Some resolutions relating to politics and other issues are included to reflect the board’s varied concerns. The other series present consists of two minute books recording proceedings of the board as a rural sanitary authority under the Labourers’ Acts (BG/43/AL). Unfortunately, these cover only a few years between 1889 and 1893, although the board would have had responsibilities under these acts from 1883 until 1899. The minutes do, however, shed light on the beginnings of public provision of housing in the Bantry area. Taken altogether, the records trace the provision and development of poor law services in the area, including the treatment of the sick and those with mental illnesses, arrangements for children, out door relief and medical treatment (including vaccination) in dispensary districts, the challenges facing the improvement of public health and sanitation, and the beginnings of the provision of labourers’ cottages. The minute books also shed light on dealings with other bodies including other west Cork unions, PLC/LGB, the Office of Public Works, Bantry Town Council and RDC, and Cork County Council. While predominantly documenting the provision of services to the poor, the records also record the views of the board on a variety of subjects, and reflect major developments in the Bantry area and west Cork region.

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Arrangement The collection consists of series of minutes, including a large series of minutes of meetings of the board of guardians, four volumes of ‘rough’ minutes, and two volumes of minutes of proceedings as a rural sanita ry authority under the Labourers’ Acts . The arrangement of Board of Guardian records is based on that devised for Poor Law records nationally by Sean McMenamin of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (see Appendix 2 to McMenamin’s article in Irish Archives Bulletin Vol 1, No 2, October 1971). Please note that gaps occur.

Headings

1. Minute Books

A2- 120 AA1-4 AL3, 5

Board of Guardian Minute Books

1846-1924 (107 items) 1846-51; 1868-69 (4 items)

Board of Guardians Rough Minute Books

Labourers’ Acts Minute Books

1889-1893 (2 items)

Conditions of Access & Use

Access : Open by appointment to those holding a current reader ’ s ticket.

Language: English

Finding Aids: Summary descriptive list.

Allied Materials:

Related Material

CCCA:

Board of Guardian records for other poor law unions in West Cork (BG/42 Bandon; BG/59 Castletown; BG/83 Dunmanway; BG/65 Clonakilty; BG/115 Macroom; BG/145 Schull) Cork County Boards of Health and Public Assistance records, 1921-66

Bantry Rural District Council records, 1899-1925 Bantry Town Commissioners/Town Council records Cork County Council records, 1899- (including rates valuation books)

Elsewhere:

National Archives of Ireland:

Archives of the Poor Law Commissioners Archives of the Local Government Board for Ireland Archives of the Department of Local Government

Archivist ’ s Note: Timmy O Connor Local Government Archivist, CCCA May 2011

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List of Items and Descriptions

1. Minute Books

BG/43/A

Bantry Board of Guardians Minute Books

Scope and Content: A record of meetings and decisions made by the board of guardians in administering the workhouse and poor relief generally. At meetings, administrative, financial, rates, and medical books were examined, officers’ reports and committee findings heard, correspondence read and considered, and applications for admission decided on. Matters arising with regard to the workhouse, staff, provisions, bills, rate collection, the Poor Law Commissioners/Local Government Board, and other issues, were also discussed. The minutes also include weekly statistics of admissions, discharges, and deaths in the workhouse, and of outdoor relief. Gaps are indicated where they occur.

Date : 20 Oct 1846 – 30 Apr 1924 (Gaps)

Level : Series

Extent : 107 volumes

1. 2.

Missing [See BG/43/AA/1 below]

20 Oct 1846 – 19 Oct 1847

Includes:

20 Oct 1846 Inmates: 403 [accommodation available for 600 persons]

27 Oct 1846 Schoolmistress appointed, the inspector of district schools under the National Board of Education in attendance.

3 Nov 1846 M aster’s report stating ‘the paupers got no breakfast on Friday the 30 th ultimo as no oatmeal or Indian meal could be had ’ . He gave them extra bread. He also recommends that molasses be substituted for milk for healthy inmates. [See also 10 Nov] Medical officer’s report recommending that the fever hospital be prepared for reception of patients as there is fever in the locality ‘and there is every probability that it will spread very extensively this season in consequence of the great distress existing among the poorer classes and be very disastrous in its consequences’. Resolved, that Indian meal be purchased in Cork ‘or wherever they may be able to procure it from’, and that a steel mill be purchased ‘to be worked by the paupers grinding wheat for the establishment’. Clerk’s insertion noting that no meeting was held on 17 Nov as most g uardians attended the ‘special presentment sessions convened by the Lord Lieutenant for the purpose of procuring employment for the labouring class

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of this barony’.

