The Workhouse

The story of an institution...

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New! childrenshomes.org.uk - details of 100s of former children's homes.

Visit the Workhouse Bookshop
 

• Home page
• Introduction
• Poor Laws
• Workhouse Locations
• Workhouse Life
• Staff & Administration
• Workhouse Rules
• Workhouse Memories
• Workhouse Buildings
• The MAB
• Other Establishments
• Children & Education
• Migration & Emigration
• Tramps and Vagrants
• Arts & Literature
• Workhouse Quiz
• Records & Resources
• Online Museum
• Timeline
• Glossary

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The Workhouse often evokes the grim Victorian world of Oliver Twist, but its story is a fascinating mix of social history, politics, economics and architecture. This site is dedicated to the workhouse — its buildings, inmates, staff and administrators, even its poets...

NOTICE BOARD
Just launched - the Children's Homes websitewww.childrenshomes.org.uk. Information on hundreds of former children's homes, orphanages, reformatories, industrial schools, poor law homes, training ships etc. Take a look now!
Just out - the new paperback edition of The Workhouse Encyclopedia - the ultimate reference. A fully illustrated A to Z of the workhouse, including many fact-filled appendices containing maps, statistics, workhouse locations etc. etc.
Workhouse by Simon Fowler — "Impressively well-researched"?? Or maybe not. Take a look at the evidence and decide for yourself...
Workhouse talks diary View upcoming dates	Researching your family history? Start here!	Visit a workhouse museum	Enjoyed this site?
New! online tours - The Workhouse Museum and North Surrey District School
Just published! A wide-ranging examination the history of the medical services provided by workhouse institutions, both in Britain and its former colonies, over the period covered by the Old and New Poor Laws. More details...
Newly available: 'Indoor Paupers' - the classic first-hand account of life inside a London workhouse.
Voices From The Workhouse A diverse collection of writings — autobiography, letters, poetry, graffiti, inspection report etc. — by individuals with first-hand knowledge of the workhouse, whether as inmate, staff, official, visitor, or under-cover journalist. More....
How to get a workhouse building listed.
Life in a Victorian Workhouse by Peter Higginbotham. A short, richly illustrated and very readable introduction to the history of the workhouse system. Includes sections on the origins of the institution, workhouse buildings, food, daily routine, children, the elderly, medical care, tramps and vagrants, workhouse staff, the workhouse in Scotland and Ireland, the workhouse in art and literature, and places to visit. Now Available.
The Prison Cookbook by Peter Higginbotham. The fascinating and often gory history of the English Prison. Did you know the guillotine was in use in Halifax in the 16th century? Or that criminals really were once boiled alive? Or that Dartmoor was originally built for French Prisoners of War? Until the 19th century, prisoners had to supply their own food - rather a problem if you were a debtor. In the 1870s, some convicts were so hungry they ate candles, grass, dead mice, and earth worms! Includes a 1901 prison cookbook to try out what it really meant to be 'doing porridge!' Now Available.