Nature of Source
Details of employment agreements between an apprentice and a master, overseen by the parish authorities. Normally only poorer children were apprenticed and are often referred to as pauper apprenticeships. The Poor Relief Act of 1601 (Old Poor Law) allowed the parish officials to bind a child to a master. Originally children could be apprenticed from the age of seven but in the early 19th century the age was raised to ten. The child was originally bound until the age of 24 but was lowered to 21 in 1778.
If no indenture for an individual is found, some apprentice agreements are found in the Vestry Minute records, apprenticing charity records and the Overseer of the Poor minutes. These indentures were not subject to stamp duty unlike trade apprenticeships. Most pauper apprenticeships were arranged to remove the child as a financial burden on the parish such as in cases of illegitimacy. Many children were sent miles away from home to work as cheap labour in factories or merely as unpaid servants. Other pauper children were contracted out to local families for a period of seven years and were often used by the master as menial, low paid labour. However, the child did receive board and lodging until the age of 24 in the case of boys and the age of 21 or marriage, if a girl. The apprenticed also gained legal settlement in his master’s parish. An Act of Parliament in 1801 required the keeping of an apprenticeship register, although not many survive.
With the advent of the New Poor Law in 1834, responsibility for pauper children was placed in the hands of the newly established Poor Law Unions. The system of compulsory apprenticeship came to an end in 1844. The establishment of Ragged Schools in 1844 and together with reforms and improvements brought about by the Factories Acts provided poor children with better opportunities for self advancement.
See also
Bastardy Documents
Overseers of the Poor Accounts
Settlement Certificates/Examinations and Removal Orders
Workhouse Records (Poor Law Unions)
Where Found
County Record Offices (Consult your local archives for Poor Law records which will include apprenticeship records. Find the details of a local UK archive from a searchable list of over 2,500 archives hosted by The National Archives. Use the ‘Find an archive’ box to search for an archive)
Society of Genealogists (Resources include: Apprentices Of Great Britain which are apprentice indenture indexes extracted from the tax records held at The National Archives and Index to Masters 1710-1774; The Crisp and Clench Collection of bound original apprentice indentures indexed by Colonel F Wall)
The National Archives (The holdings include lists of pauper apprentices returned to their master after enlisting in the army and registers of apprenticed merchant seamen)
The National Maritime Museum (Records of apprentices assisted by the Marine Society)
Period Covered
1601 – 1844
Genealogical Value
Apprentice
- Name, age and home parish of apprentice.
- Trade of apprentice if applicable.
- Name of apprentice’s parents or guardian.
Master
- Name, address and occupation of master.
- Occasionally the father of a bastard child might be noted.
Further References
- Aschrott, Paul Felix. The English Poor Law System, Past and Present: Knight 1902 (Available to read online or download at the Internet Archive)
- Bagley, John J & Bagley, Alexander John. The English Poor Law: Macmillan, 1968
- Beier, Lucinda. The Problem of the Poor in Tudor and Early Stuart England: Routledge, 1983
- Boyer, George R. An Economic History of the English Poor Law, 1750-1850: Cambridge University Press, 1990
- Brundage, Anthony. The English Poor Laws 1700-1930: Palgrave, 2002
- Emm, Adele. Tracing Your Trade and Craftsman Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians; Pen & Sword Books, 2015
- Englander, David. Poverty and Poor Law Reform in 19th Century Britain, 1834-1914: From Chadwick to Booth: Longman, 1998
- Fowler, Simon. Poor Law Records for Family Historians: Family History Partnership, 2011
- Hawkings, David. Pauper Ancestors: A Guide to the Records Created by the Poor Laws in England and Wales: The History Press, 2011
- Hindle, Steve. On the Parish? The Micro-Politics of Poor Relief in Rural England 1550-1750: Oxford University Press, 2009
- Lane, Joan. Apprenticeship in England, 1600-1914: Routledge, 1996
- Leonard, E M. The Early History of English Poor Relief: F. Cass, 1965 (Available to read online or download at the Internet Archive)
- McLaughlin, Eve. Annals of the Poor: Federation of Family History Societies, 1990
- McLaughlin, Eve. The Poor are Always With Us: Varneys Press, 1994
- Raymond, Stuart. My Ancestor was an Apprentice: Society of Genealogists, 2010
- Raymond. Stuart A. Tracing Your Poor Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen and Sword Books, 2020