24 Nov 1846 Resolution expressing surprise that the union’s treasurer has refused to cash a cheque for £95 issued by the board to the bread contractor.

15 Dec 1846 Medical officer’s report urging ‘the necessity which exists for opening the fever hospital without delay, in the present crowded state of the workhouse’, and referring to ‘extreme destitution’. [591 inmates]. Resolved, that the coal and straw store be converted to a dormitory, and ‘as the number of females in this workhouse exceeds by far the males’, that the boys be removed to a male dormitory, and the girls moved to their dormitory. 29 Dec 1846 Master’s report stating his suspicions that some of the female paupers had whiskey conveyed to them on Christmas eve, and that ‘the matron and I often detect fish and other provisions given to the paupers at the yard gates’. Clerk’s insertio n stating that no meeting was held on 5 Jan 1847 as many guardians ‘were engaged magisterially & Co at the court house holding inquests in reference to several persons who had recently died of starvation in this locality’. 12 Jan 1847 Resolved, ‘that the boardroom be given up’, by the board and instead be appropriated ‘to whatever purposes the doctor thinks fit, for the reception and accommodation of paupers... that as many of their lives may be saved as can possibly be done’. 19 Jan 1847 Medical officer ’s report urging ‘the necessity which exists however disagreeable the duty of positively refusing to admit any more paupers’, owing to overcrowding and unsatisfactory sanitary conditions. Dr Tisdall again urges the immediate opening of the fever hospital. [746 inmates] Resolved, ‘that after this day that no more paupers be admitted… unless a very extreme case’. [See also 26 Jan, when a limit of 750 inmates is set]. 26 Jan 1847 Medical officer’s report stating that the fever hospital is now occupied, and noting that fever continues to spread in the workhouse. He adds ‘Dysentery also of a very intractable nature is exceedingly prevalent especially among the children’, and cites numbers of cases, before renewing his request for temporary medical assistance. Resolution calling on the government for a loan against future rates to meet the present exceptional circumstances. Reference is made to the difficulty of collecting rates, especially in ‘waste and mountainous districts where the people are in an extreme state of destitution and deaths from starvation of hourly occurrence ’. 2 Feb 1847 Medical officer’s report referring to the absence of two nurses, noting ‘the sick are dependent totally on the unwilling services of paupers’. Noted, that Captain Flood of the Board of Public Works was in attendance, and that he suggested workhouse lands be made into vegetable gardens to give employment to inmates, and that the County Surveyor be asked to proceed with the new road to the workhouse immediately for the same reason.

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Resolved, the PLC be informed that no bread contractor offered to supply the house ‘in consequence of having no funds to pay them’, except the present contractor at an ‘exorbitant price’ for one week more. The inmates were given only one meal this day, an d 75 further inmates were admitted ‘which if rejected would have perished with cold and hunger’. The PLC is asked to try to secure government assistance, ‘the board having neither credit nor funds at their command’. 9 Feb 1847 Resolved, that no new inmates be admitted until next board day ‘under any circumstances from the very great sickness and mortality now in the house’. [Total inmates: 698; Died: 56; in hospital or fever hospital: 172]. 16 Feb 1847 Medical officer’s report referring to his own illness , the difficulty of securing nursetenders, diet, and his fears regarding the use of part of the workhouse ground as a cemetery. PLC letter stating that the Lord Lieutenant has directed stated quantities of clothing to be supplied to the workhouse free of charge. 23 Feb 1847 Resolved, ‘that this board think it necessary that one thousand pounds should be borrowed to enable them to carry on the working of the house. They cannot name the time for its repayment but the present rate is in progress of collection ’. 2 Mar 1847 Medical officer’s report referring to the unsanitary condition s of the workhouse, noting that th ose in the dysentery ward are ‘past endurance’. He adds ‘the natural habits of the generality of the lower order here are so very filthy as to make them quite unfit for nursetenders without the strictest surveillance’. Resolution forwarding a letter to the PLC in response to the report of Dr Stephans to the Board of Health on the state of the workhouse. Regarding the fever hospital, they reject the charge that they ‘signally neglected their duties’, and they refer to previous minutes. They also refer to Dr McCarthy’s role as temporary medical officer, noting ‘the guardians cannot be expected to visit [the fever hospital]’, and that any failings arose ‘from the neglect of the medical attendant… and not through any fault of the board’. [See also 20 Apr] 16 Mar 1847 PLC letter referring to powers for providing increased workhouse accommodation, and suggesting the board contact ‘the relief committees of the union on whom the responsibility of relieving the destitute will devolve until the guardians are enabled to provide accommodation’. 19 Mar 1847 Resolution passed at extraordinary meeting asking the PLC to send ‘a medical man from Dublin’, as both med ical attendants are sick and ‘mortality continues to be fearful, over fifty a week’.

