Chapel
James at Unsplash
By 1884 a small 'iron' chapel had been built on the north-east side of the workhouse site (near what is now 42 Oxford Road). It was dedicated to St Margaret, the patron saint of expectant mothers. It may be that its main purpose was the baptism of infants born in the workhouse.
There are records of 195 baptisms in the St Margaret’s Chapel from 1884 to 1931. The services were mostly performed by staff of St Helen’s Church: Vicar, Curate or Assistant Curate.
Two foundlings (among probably many others) are of interest.
Margaret Sutton was baptised in the chapel on 5th February 1884. She was listed as 'Found on the road in Sutton Courtenay'. She died in the workhouse on 18th August 1884, and was buried in the Abingdon Cemetery on 20th August 1884. It seems probable that her first name was taken from the chapel's dedication, and her surname from the place where she was found.
Helen Springfield was found on the road on 27th May 1887 and baptised in the chapel on 28th June 1887. She was listed as 'Found at Springfield by a Stranger'. She was placed in the care of the Master of the Workhouse, James Clarke, and her birth was registered on 8th July. Her name was taken from the parish, St Helen's, and her surname from from the place where she was found.
Helen died in the workhouse on 19th February 1888. her death certificate, dated 28th February 1888, gives her age as 9 months and the cause of death as 'atrophy'. She was buried in Abingdon Cemetery on 21st February 1888 under the name 'Ellen Springfield'.
Another inmate about whom little is known: Nellie Froud was born in 1894 and baptised at St Michael’s Church; she lived at Court 18, 6 Ock Street. In 1920 Nellie (still a single woman) gave birth to a son, George, who was also baptised at St Michael’s. Her mother had died in 1915, and her father died in 1922. A second son, Kenneth, was baptised in the workhouse chapel on 12th August 1928 – it isn’t known whether Nellie and George were already living in the workhouse (because both her parents were now dead) or whether she entered just for the birth. She died in 1931, and her address was given as 151 Ock Street, the home of her half-sister Sarah and her husband George. Nellie's occupation was given as a Domestic Servant, so she evidently obtained work, though it is unclear whether she worked for the people she lived with. The two boys were subsequently cared for by relatives.
The records of Baptisms from 1884 to 1931 in St Margaret’s Chapel, the Workhouse Chapel, have been put together by Abingdon St. Helen’s Archive Group who hold the copyright and have been published by the Oxfordshire Family History Society. Some of the burial information is provided by the Berkshire Family History Society Data Download St Helen’s Abingdon Burials(2021). The birth and death information from the Certificates are © 2021 Crown Copyright.