After the Dissolution (1536-41), several laws were passed in order to alleviate poverty. Basically they were designed to provide work for the poor, shelter for the old and sick, and punishment for vagrants and beggars. Each parish was made responsible for its own poor and dispossessed, leading to the common expression Living on the Parish. Funds for this were collected by taxing those who owned and occupied property, the forerunner of Council Taxes. Ratepayers elected parish overseers who administered Relief, as assistance to the poor became known.
With the arrival of the 1601 Poor Relief Act, measures included plans for the construction of homes for the elderly or sick. The C17th witnessed an increase in state involvement in poverty, and further Acts were brought in, helping to formalise the structure and practice of the workhouse. By 1776, a government survey was conducted on work houses: in 1800, their total population was c90,000.
Rev John Becher a pioneer of workhouse and prison reform, and his associate George Nicholls, created a system allowing parishes to pool their resources; thus they could operate housing for the poor on a local-regional level. Each workhouse was a huge set of connected units, built as a residence for the poor. Becher's design was used as model by the Poor Law Commission to inform the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, known as the New Poor Law.
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With the arrival of the 1601 Poor Relief Act, measures included plans for the construction of homes for the elderly or sick. The C17th witnessed an increase in state involvement in poverty, and further Acts were brought in, helping to formalise the structure and practice of the workhouse. By 1776, a government survey was conducted on work houses: in 1800, their total population was c90,000.
Rev John Becher a pioneer of workhouse and prison reform, and his associate George Nicholls, created a system allowing parishes to pool their resources; thus they could operate housing for the poor on a local-regional level. Each workhouse was a huge set of connected units, built as a residence for the poor. Becher's design was used as model by the Poor Law Commission to inform the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, known as the New Poor Law.
Southwell Workhouse,
opened in 1824Country Images Magazine
Women residents, 1896
Country Images Magazine
Becher was aiming for moral improvement. His philosophy was that workhouses should be a deterrent to an idle or profligate lifestyle; the harsh reality of workhouse life was to encourage people to avoid this port of last call IF possible. His theory was that people could find work if they really wanted to, and most indigent people were just lazy. So by repetitive, hard work idle, indigents would be converted to a more upright lifestyle.
Inmates were divided into categories. Those too old or infirm to work were called Blameless and were treated with some compassion. Those who were capable of work, but were unemployed, were called Idle and Profligate Able-Bodied and were expected to work for their keep. Men had to break up rock for road building or pick apart rope, while women did laundry. Everyone wore uniforms and life was intentionally kept monotonous.
They lived and worked in a strictly segregated environmentwith no contact between the old and infirmed, and the able-bodied. Men, women and children had separate quarters, so families were split up and not allowed to meet. The children received basic education, and then were made to work. Rules were strict, under the tough eye of paid Masters or Matrons, and transgressions were harshly punished.
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men eating lunch (below)
historyextra![]()
In 1997 the National Trust stepped in to buy Southwell’s Grade II listed building, to broaden its interests and to ensure its continued existence. Now a museum, Southwell is shown to school groups and families; the stories of 1840s inmates still prompt reflection on how society tackled poverty before the modern welfare system.
Restoration began with roof repairs in 2000. Many rooms were redecorated to how they would have looked in the C19th; buildings, walls & privies, demolished in the C20th, were reinstated. In 2015 the property was featured in the BBC One series 24 Hours in the Past, in which celebrities experienced life in Victorian Britain. Though from a distance it looked like a large factory, it began to look more prison-like, as the visitor passed through the entrance into the inner courtyards, very segregated and isolated.
Around the inner courtyards were a series of small buildings housing a laundry, drying room, water tank and an infirmary. One of the subsidiary buildings was the bakery, marked as a privy on the original plans for the site. It was only when the National Trust discovered a mysterious key that the hidden bakery was visible. The tiny exercise yards, with a very simple outdoor privy in one corner, were overlooked by the warden's chambers so that the inmates were always watched, like criminals.
The Southwell Workhouse was in operation for 150+ years. Yet today, walking on the paupers' path to Southwell Workhouse, the site still shows how the Victorian poor must have felt as they sought refuge. The visitor comes away from The Workhouse appalled at the conditions that the poor inmates were forced to endure. But the question remains: were conditions in the countryside much better?
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Inmates were divided into categories. Those too old or infirm to work were called Blameless and were treated with some compassion. Those who were capable of work, but were unemployed, were called Idle and Profligate Able-Bodied and were expected to work for their keep. Men had to break up rock for road building or pick apart rope, while women did laundry. Everyone wore uniforms and life was intentionally kept monotonous.
They lived and worked in a strictly segregated environmentwith no contact between the old and infirmed, and the able-bodied. Men, women and children had separate quarters, so families were split up and not allowed to meet. The children received basic education, and then were made to work. Rules were strict, under the tough eye of paid Masters or Matrons, and transgressions were harshly punished.
The workhouse I know best was in Southwell Notts (1824), designed by Southwell-Lincoln architect William Adams Nicholson. The building was the most complete workhouse in existence, its architecture influenced by prison design. This rural site was designed to house 160 inmates, drawn from 62 surrounding parishes.
In 1929 a new Poor Law was introduced, and many of the old workhouses were converted into hospitals or social housing. The Workhouse provided temporary accommodation for the homeless until 1976, when part of the site was converted into a residential old-age home. The institution continued until the early 1990s, when it was used to provide temporary accommodation for mothers and children.
In 1929 a new Poor Law was introduced, and many of the old workhouses were converted into hospitals or social housing. The Workhouse provided temporary accommodation for the homeless until 1976, when part of the site was converted into a residential old-age home. The institution continued until the early 1990s, when it was used to provide temporary accommodation for mothers and children.
men's dormitory (above)
historyextra
In 1997 the National Trust stepped in to buy Southwell’s Grade II listed building, to broaden its interests and to ensure its continued existence. Now a museum, Southwell is shown to school groups and families; the stories of 1840s inmates still prompt reflection on how society tackled poverty before the modern welfare system.
Restoration began with roof repairs in 2000. Many rooms were redecorated to how they would have looked in the C19th; buildings, walls & privies, demolished in the C20th, were reinstated. In 2015 the property was featured in the BBC One series 24 Hours in the Past, in which celebrities experienced life in Victorian Britain. Though from a distance it looked like a large factory, it began to look more prison-like, as the visitor passed through the entrance into the inner courtyards, very segregated and isolated.
Around the inner courtyards were a series of small buildings housing a laundry, drying room, water tank and an infirmary. One of the subsidiary buildings was the bakery, marked as a privy on the original plans for the site. It was only when the National Trust discovered a mysterious key that the hidden bakery was visible. The tiny exercise yards, with a very simple outdoor privy in one corner, were overlooked by the warden's chambers so that the inmates were always watched, like criminals.
The Southwell Workhouse was in operation for 150+ years. Yet today, walking on the paupers' path to Southwell Workhouse, the site still shows how the Victorian poor must have felt as they sought refuge. The visitor comes away from The Workhouse appalled at the conditions that the poor inmates were forced to endure. But the question remains: were conditions in the countryside much better?
Children at Crumpsall Workhouse Manchester,
c.1897, Flickr