Kanturk Board of Guardians
IE CCCA/BG/98
Content & Structure
Scope & Content The surviving archives of the Kanturk Board of Guardians consist of minute books, including 26 volumes of minutes of full meetings of the board of guardians, 1858-1924 (with gaps). These include statistical information on workhouse inmates and details of workhouse life and administration. They also 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 in dispensary districts, the challenges facing public health and sanitary provision, and the building of labourers’ cottages. The minute books also provide a glimpse of local issues and politics. The Newmarket Dispensary committee minute book (1852-92) sheds light on the provision of public medical services in a local context. Clinics, vaccinations, midwife services, and tickets for out door relief and admission to the workhouse were all managed locally and reported on to the board of guardians, which approved matters requiring sanction. The minutes of proceedings of the board acting as a local authority under the Labourers’ Acts (1886-1897) supply much detail on the beginnings of the provision of social housing in this large rural area. Information on the location, construction, tenancy, and quality of labourers’ cottages is recorded, along with many of the difficulties faced, such as initial poor construction standards, legal disputes with landowners, and the withholding of rent by some tenants. The minutes of proceedings as a local authority under the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Acts (1879-99) is a rare example of such a minute book. While some information on this aspect of the board’s work is recorded in the full minutes, these distinct minutes provide much greater detail on inspections, cases, actions, and policies in this important area of agricultural hygiene and public health. Arrangement The collection is arranged into 4 separate series, all under the heading of minutes (see table of contents). This arrangement 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.
A1-102
Board of Guardian Minute Books Newmarket Dispensary District Minutes Minutes, Local Authority, Labourers Acts
1858-1924 (26 items) 1852-1892 (1 item) 1886-1897 (3 items)
AJ1
AL1-5
AM1
Minutes, Contagious Diseases (Animals) Acts 1879-1899 (1 item)
Cork City and County Archives 2011
Page 4 of 18
Powered by FlippingBook