23 Mar 1847 Resolution passed opposing a new poor law but approving Lord John Russell’s outdoor relief measure.

6 Apr 1847 Medical officer’s report containing suggestion s regarding additional accommodation in the workhouse. Dr Nagle (medical attendant pro tem ) also reports ‘the majority of deaths occurred among young infants,

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children with broken down constitutions, persons brought into the house in a dying condition and very old persons’. Resolution calling the PLC’s attention to £1700 owed to contractors, who will not continue to supply unless paid, and to the treasurer ’ s refusal to make advances without the guardians’ personal security, which they decline to give. ‘The board feel there is no alternative but to close the house and turn out 600 sick and infirm inmates to perish unless funds be advanced’ . [Guardians do eventually give personal securities. See, e.g., 25 May and 15 Jun 1847] 13 Apr 1847 Resolved, ‘that thre e or four shell coffins be provided for the conveyance of the deceased paupers to the burial place and that they be interred after they be got without coffins in the same manner as the poor persons who die who are not inmates of this house’. 20 Apr 1847 M edical officer’s report regarding the state of disease in the workhouse and ‘the very reprehensible conduct of the master and matron’ in ‘systematically opposing’ the effective discharge of medical duties. He refers to fever, dysentery, diarrhoea, and smal lpox. He notes ‘the infirmary is crowded almost to suffocation’ but has only one regular nurse. He also refers to poor milk and meat supplies and ‘errors in diet’ committed by patients. He describes one visit to the ‘miserable creatures’ in the probationary wards, accusing the master and matron of failing to supply water or to assist new inmates in washing before assigning them places. He also accuses them of creating insubordination against him, by claiming he has no authority. Resolution expressing surprise at a newspaper report that the board had determined to close the workhouse [to new admissions], though it was not crowded, the claim reportedly emanating from the Roman Catholic chaplain. Resolved, that tenders be sought for temporary wooden fever sheds. 18 May 1847 Resolution expressing strong disapprobation at ‘the gross neglect of the master in allowing bodies to remain unburied in the manner mentioned to the board’, and removing him and his wife [the matron] from charge of the house and placing the schoolmaster and mistress in their place while new candidates are being sought [the master and matron having previously been dismissed by the PLC]. [See also 25 May, where the medical officer reports on a visit to the dead house after learning a body had lain there for three weeks. Regarding the master ’s report book , see 20 Jul 1847]. 29 Jun 1847 Resolved, that refractory inmates be stopped a portion of their bread allowance; Resolved, that an inmate be expelled ‘for her ill conduct and for her endeavouring to seduce a young female pauper from the house for immoral purposes’. 27 Jul 1847 Clerk’s letter to PLC reporting that there are 240 vacancies in the house, ‘disease has almost latterly disappeared’, and that there were only five deaths in the last week. It is recommended that relief committees be asked to remove ‘from the lists for outdoor relief a sufficient number to supply the vacancies in the house’. [Relief loans are to be stopped on 15 Aug, the board to provide and pay for outdoor relief thereafter. See 6 July 1847].

7 Sep 1847 Master’s report stating that on 6 Sep a crowd of ‘between seven

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and eight hundred persons’ gathered before the house and ‘began to root both the potatoes and turnips’, until they were stopped by the military and police. ‘Th eir business to the workhouse was for something to eat as stated by themselves as the outdoor relief was stopped’. The master offered to admit as many of them as possible, ‘yet none of them troubled him afterwards’. Chairman’s letter to the PLC regarding t he impossibility of securing rate collectors at the rate struck in June, obliging them to strike a new lower rate. 14 Sep 1847 Resolution seeking PLC authority for supplying outdoor relief, to be effective only when the workhouse is full. It follows a relief committee deputation which ‘detailed the great amount of destitution now existing in their several localities’. 21 Sep 1847 Resolution applying to PLC to form the EDs of Kilnamanagh, Killaconenagh, and Kilcathereen into a separate district, all being more than six miles from Bantry [see BG/59 Castletown Board of Guardians]. 5 Oct 1847 Master’s report referring to shortages of fuel, linen, and work implements for able-bodies inmates. He also notes neglect by officers in the locking of doors. 12 Oct 18 47 Resolution regarding the PLC’s decision to dissolve the board ‘on the ground that through the default of the guardians the duties of the board have not been duly and effectually discharged’. The board regrets that the PLC did not accept their opinion re garding the rate to be struck, noting ‘if the full sum demanded is persevered in it will plunge this union into beggary, anarchy, and confusion’. [It is noted that the board disposed of no business today ‘but the passing the resolution on their dissolution and separation’].

