| Administrative History | The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act grouped parishes together into Unions, controlled by Boards of Guardians, for purposes of poor relief. The Derby Poor Law Union formally came into existence in Oct 1837. In 1930, the functions of the Boards of Guardians were taken over by the Public Assistance Committee of the County Council. This continued until 1948, when the Poor Law was abolished by the National Assistance Act.
The Union contained the following parishes or townships:
All Saints, Litchurch, Little Chester, St. Alkmund, St. Michael, St. Peter and St. Werburgh. New Normanton was added in 1890 and Darley Abbey in 1894, then, in 1898 all parishes, with the exception of Darley Abbey, were abolished to form the parish of Derby.
The first Derby Union workhouse was built in 1837-8 on the south side of Osmaston Road, but did not follow standard Union plans. A new workhouse was built in 1876-8 north of the Uttoxeter Road. Between 1926-9, a new hospital was built opposite the workhouse on the south side of the Uttoxeter Road, to care for the sick poor of Derby Union, on a 28 acre site. |
| Custodial History | These records were transferred from the Derby City Local Studies Library to Derbyshire Record Office in February 2008. They were previously held under the reference DL 23. |