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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...
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BBC's John Humphrys discovers his Cardiff workhouse roots in Coming Home 20.30, BBC2, Friday 28th Feb.
(Left) Peter Higginbotham shows John some archive documents that reveal his workhouse ancestry. |
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Workhouse talks diary View upcoming dates |
Researching your family history? Start here! |
Visit a workhouse museum
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| Workhouse by Simon Fowler — "Impressively well-researched"?? Or maybe not. Take a look at the evidence and decide for yourself... | |||
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| New! online tours - The Workhouse Museum and North Surrey District School | |||
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Just published!
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 Newly available: 'Indoor Paupers' - the classic first-hand account of life inside a London workhouse.
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New - Free access to the British Newspaper Archive for FindMyPast subscribers.
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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....
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OUT NOW! The Workhouse Encylopedia is an A-to-Z cornucopia of everything you ever wanted to know about the workhouse in one volume! With more than 250 articles, its 480 pages are packed with facts, figures, maps, charts, tables, statistics, and more than 150 photos and illustrations. Amongst the comprehensive and detailed appendices are the complete text of the official 1847 workhouse rule-book, and a directory of the locations and other details of hundreds of workhouses and associated institutions across the British Isles.
The Workhouse Encylopedia includes a huge amount of information not found on the Workhouse web site and will rapidly become the reference book that you'll never want to be without!Order online at The History Press website. | |||
| How to get a workhouse building listed. | |||
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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.
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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.
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