Identity Statement
| Title | Drogheda poor law union Board of Guardians |
| Archive Reference | IE LHA BG/DRO/ |
| Web Link to this Entry | https://iar.ie/archive/drogheda-poor-law-union-board-guardians |
| Creation Dates | 1839-1923, 1925 |
| Extent Medium | 91 items consisting largely of bound volumes |
Context
Creator(s): Board of Guardians
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Administrative History ↴
The poor law came into effect in Ireland with the Poor Law Act of 1838 in response to the widespread poverty in the country and remained in existence until 1923. The country was divided into poor law unions each with its own workhouse. There were three such unions in county Louth: Ardee, Drogheda (sometimes called the Louth union) and Dundalk. The unions were run by a board of guardians - some elected, some appointed from among local magistrates - under the close supervision of the Poor Law Commissioners, and after 1872, the Local Government Board. A rate or 'poor rate' was collected within each area or union from property owners for the maintenance of the poor. In the 1850s, the poor law guardians became responsible for public health; in the 1860s, the boarding out of children; rural housing from 1883; and rural sanitation from 1874-1899. Drogheda: Drogheda poor law union or sometimes referred to as the Louth poor law union included townlands within the electoral divisions of Drogheda, St Peter’s East, St Peter’s West, Monasterboice, Termonfeckin, Clogher, Dysart, and Mullary. Drogheda workhouse was opened in 1841 and provided for 800 inmates. -
Archival History ↴
Control of the poor law guardians was achieved partly through record keeping and partly through inspection, thus resulting in the creation of large quantities of archives, the most voluminous of which are the minute books: an almost complete run from Jul 1839 - Apr 1924 exists for Dundalk poor law union, along with other miscellaneous poor law archives; an almost complete run exists for Ardee poor law union (there are a few volumes in private hands); and a quantity of minutes exist for Drogheda poor law union (the remainder of the surviving minutes are in Millmount Museum, Drogheda). The guardians were obliged to send returns to the central authority; however, many of these were destroyed in the Custom House in 1921, while other poor law union archives were destroyed down through the years. Subsequent to 1923, many of the workhouses became county homes or hospitals, as in the case of Ardee and Drogheda. The poor law archives are an invaluable research resource for local historians, students and genealogists and by having the three unions of County Louth accessible together in the County Archives Service, their research value is enhanced as researchers can cross-reference. The archives cover the period from famine through to independence and provide information on the social and economic conditions of the poor law unions. Drogheda: The Drogheda poor law union archive material was held in a store of Drogheda Branch Library prior to being transferred to Louth County Archives Service in 2000. Some archival items of Drogheda poor law union are held by Millmount Museum, Drogheda. -
Immediate Source Acquisition ↴
Official Transfer
Content & Structure
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Scope & Content: Board of Guardians ↴
The administration sub-sub-fonds contains a series of general correspondence, 1905 – 1912 (BG/DRO/ADM/001/); notices of meetings, 1922 (BG/DRO/ADM/002/); a sample of headed paper from the clerk’s office of Drogheda union, 19th century (BG/DRO/ADM/003); a list of ten heads of family with numbers in family, 19th century (BG/DRO/ADM/004); two legal documents regarding the Richard Callan case, 1886 (BG/DRO/ADM/005/).
The dispensary sub-sub-fonds contains a series of requisition forms for medicines or medical and surgical appliances required by St. Mary’s Dispensary, 1919 – 1923 (BG/DRO/DIS/001/); a letter regarding the appointment of JJ Long Balgeeth, assistant registrar, 1909 (BG/DRO/DIS/002); a notice of St. Peter’s number 1 Dispensary District stating names of staff, procedures of dispensary and opening hours, 1920 (BG/DRO/DIS/003); a series of medical officer’s reports of all children over three months of age, who do not appear to have been vaccinated (Form P), 1925 (BG/DRO/DIS/004/).
The finance sub-sub-fonds contains a financial statement of the Board of Guardians of Drogheda poor law union for the half-year ended 31 Mar 1901 (BG/DRO/FIN/001); a register of mortgages in respect of loans, under the Union Accounts Order 1905, 1904 – 1915 (BG/DRO/FIN/002); and an estimate and demand of the Board of Guardian of Drogheda poor law union to Louth County Council, 1913 – 1923 (BG/DRO/FIN/003).
The minute books sub-sub-fonds contains a series of general minute books of proceedings of the Board of Guardians of Drogheda poor law union, 1839 – 1919 (BG/DRO/MB/001/); a rough minute book of proceedings of the Board of Guardians of Drogheda poor law union, 1888 – 1889 (BG/DRO/MB/002); a series of minute books of Ardee poor law union acting as Rural Sanitary Authority under the Labourers (Ireland) Acts 1883 and 1885, 1890 – 1891, (BG/DRO/MB/003); and a minute book of Drogheda (Louth) Board of Guardians held under the Medical Charities Act 1851, Vaccination Acts and Dispensary Houses Act, 1905 (BG/DRO/MB/004).
The workhouse administration sub-sub-fonds contains a letter from Louis Turley, CE architect, to the Drogheda (Louth) Board of Guardians in respect of a tender for the supply of taps to boilers in the laundry yard of the workhouse, 1906 (BG/DRO/WA/001).
The workhouse relief sub-sub-fonds contains an indoor relief register of the Board of Guardians of Drogheda poor law union detailing names of inmates, 1908 (BG/DRO/WR/001); and part of an outdoor relief application and report book of the number 1 and number 2 districts of Drogheda poor law union detailing names of applicants, 1917 (BG/DRO/WR/002).
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Appraisal Destruction ↴
Permanent Retention -
Accruals ↴
Further accruals are not expected -
Arrangement ↴
The Board of Guardians collection is divided into three sub-fonds which are akin to the three unions: Ardee, Drogheda, and Dundalk. This sub-fonds is divided into several sub-sub-fonds: administration, dispensary, finance, minute books, workhouse administration, and workhouse relief. Within each sub-sub-fonds, archives are arranged into series and items, which are arranged in chronological order as far as possible.
Conditions of Access & Use
| Access Conditions | Open Access, by appointment |
| Conditions Governing Reproduction | Many items may be copied. Bound volumes cannot be photocopied. Copying can be discussed further with the County Archivist. |
| Creation Dates | 1839-1923, 1925 |
| Extent Medium | 91 items consisting largely of bound volumes |
| Material Language Script | English |
| Characteristics Tech Req | Generally fair-good condition. However, some bound volumes are in poor condition. Some of the archives in this collection require careful handling. |
| Finding Aids | Descriptive list can be found on on-line catalogue available at http://www.louthcoco.ie Archive Web Link → |
Allied Materials
| Originals Information | Louth County Archives Service |
| Copies Information | Some digitised documents may occasionally be found on http://www.louthcoco.ie |
| Related Material | RDC/DRO/ BG/ARD/ BG/DDK/ |
| Publication Note | O’Connor, John, Workhouses of Ireland: The fate of Ireland’s poor (Anvil, Dublin 1995) O’Sullivan, Harold, A History of Local Government in Louth: from earliest times to the present time (IPA, Dublin 2000) |
Descriptive Control Area
| Archivist Note | Lorraine McCann |
| Rules/Conventions | ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description. 2nd ed. Ottawa: International Council on Archives, 2000. |
| Date of Descriptions | 2003-2011 |