Lilian Maude Bowdler nee Evans, Workhouse Records (General)

by Jefff , West London, Middlesex, Friday, January 24, 2014, 00:39 (3965 days ago) @ Mike Pinchin

Hi Janey,
there's a truly excellent online reference site for the UK Poor Law & Workhouse system, the very informative Westbury page is
http://www.workhouses.org.uk/WestburyOnSevern/
Their Records are indeed held at Gloster Archives, namely:
"Gloucestershire Archives, Clarence Row, Alvin Street, Gloucester GL1 3DW. Holdings include Guardians' minute books (1835-1930 with gaps); Ledgers (1835-1930, with gaps); Officers' service register (1850-1930); etc."
http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/archives/article/107703/Archives-Homepage

As can be seen the Workhouses site carries 1881 Census records for staff & inmates, so a little late for Maude. Don't forget the Workhouses, like Hospitals etc, were all covered by the usual Census' so any inmates during Census night would be listed as such and can be found in the usual way. Ditto within the BMD records. However in more recent years as in Maude's case the address wasn't made so obvious on the Records, to "protect" the person involved. The W-o-S workhouse was known as "Number One Westbury High Street" or similar, as this old thread details.
http://forum.forest-of-dean.net/index.php?id=24456

Re Maude's latter years, not a certainty of course, but my searches for her within FreeBMD etc suggest that like Oliver she died in Devon, as per Slowhand's earlier post:

Name:Lilian M Bowdler
Birth Date:abt 1884
Date of Registration:Jun 1952
Age at Death:68
Registration District:Devon Central
Inferred County:Devon
Volume:7a
Page:335

Name:Oliver W Bowdler
Birth Date:abt 1884
Date of Registration:Mar 1953
Age at Death:69
Registration District:Devon Central
Inferred County:Devon
Volume:7a
Page:418

Apologies for not reading the thread more thoroughly - do you know where her children were living, mightn't she be have been with one of them ?