A better life?
Although for many apprentices life could be unbearably harsh, for some it could result in the opportunity of a better life and a future.
This extract from the account book of the overseer of the poor for Radford in 1785 shows an example of the amount of money which had to be laid out when a poor child was apprenticed through the parish. This would include costs for the writing of the indenture, attending the court to obtain permission from the magistrates, the parish officer's wages and the child's clothes (reference: PR/14,714). For the time this was quite a lot of money to pay.
See the account book in more detail here [PDF 1065KB] 
See a transcript of the account book here [PDF 20KB]
It was an excellent opportunity for a young person who had not had a good start in life due to poverty to improve their chances of a happy and fulfilled life. There was plenty to look forward to, with a new trade to learn, some education to be gained, new clothes to wear and good prospects for the future. It could mean release from a life in the grim workhouse.
Even if the master and the apprentice were well suited and liked each other, problems could arise if the master became ill or even died. Once again the poor apprentice could be without a place to live and work and would have to go back to the workhouse or seek a new master. An extract from the will of George Woolley, a weaver of Edwinstowe, proved in October 1715, shows that his apprentice, John Cashire, was very lucky as his master had bequeathed him a fair amount of money to help him find another apprenticeship to complete his training (reference: DD/2197/2/47).
See the extract from the will of George Woolley in more detail here [PDF 2344KB]
See a transcript of the extract of the will here [PDF 19KB]
In early Victorian times new regulations were issued for "better adminstration" of the Poor Law (reference: PR/21,995 - p1). These introduced:
- A minimum age of apprenticeship to 9 years
- A maximum of 8 years for the length of all apprenticeships
- Limits on the distance that a child was allowed to travel from home to work
- Checks on the health of a new apprentice.
The duties of the master were also laid out clearly (reference: PR/21,995 - p3).
See the third page of the new regulations in more detail here [PDF 2779KB]