25 Jan 1848 – 21 Nov 1848

The meetings recorded in this volume were attended by two ‘vice guardians of the poor of the Bantry Union’, Denis Clarke and Thomas Willis, there being no board of guardians following dissolution. General Gordon, Poor Law Inspector, also attended most meetings. The volume is indexed, and a smaller number of includes notes are given below. The Great Famine (1845-50) continues to provide the context to virtually all of the poor relief work.

Includes:

25 Jan 1848 Total inmates: 942. Outdoor relief: 830 persons.

1 Feb 1848 PLC order received suspending part of an order relating to the election of guardians for the year ending 25 March 1849. Letter to PLC ‘relative to the employment of female paupers in stone - breaking’. The vice guardians note ‘the habits of the inmates of a rural workhouse... differ altogether from those to be found in cities or large towns, as they are accustomed to field work from their infancy and therefore quite ignorant of all other modes of employment’. [See also 15 Feb]

28 Mar 1848 PLC circular letter forwarding copies of ‘observation by Dr

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Collins on the prevention of contagious diseases by the effectual ventilation of the lower classes’.

11 Apr 1848 Bills submitted by Bantry and Berehaven Relief Committees considered, the vice guardians informing the PLC that ‘they don’t think they would be able to allocate any money towards the payment of these bills’. 9 May 1848 Letter from Michael Enright, PP, Castletown, asking the vice guardians to join him in applying to the Central Relief Committee for a loan or grant ‘in view of ‘the widespread misery that prevails in his wretched locality... many deaths are occurring from starvation’. Resolution accepting an offer of the Emigration Commissioners, and stating that the master will select qualified inmates before the next board day.

16 May 1848 Letter to PLC regarding a loan of £1000 received from the British Relief Association.

30 May 1848 Resolved, ‘that the several relieving officers be dire cted to give outdoor relief in money and not in kind in consequence of the numerous complaints respecting the quality of the Indian meal, weight, & co’. 4 Jul 1848 Order urging relieving officers to send able-bodied applicants to work with Mr Gillman, Drainage Inspector, rather than sending them to the workhouse. Reference is also made to ‘parties holding land, none of whose family can be admitted into the house if the head of it has anything, and then the wife and children under 5 only, since the others can get an order for bread in the schools. The relieving officers must invariably explain that relief is by way of loan’. 25 Jul 1848 Sealed order, ‘directing that an additional workhouse should be built at Castletown Berehaven’, to hold 600 inmates, at a n estimated cost of £7300. 19 Sep 1848 Letter to PLC regarding a verdict attaching blame to a relieving officer in connection with the death of a woman ‘for not having afforded relief to the woman in sufficient time’. 7 Nov 1848 Letter from the Poor Law Boundary Commissioners ‘stating their intention to form a new union at Castletown Berehaven’. Letter to PLC reporting that, owing to pressure for admission, they have rented ‘the only two vacant stores in Bantry... one of them was lately occupied as a mili tary barrack, and the other was an auxiliary workhouse last winter’. They feel these may be used for accommodating boys and girls under 15.

21 Nov 1848 Total inmates: 1875. Out door relief: 4751 persons.

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28 Nov 1848 – 11 Sep 1849

Vice guardians continued to administer the Union throughout this period. The volume is indexed.

Includes:

28 Nov 1848 Total inmates: 2131. Out door relief: 5013 persons.

12 Dec 1848 Resolved, ‘that in future we give money to paupers receiving out door relief in the electoral division of Kilcaskin, and that the amount be at the rate of 8 pence for each adult and 4 pence for each child under 10 years of age’; Resolved, that meetings be held in the next week at Adrigole, Cluin, Castletown and Eyeries ‘to examine the outdoor relief lists’. 6 Feb 1849 Vice guardians’ letter to PLC stating that the treasurer cannot make advances on their overdrawn account, and that they will not be able to pay outdoor relief on next Saturday. They explain they are not responsible for this ‘sad and deplorable state of things’, noting that have made every effort to collect the rates. They appeal for aid, adding that workhouse relief must also be discontinued without it, as the contractors now insist on weekly payment.

17 Apr 1849 Letter from the Central Board of Health directing that a fever hospital be set up in Castletown.

1 May 1849 Total inmates: 2704 [stated accommodation available: 1800]; Out door relief: 10284 persons.

12 Jun 1849 Medical officer’s report stating that there has been an ou tbreak of cholera, and that owing to ‘the debilitated constitutions of those attacked’, mortality is high, with 22 of 55 cases so far proving fatal. 4 Sep 1849 Letter to PLC regarding the prosecution for fraud of James O’Sullivan, late relieving officer, he ‘having charged relief to several persons which he never gave them’.