- Rose, Michael E. The English Poor Law, 1780-1930: David and Charles, 1971
- Sim, Alison. Masters and Servants in Tudor England: The History Press, 2006
- Slack, Paul. The English Poor Law, 1531-1782: Cambridge University Press, 1995
- Thompson, Kathryn. Apprenticeship and Bastardy Records: Historical Association, 1997
- Tomkins, Alannah & King, Steven. The Poor in England 1700-1850: An Economy of Makeshifts: Manchester University Press, 2003
- Welbank Fowle, Thomas. The Poor Law: Macmillan, 1893 (Available to read online or download at the Internet Archive)
- Wilkes, Sue. Tracing Your Ancestors’ Childhood: Pen and Sword Books, 2013
The EurekA Partnership: Various titles containing transcriptions of Poor Law records covering Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, Warwickshire and Worcestershire
Websites
www.londonlives.org/static/Apprentices.jsp (Researching Apprentices)
www.londonlives.org/static/MG.jsp#toc4 (Pauper apprentices at the Bridewell Prison and Hospital)
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/apprentices-and-masters (The National Archives Research Guide: How to look for records of Apprentices and masters. This is a brief guide to researching records of an apprentice or master. Official records of apprentices were kept in England and Wales between 1710 and 1811, when stamp duty was payable on indentures of apprenticeship)
www.devonfhs.org.uk/forewords/B421.pdf (Devon Family History Society: Parish Apprenticeship Registers)
www.gov.uk/government/news/commemorating-100-years-of-apprenticeships (Skills Funding Agency: Apprenticeships in Britain c. 1890 to 1920)
www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/article/stratford-upon-avon-pauper-apprentices (Our Warwickshire: Stratford-Upon-Avon Pauper Apprentices)
www.workhouses.org.uk/education/apprenticeship.shtml (The Workhouse: Apprenticeship of Workhouse Children)
www.westminster.gov.uk/leisure-libraries-and-community/archives/researching-family-history-archives-centre/parish-and-workhouse-records (Westminster Archives: Researching family history at the Archives Centre: Parish and Workhouse records)
www.swheritage.org.uk/da-ls-research-guides (Devon Archives and Local Studies Research Guides: Poor Relief Records)
www.ukgdl.org.uk/category/occupations (UKGDL Occupations/Trades/Apprentices: Links to online transcriptions records dealing with a variety of trades and occupations with some data extracted from trade and street directories)
http://englishancestors.byu.edu/Pages/poor-law (Brigham Young University: Poor Law Records. The guide provides a history of poor laws and where to find online poor law records listed county-by-county)
Online Databases
- London Poor Law Abstracts, 1581-1899. Genealogical Abstracts from the City of London Parochial Poor Law Records including Bastardy/Affiliation Orders, Bastardy Bonds and Examinations as well as Quarter Sessions and Quarter Sessions Appeals. These poor law abstracts contain a complete summary of the details contained within each entry and includes all details including names and places plus incidental information such as relationships and occupations where found in the original documents. These records were compiled by genealogist Cliff Webb.
- Westminster, Poor Law and Parish Administration. The database contains over 1.7 million records from the poor law and parish administration records. The records cover Parish apprentices, Bastardy bonds, Settlement examinations, Paupers outdoor relief, Land tax and valuations and Workhouse admission records.
- Devon Social & Institutional Records. This collection of records has been gathered by the Devon Family History Society from a wide range of local records covering daily life in the 18th and 19th centuries. Search the of records to find paupers and vagrants, apprentices, peddlers and tradesmen. Datasets include Vaccination Registers against smallpox for Brixham, Dartmouth, Exeter Heavitree and Exeter St Thomas, Haberton, Paignton, Topsham, Totnes and Woodbury for various dates between 1870 and 1905.
- Yorkshire, Sheffield Social and Institutional Records 1558-1939. The dataset includes Apprentices, 1676-1833.
- Wiltshire, Marlborough Apprentice Books, 1655-1693.
- Devon, Plymouth & West Devon Apprentices 1570-1910. The dataset contains details of over 5,000 apprentices and their masters.
- The Manchester Collection: Apprentice indentures dating from 1700-1849. The original records are held by Manchester Archives and Local Studies
- Lincolnshire Parish Apprentice Indentures 1618-1925.
- Surrey, Southwark, Newington Apprentice Register 1891. The records show the details of Victorian apprentices who trained in the Newington district of Southwark then part of Surrey. The records are transcripts created by Peter Shilham from the original apprentice records held at the Southwark Local History Library.
