The following
information was provided as notes made by Jean Debney
in June 2001.
Vaccination Registers were maintained from 1862 -
1948. They usually contain the childs name, age,
parish, and date of vaccination. They may be found -
where they exist - among the Poor Law Union records
and therefore in the County RO.
In Berkshire, they are filed under 'Non Poor Law Duties'. The
following info is taken from the 'The New
Poor Law and its successors in Berkshire, 1835-1948'. (BRO publication
1979)
There is a 75 year closure in the Berkshire
Record Office.
| Abingdon PLU |
7 volumes |
1883-1910
ref: G/A 11/1-7 |
| Bradfield PLU |
2 volumes
(Mortimer & Tilehurst sub-districts only) |
1871-1881
ref: G/B 45/1-2 |
| Easthampstead PLU |
nil |
|
| Faringdon PLU |
nil |
|
| Hungerford & Ramsbury PU |
nil |
|
| Maidenhead (formerly Cookham)
PLU |
nil |
1892-1899
ref: G/M 11/1-4. |
| Newbury PLU |
1 volume
|
1917-1918
ref: C/TR (PA)/7/3. |
| Reading PLU |
nil |
|
| Wallingford PLU |
9 volumes:
Cholsey &
Dorchester (OXF) districts |
1888-1917
ref G/W 17/1-6; G/W 18/1-3 |
| Wantage PLU |
Reports and register, 2
volumes |
1872-1925
ref : G/WT 15 and G/WT 16 |
| Windsor PLU |
nil |
|
| Wokingham PLU |
4 volumes |
1902-1923
ref: G/WO 18/1-3 and G/WO 19 |
According to some notes I ( JD) made on the
subject from the 'Handy Book of parish Law' (Wilts.FHS,
1995) p.78: Acts 1867 & 1871:
- vaccination was a non-poor statutory duty;
PLUs were to provide "gratuitous
vaccination" by competent medical men to
every resident in the PLU.
- Records (or those that survive the wholesale
destruction of many PLU records in the 20th
century may include):
- Vaccination Committee Minute Books
- Vaccination registers: name, date &
place of birth, sex, name of father (or mother if
illegitimate), father's occupation, when
registered, date & receipt of vaccinator's
notice, date of successful vaccination or
'insuspectability'
- Vaccination officer's report book
- Returns to central authority
- Contracts with public vaccinators
- Prosecution papers (from 1867)
As you can see, apart from the vaccination
details, the information in these registers is
basically the same as can be found on a birth
certificate. It is therefore very sad that so few
have survived - in Berkshire at any rate.