11 Sep 1849 Total inmates: 1273. Out door relief: 865 persons.

Missing [See BG/43/AA/3 below]

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24 Jul 1850 – 12 Mar 1851

A new board of guardians for Bantry Poor Law Union is in place throughout this volume. Separate Bantry and Castletown unions and boards were created in 1849, although accommodation for Castletown inmates continued to be reserved in Bantry. The last Castletown inmates left Bantry workhouse in February 1851 [see also BG/59 Castletown Board of Guardians]. The volume is partially indexed.

Includes:

24 Jul 1850 Total inmates: 2092 (from Bantry: 1779; from Castletown:313). Out door relief: 292 persons. Board’s reply to PLC refusal of advances for current expense s, noting that the necessity for such advances ‘is created by the heavy and increasing debt due from the Castletown union... The funds of the union are much reduced by its division, and they neither can obtain credit nor will they incur debt for the mainte nance of the paupers of another union’. Resolved, ‘that the relieving officer of the town of Bantry be directed to prosecute under the Vagrancy Act such persons who may be found endeavouring to obtain relief in the union but who are not resident in it, and that printed notices to this effect be posted through the town’. [See 31 Jul] 31 Jul 1850 PLC order received limiting the accommodation to be reserved for Castletown union in the workhouse. Resolved, ‘that as out door relief has now ceased, that not more than six pence per week be allowed the relieving officers for each of their offices ’. [This is the final week for which returns for out door relief are given (292 persons relieved).] 14 Aug 1850 Resolved, that the auxiliary workhouse at Fourmileswater be given up, the girls returned to the main house, and the services of the officers in that house (chaplain, physician, matron, and porter) dispensed with.

28 Aug 1850 Medical Officers’ report expressing regret at the decision ‘not to allow meat to the paup er nurses’.

18 Sep 1850 Order fixing the days on which relieving officers are to attend their districts to hear applications. One relieving officer covers the following districts: Bantry and Mealagh; Ahil, Douce and Kealkil; Glengarriff and Kilcaskin. The other covers the following districts: Glanlough, Seefin and Sheepshead; Durrus East, Durrus West and Scart; and Whiddy.

2 Oct 1850 Resolved, that a Capstan Mill be erected at the workhouse, and that arrangements be made with Mr Perrott, the patentee.

9 Oct 1850 Resolution agreeing to pay law costs on debts where the principal sum is paid from funds under the Distressed Unions Advances Act. [See also 23 Oct 1850 and 12 Mar 1851].

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23 Oct 1850 Letters regarding ‘the establishment of a Transatlantic Packet Station in one of the Western Harbours of the county’. Major Beamish asks the board to ‘ascertain the dispositions of the landed proprietors as to the concession of the lands required for a railway to the harbour’. 13 Nov 1850 Letter to PLC regarding annuities for repayment of advances, which they describe as ‘most monstrous and unjust’. They think that repayment ‘should not be required’ on advances for buildings or under the Temporary Relief Act, and ‘protest altogether against the demand for interest’. T hey note that a five year annuity would require a rate ‘which it would not be possible to pay’, while a forty year annuity would mean interest on the debt of £14000 to the amount of £12220 16s 8d.

18 Dec 1850 Letter from Michael Murphy read offering his store at Donemark as an auxiliary workhouse (offer accepted).

23 Dec 1850, Resolved, ‘that the paupers be allowed white bread and coffee for breakfast on Christmas day, and that the master purchase about 2 and a half hundredweight of beef to improve the s oup they receive at dinner’. 15 Jan 1851 PLC letter regarding the fact that the number of inmates currently exceeds the amount of accommodation provided, and the responsibilities of the visiting committee in this regard. It is explained in response that a store has been taken as an auxiliary workhouse, and it is ordered that ‘the master endeavour to remove the boys there by the close of this week’. [Total inmates: 1354; workhouse accommodation: 1100; hospital 50; fever sheds: 50] 12 Feb 1851 PLC letter declining to sanction proceedings in the superior courts against Lord Berehaven and RD Beamish for non-payment of rates as immediate lessors. They ask why proceedings by civil bill are not taken. [See 18 Dec 1850]

19 Feb 1851 Noted, ‘there are now none in t his workhouse chargeable to the Castletown union’.

5 Mar 1851 Resolved, that the Castletown board of guardians ‘be requested to pay a further instalment of their debt to this union’, particularly in the context of an execution for over £200 held against the board which they ‘are quite unable to avert’ unless the request is met. [See also 12 Mar 1851]

12 Mar 1851 Total inmates: 1708.

7. 8. 9.

