Workhouse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A workhouse was a place where people who were unable to support themselves could go to live and work. The earliest recorded example of a workhouse dates to 1652 in Exeter.
Workhouses were built after the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act although many existed before this legislation. Workhouses had to meet the principle of less eligibility - although in many cases it was impossible to make conditions in the wokhouse worse than the worst conditions outside.
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[edit] Workhouse design
Sampson Kempthorne designed many British workhouses and was very famous for this. Men, women and children were split up upon entry, and were kept in separate areas.
[edit] Workhouse diet
The meals supplied in the workhouse had to meet the condition of less eligibility - this meant that they had to be worse than the worst meals outside of the workhouse. This was so that the workhouse became a deterrent to would-be paupers.
[edit] Workhouse discipline
The workhouse master could implemet rules in order to create a system of rewards and punishments which aimed to instil discipline. For breaking rules paupers could be punished with the type of job they had to do that day. There were specific punishments which are set out by the Poor Law Commission.
[edit] Terrible conditions
Workhouses were never fun, and families tried to dodge leaving for them as much as possible, although some workhouses weren't quite so bad as others (as portrayed in Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens). The terrible conditions in a lot of workhouses caused some inmates depression for example women who would not speak and children who refused to play. Some workhouse masters used the money intended for blankets, food and other important items for their own personal use. Visitors reported rooms of sick or elderly inmates cold, their blankets thread bare and the windows wide open to the freezing weather. The sick did not get the treatment they needed, so many died.
A workhouse meal during the 1750's would be similar to this (daily allowance): 2 oz Cheese 2 oz Butter 1 lb Meat 3 pints beer
[edit] Typical workhouse day
5 a.m. - Rising bell
6 a.m - Prayers and breakfast
7 a.m. - Work
12 noon - Dinner
1 p.m. - Work
6 p.m. -Prayers
7 p.m. - Supper
8 p.m. - Bed
[edit] Workhouse images
Image:Exeter1.jpg Image:Hull1.jpg
[edit] Workhouse staff
The low levels of pay in workhouses meant that they did not attract well qualified staff. At the Salisbury workhouse the schoolmistress was unable to read. [Poverty and Public Health 1815-1948]
[edit] External links
- http://www.workhouses.org.uk/
- Horsham Workhouse A site dedicated to the workhouse in Horsham
- Horsham Workhouse today Recent photographs of Horsham's 1839 workhouse now converted into apartments
