Workhouse life

Workhouses grew out of the Poor Laws aimed at reducing the number of paupers who depended on the parish for handouts. The authorities who collected local taxes and administered Poor Relief wanted to limit their charity to those too old or ill to work. The able-bodied could only claim relief in exchange for a day’s labouring, which was done in the parish ‘work house’.

Once it was decided that it would be more economical to provide housing centrally for the poor, the purpose-built workhouses with accommodation were built.

Workhouses were designed to be as off-putting as possible. People were housed in segregated wings, so families would be split up: the man in one wing, boys and girls in their own separate areas, and women (with small babies with them) in another. Parents had limited time to see their children.

The food was deliberately basic, because the workhouse inmates could not be seen to have better living conditions than the poor who managed to scrape a living independently.

Having to enter the workhouse was a cause of shame.