19 Mar 1851 – 8 Oct 1851 15 Oct 1851 – 5 May 1852 12 May 1852 – 1 Dec 1852 8 Dec 1852 – 28 Sep 1853 5 Oct 1853 – 4 Oct 1854 11 Oct 1854 – 26 Sep 1855 3 Oct 1855 – 24 Sep 1856 1 Oct 1856 – 25 Mar 1857 1 Apr 1857 – 24 Mar 1858 31 Mar 1858 – 13 Apr 1859

10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

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17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43.

20 Apr 1859 – 18 Apr 1860 25 Apr 1860 – 22 May 1861 29 May 1861 – 11 Jun 1862 18 Jun 1862 – 17 Jun 1863 24 Jun 1863 – 17 Dec 1863 23 Dec 1863 – 7 Dec 1864 14 Dec 1864 – 29 Nov 1865 6 Dec 1865 – 28 Nov 1866

Missing

4 Dec 1867 – 2 Dec 1868

Missing [See BG/43/AA/4 below]

8 Dec 1869 – 30 Nov 1870 7 Dec 1870 – 29 Nov 1871 6 Dec 1871 – 27 Nov 1872 4 Dec 1872 – 26 Nov 1873 3 Dec 1873 – 28 Oct 1874 4 Nov 1874 – 28 Apr 1875 5 May 1875 – 27 Oct 1875 3 Nov 1875 – 26 Apr 1876 3 May 1876 – 25 Oct 1876 1 Nov 1876 – 25 Apr 1877 2 May 1877 – 24 Oct 1877 31 Oct 1877 – 24 Apr 1878 1 May 1878 – 23 Oct 1878 30 Oct 1878 – 23 Apr 1879 30 Apr 1879 – 22 Oct 1879 29 Oct 1879 – 14 April 1880

Ordinary minutes are followed by supplemental sheets for proceedings under the Medical Charities Act and proceedings of the board as a Sanitary Authority. [*The volume’s binding is a little damaged, with some water damage to pages nearest the front, but not affecting minutes]. *Dispensary committees: Bantry, Glengarriff, Durrus and Kilcrohane, Kealkil,

Includes:

29 Oct 1879 Total inmates: 134. Out door relief: 3 persons. Master reports that the children were taken out for exercise once this week. [a recurring item in master’s reports] 19 Nov 1879 LGB letter regarding their inspectors’ reports ‘on the cond ition and prospects of the poor in Ireland, from which they learn that there will probably be an unusual amount of distress in parts of the country this winter’. They ask the board to make appropriate arrangements, both in the workhouse and for outdoor relief ‘should the condition of the poorer classes render it necessary to afford relief out of the workhouse more freely than at present’. 26 Nov 1879 Letter from Rev William O’Grady asking to be appointed protestant chaplain, noting ‘there are not many of my people at present in the house, though I believe most of the officials belong to the Church of Ireland, but there may at any time be more’. [See also 31 Dec 1879]

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Ordered, that an inmate named Lynch be summoned for having entered the boys’ dormitory ‘for the purpose of beating one of the boys’.

17 Dec 1879 LGB letter regarding a loan for laying pipes for Bantry water supply; memorial from ‘several ratepayers’ asking the board ‘to take advan tage of the present facilities for procuring a loan from the Board of Works to be expended in the sanitary improvement of the town’. [See sanitary minutes] 7 Jan 1880 Master’s report, stating that Lady Bantry ‘gave a treat to all the inmates’ on 2 Jan, including bread, jam, buns, currant cake, and tea, ‘toys to all the children, pipes and tobacco to the men and packages of tea and sugar to the adults’. Successful vaccinations: Bantry District: 174; Durrus and Kilcrohane: 136; Kealkil: 122. 28 Jan 1880 Letter from Major Sandford stating that he has been directed to hand over to the board ‘ that portion of the Bantry workhouse which has been since 1865 appropriated as a barrack’, and seeking to fix a date. Resolution representing to the LGB the ‘great want of employment in a portion of the said union and consequent distress’, and ‘that profitable employment might be given upon works defined in the schedule attached to the Under Secretary’s letter... of 13 January last’ (relating to road works). Application is made to convene an extraordinary meeting of the baronial sessions of the barony of the west division of West Carbery ‘to present for works specified in aforesaid schedule for the employment of the poor in the said barony’. [See also 4 Feb 1880] 11 Feb 1880 LGB letter notifying of legal advice received regarding ‘the prohibition of outdoor relief in the case of a man holding more than a quarter of an acre of land’. It is explained that such a man’s wife and family may receive relief inside or outside the workhouse if unable to work, and may receive outdoor relief if healthy but destitute. 18 Feb 1880 LGB letter regarding seed potato purchase scheme for occupiers of land not valued at more than £10, who have no seed or means to buy it [see later minutes, e.g., 10, 17 and 24 Mar and 7 and 14 Apr 1880]. LGB letter stating that coast guards on the west coast and its islands have been directed ‘to take charge of any stores of meal or food which may be entrusted to them and to render any assistance in their power for the relief of the distressed poor and especially to convey relieving officers on the requisition of the board of guardians to the islands if in their power to do so’. Minute, the board do not think it either ‘necessary or desirable’ to hold a public me eting to ‘devise means to assist in alleviating distress in this county’, as proposed in a resolution of the Cork Union submitted with a letter from the earl of Bandon. 25 Feb 1880 Minute on master’s report, noting that a woman brought to the house who assaulted a nurse and an inmate was brought before magistrates and committed to the lunatic asylum.