- Norfolk Parish Chest Records 1300-1990 Browse. Explore a variety of parish chest records from Norfolk spanning over 600 years including Apprentice registers and Apprenticeship indentures & bonds.
- Norfolk Borough Records 1317-1981 Browse. Browse through a variety of Norfolk borough records including Apprenticeship indentures index and registers.
- London, England, Poor Law and Board of Guardian Records, 1738-1926. This collection includes a huge variety of different records created as a result of the Poor Laws in London including Registers of apprentices. Provided in association with The London Archives.
- Dorset, England, Poor Law Apprenticeship Records, 1623-1898.
- West Yorkshire, England, Select Apprenticeship Records, 1627-1894.
- Warwickshire Parish Poor Law, 1546-1904. The dataset includes apprenticeship registers and indentures
- Hampshire, England, Extracted Parish Records. The dataset includes Southampton Calendar of Apprenticeship Registers, 1609-1740.
- St Botolph, Aldgate: Registers of Pauper Apprentices; Apprenticeship Records.
- St Clement Danes: Parish Apprenticeship Records.
- Bridewell Royal Hospital, City of London: Registers of Pauper Apprentices.
The Idea Store
Tower Hamlets Council. Bow Parish Apprentice Register 1803-1827. Only the 1803 entries are currently available in digital format. The records document the apprenticeship of pauper children in Bow Parish under the old Poor Law system. Overseers of the poor were legally empowered to apprentice poor children.
Cornwall OPC Database
Parish Apprentice Indentures. Search records related to apprenticeships arranged by Cornish parishes.
Hertfordshire Names Online
Apprentices Index 1599-1903. The site provides online access to the Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies indexes. Searching the indexes is free but a charge is made for copies of a document. The indexes could also be of use for those with ancestors in the neighbouring counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Middlesex.
Gloucestershire Archives Genealogical Database
Overseers of the Poor. The records include settlement papers, pauper apprenticeships and bastardy documents.
Worcestershire Archives
Explore the Past. Apprentices listed in the Parish collections. This index contains the names and parishes of both apprentice and master together with the length of indenture, trade and reference number in the collections
Midlands Historical Data
Warwickshire Poor Law Index
Hull History Centre
Persons bound apprentice to freemen, 1651-1886. These records, which are held at reference C BRG/6-C BRG/13, have been transcribed and are now searchable by name via the online catalogue (enter surname in All Fields and CBRG in the Reference No on the advanced search page).
Staffordshire Name Indexes
Staffordshire Apprentices, 1600-1900
Sussex Record Society
Database of Poor Law Records for West Sussex. Search almost 14,000 records, including records of Settlement and Removal 1662-1835 as well as records of bastard children and of the apprenticing and boarding out of pauper children.
Yesterdays Journey
Explore indenture transcriptions dealing primarily with Derbyshire.
CD Roms
www.midlandshistoricaldata.org (Warwickshire Poor Law Index)
Devon Family History Society (Rich man, poor man beggar-man, thief; A collection of over 63,000 entries from records held at Devon Record Office)
Berkshire Family History Society (Berkshire Overseers’ Papers: Abbreviated transcripts of all the documents relating to the administration of the Poor Laws of Berkshire from 1601 to 1834. The CD contains comprehensive indexes for personal names, place names and occupations)
Parish Register Transcription Society (Eastern Sussex, Settlement Certificates and Bonds 1651-1834 and Parish Apprentices 1575-1837 transcribed from original records by Michael Burchall)
Lincolnshire Family History Society (Lincolnshire Masters and Apprentices, 1711-1808 extracted from the Inland Revenue Ledgers at The National Archives)
Lincolnshire Family History Society (Lincolnshire Poor Law Index. Full transcriptions of settlement examinations, abstracts of other poor law material including vagrancy passes, bastardy, apprenticeship)
www.ancestry.co.uk (Warwickshire Parish Poor Law, 1546-1904: Apprenticeship registers and indentures produced in association with Warwickshire County Record Office)
Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire Family History Society (Poor Law Papers and Masters and their Apprenticeships Apprentices Papers. Indices of Cambridgeshire Poor Law Papers, Master and Apprentices, Settlement and Bastardy Papers)
East Surrey Family History Society (Battersea Poor Law Records: Index to Orders of Justices 1700-1772 [Settlement] and Index to Apprenticeship Records 1602-1902)
Many transcriptions have been produced at a local level by Family History Societies.
