Bandon Board of Guardians
IE CCCA/BG/42
Content & Structure
Scope & Content The minutes of Bandon Board of Guardians (BG/42/A) provide one of the most extensive records of the period of the Great Famine (1845-49) as it was experienced in West Cork, one of the most severely affected regions in the country. Whereas several other west Cork unions only came into being in 1849-50, the Bandon Union was in existence from 1839 until its abolition in 1924 (only three volumes in the series are missing). Its dealings with the other unions in the region, especially at their creation and in the final years of the workhouse system, are also well documented. For instance, a quarter of places in Bandon Workhouse were reserved for Clonakilty inmates prior to completion of the Clonakilty workhouse in 1851. After Bandon workhouse was burned down in 1921, remaining inmates not discharged were transferred to Clonakilty. 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. Twentieth century minute books also document the boarding out of orphaned and deserted children. The selections from the minutes summarized or quoted in the descriptive list focus on the Famine period and on the final years of the Union. Some volumes from other years are highlighted to give a sense of the work of the board of guardians at different times throughout its existence, for example, following the passing of the Public Health Act 1878, and after the radical change affected by the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898, which saw Rural District Councils come into being. One draft minute book (BG/42/AA/1: 1839-1845) is also present. The collection also contains financial records, including general ledgers (BG/42/CA), a financial statements book (BG/42/CD), and a bank book (BG/42/CL), documenting annual accounts and daily transactions of the union, particularly in its final years. Also present is a Master’s Journal (BG/42/F/1) recording reports by the master of the workhouse, prepared for meetings of the board. In addition, there is a weekly tobacco account book (BG/42/FK), an unusual item documenting the distribution of tobacco to inmates by the master. Unfortunately, only one indoor relief register for Bandon Union is present. A note by the master (BG/42/G/1) explains that some volumes were destroyed when the workhouse burned down, and it appears that earlier volumes which escaped the fire were subsequently lost. These lost registers, noting names and other personal information on inmates, leave an incalculable gap in the historical record, particularly in terms of family history. The final item present is a Labourers’ Acts ledger (BG/42/SA), containing information on the acquisition of sites and the construction and letting of cottages for rural labourers in the 1880s and 1890s, shedding light on the beginnings of social housing provision in the Bandon area.
Cork City and County Archives 2011
Page 4 of 30
Powered by FlippingBook