17 Mar 1880 Master’s report stating that the fever hos pital had to be opened

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for a new patient, and a woman had to be employed to tend him. Resolved, to requ est LGB permission ‘to give out door relief either in food or fuel for a limited time in case of necessity’. [Order issued. See 24 Mar , 14 Apr]

24 Mar 1880 Resolved, to examine ‘that part of the workhouse ground taken off by the railway’ to evaluate damag e for government arbitration.

31 Mar 1880 LGB letter noting that the new schoolmistress is under the age prescribed and ‘does not appear to have had any experience as a teacher’. Notice of election of members of committees of management for the various dispensary districts. 7 Apr 1880 Minute informing the LGB, with regard to Bantry’s sewerage, that the board got the opinion of the county surveyor ‘on the embanking of part of the slob near the town of Bantry, and finding the amount required would come to n ear £3000 abandoned the notion of reclamation’.

14 Apr 1880 Total inmates: 148. Out door relief: 72 persons

44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60.

Missing

19 Oct 1880 – 5 Apr 1881 12 Apr 1881 – 27 Sep 1881 4 Oct 1881 – 28 Mar 1882 4 Apr 1882 – 26 Sep 1882 3 Oct 1882 – 20 Mar 1883 27 Mar 1883 – 18 Sep 1883 25 Sep 1883 – 25 Mar 1884 1 Apr 1884 – 23 Sep 1884 30 Sep 1884 – 24 Mar 1885 31 Mar 1885 – 22 Sep 1885 29 Sep 1885 – 23 Mar 1886 30 Mar 1886 – 21 Sep 1886 28 Sep 1886 – 22 Mar 1887 29 Mar 1887 – 20 Sep 1887 27 Sep 1887 – 20 Mar 1888 27 Mar 1888 – 18 Sep 1888

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61.

25 Sep 1888 – 19 Mar 1889

Includes:

1 Jan 1889 Resolution passed protesting that the revision of judicial rents by the Irish Land Commissioners ‘i s not based on equity and is calculated to destroy any little confidence that exists in that body’. 5 Mar 1889 Resolution proposed (refused by chairman), congratulating Parnell on his ‘signal victory... over the Times newspaper in its attempts to connect him and the rest of the Irish party with outrages and murder’.

62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97.

26 Mar 1889 – 17 Sep 1889 24 Sep 1889 – 18 Mar 1890 25 Mar 1890 – 16 Sep 1890 23 Sep 1890 – 10 Mar 1891 17 Mar 1891 – 1 Sep 1891 8 Sep 1891 – 1 Mar 1892 8 Mar 1892 – 20 Aug 1892 6 Sep 1892 – 21 Feb 1893 28 Feb 1893 – 22 Aug 1893 29 Aug 1893 – 20 Feb 1894 27 Feb 1894 – 21 Aug 1894 28 Aug 1894 – 19 Feb 1895 26 Feb 1895 – 20 Aug 1895 27 Aug 1895 – 18 Feb 1896 25 Feb 1896 – 18 Aug 1896

Missing

23 Feb 1897 – 17 Aug 1897 24 Aug 1897 – 15 Feb 1898 22 Feb 1898 – 16 Aug 1898 23 Aug 1898 – 7 Feb 1899 14 Feb 1899 – 29 Jul 1899 26 Aug 1899 – 6 Feb 1900 20 Feb 1900 – 7 Aug 1900 21 Aug 1900 – 5 Feb 1901 19 Feb 1901 – 6 Aug 1901 20 Aug 1901 – 28 Jan 1902 11 Feb 1902 – 5 Aug 1902 19 Aug 1902 – 3 Feb 1903 17 Feb 1903 – 21 Jul 1903 4 Aug 1903 – 26 Jan 1904 2 Feb 1904 – 19 Jul 1904 2 Aug 1904 – 17 Jan 1905 31 Jan 1905 – 25 Jul 1905 1 Aug 1905 – 9 Jan 1906 16 Jan 1906 – 3 Jul 1906

Missing

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98.

