Parish and poor law union map of the county of Nottingham,
George Sanderson (fl.1834-1843)
Category
Maps
Date
1843
Materials
Measurements
550 mm (Width); 733 mm (Length)
Place of origin
Mansfield
Order this imageCollection
The Workhouse, Southwell, Nottinghamshire
NT 3185324
Summary
Full description
The Workhouse in Southwell, Nottinghamshire was built in 1824 and was used as a prototype for a 19th century workhouse. The system implemented here came from Reverend J.T. Becher whose ideas shaped the way the poor were treated in the 19th century. Poor Law Unions were created in England and Wales when the ‘Poor Law Amendment Act’ was introduced in 1834 with the aim help organise the administration for poor relief in a local area. Previously, this had been the responsibility of individual parishes but after the introduction of the new Act these were grouped into unions and were governed by a group of Guardians. This grouping of parishes into unions meant it made sense to build larger centralised workhouses to replace smaller facilities in each parish. These buildings were intended to house those who were unable to support themselves and provided them with employment and accommodation. The union which The Workhouse in Southwell served was made up of 62 parishes and could house up to 158 inmates at a time. George Sanderson was the creator of the ‘Parish and Poor Law Union map of the county of Nottingham’ and it was published on the 25th March 1843. Sanderson was a land surveyor from a small company in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, not far from Southwell and had taken over the firm in 1828. Sanderson is most well known as being the cartographer of a map of ‘the county 20 miles around Mansfield’. This 1835 map is the earliest one of the town available. Sanderson undertook this survey in response to a growing need for accurate maps to show developing industry and transport systems. It took four years to put the survey together, just as Victorian expansion was about to take off. In addition to his job as a land surveyor, he was also an Auditor of the ‘Mansfield Poor Law Union’ and had been involved with them since 1837. In 1838, the clerk to the ‘Guardians of the Mansfield Poor Law Union’ writes to the commission that they intend to employ George Sanderson to value the rateable property in the local area. He also drew up various Tithe maps in Nottinghamshire and the surrounding counties so Sanderson was clearly a very active member of the community. Poor law unions were finally abolished by the ‘Local Government Act of 1929’, which transferred the responsibility for public assistance to county councils. Often workhouse buildings were incorporated into the local hospital or, as at The Workhouse; the building was used as an institution for the poor, elderly and homeless. In the latter half of the 20th century the use of the building in Southwell changed and it became temporary accommodation for homeless families until 1976.
Bibliographic description
[1] folded sheet;. 73 x 56 cm. folded to 19 x 12cm. Provenance: not indigenous. Binding: mounted on cloth and folded into a green slipcase..
Makers and roles
George Sanderson (fl.1834-1843), surveyor George Sanderson (fl.1834-1843), cartographer