15 Jan 1907 – 2 Jul 1907

Ordinary minutes are followed by supplemental pages for financial minutes and statistical minutes, and for proceedings under the Medical Charities Act, Vaccination Acts, and Dispensary Houses Act. Meetings are held fortnightly, although the abstract of accounts of relieving officers in the statistical minutes is completed weekly, beginning 5 Jan 1907. Enclosures: ‘Analysis of Drugs’ forms (under dispensary regulations), Bantry and Durrus Dispensaries, 30 Jan 1907, 3pp [see 12 Feb 1907]; Letter from Jeremi ah Wholehan asking the board ‘to take in my child into the union. I have no one to care him as my wife is after dying. I cannot take any care of him as I must try and support myself and cannot remain Inside with him. I am only living in lodgings now’. Undated, 1p; Letter from Eugene Harrington, 26 Feb 1907, asking the board to send him to the Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital. He explains he was there are a paying patient ‘and was improving but I had no means to continue paying for myself and had to come home only half cured’. 1p [see 26 Feb 1907] Enclosures are inside the back cover.

Includes:

15 Jan 1907 Total inmates: 97. Out door relief: 197 persons. LGB letter requesting returns giving the name and description of inmates of unsound mind, and those ‘not of unsound mind, who were afflicted with epilepsy’. Minute, adoption of resolution of the Baltinglass board of guardians expr essing its dismay at ‘the action of the French government in its dealings with the Roman Catholic Church in that country’. 29 Jan 1907 Committee report stating that they see no objection to letting a piece of the workhouse ground to ED Storer ‘with the ob ject of facilitating industrial employment’. [A ‘Barytes mill’; see 12 Mar 1907 . Approval was rescinded on 26 Mar, in favour of a company ‘engaged in working scart mines’. ] 12 Feb 1907 Master’s report stating that two inmates who broke out, having been refused passes, were charged at Petty Sessions court and sentenced to one month and three weeks respectively. 26 Mar 1907 Letter from Rev O’Grady requesting permission t o remove a [Protestant] girl ‘the only child in the workhouse belonging to his communion, as he can get her into a good home in Dublin where she will be carefully taught and put out in life’. [See 9 Apr] Resolution of regret on the death of John O’Leary ‘one of Ireland’s noblest sons, who sacrificed his prospects and liberty in the service of his country’. Notice of tenders accepted for the half year to 30 September next.

23 Apr 1907 Resolution of sympathy on the death of Canon Reid, PP, ‘“guide, philosopher and friend” in temporal as well as spiritual matters’. Remainder of

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meeting adjourned.

7 May 1907 Minute, that maintenance due from a constable whose two children are in the workhouse be paid, or steps will be taken to enforce payment. 4 Jun 1907 Minute, insurance policy taken out against liabilities created by the Workmen’s Compensation Act and the Employers’ Liability Act, 1880. Minute drawing the attention of the midwife of the Durrus and Kilcrohane dispensary district to the rule prohibiting the taking of fees from patients entitled to medical relief under the Medical Charities Act. 2 Jul 1907 Total inmates: 102. Out door relief: 184 persons. Submitted, resolutions of the Carlow board of guardians regarding the boarding out of illegitimate children, and their mothers. Resolved, that the LGB be requested to lease to Bantry Town Commissioners the workhouse field, on the terms agreed on 15 August 1905. Letter from the relieving officer, Durrus and Kilcrohane dispensary district, explaining his inability to secure a resident temporary medical officer, noting ‘I could not get any doctor to reside in the district while doing temporary duty’.

99.

Missing Missing Missing

100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. 109. 110. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115.

12 Jan 1909 – 29 Jun 1909 13 Jul 1909 – 28 Dec 1909 11 Jan 1910 – 14 Jun 1910

Missing

10 Jan 1911 – 6 Jun 1911 13 Jun 1911 – 28 Nov 1911 12 Dec 1911 – 20 Aug 1912 3 Sep 1912 – 19 Aug 1913 2 Sep 1913 – 7 Jul 1914 4 Aug 1914 – 16 Mar 1915

Missing

1 Feb 1916 – 19 Dec 1916

Missing

27 Nov 1917 – 29 Oct 1918

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