Dorchester, Dorset
Up to 1834
The earliest workhouse in Dorchester dates back as far as 1616 with the setting up of the "Hospital of the Bailiffs and Burgesses of the Borough of Dorchester". Situated at the lower end of South Street and South Back Street, the workhouse was to house 50 poor children and apprentice them to "some lawful trade, mystery, or manual occupation." The building was demolished in 1836.
A parliamentary report of 1777 recorded parish workhouses in operation at Dorchester—Holy Trinity (for up to 80 inmates), Fordington (20), Frampton (12), and Puddletown (20).
Charminster had a parish poorhouse in operation in the 1830s. It was located immediately to the west of the churchyard at what is now 1 West Hill. The property was sold off in 1838 to a vet in Dorchester.
After 1834
Dorchester Poor Law Union was formed on 2nd of January 1836. Its operation was overseen by an elected Board of Guardians, 43 in number, representing its 39 constituent parishes as listed below (figures in brackets indicate numbers of Guardians if more than one):
Dorset:
Athelhampton, Bradford Peverell, Broadmayne, Burleston, Charminster, Chilfrome, Compton Abbas, Compton Valence, Dewlish, Dorchester All Saints, Dorchester Holy Trinity (2), Dorchester St Peter (2), Fordington (2), Frampton, Frome Vauchurch, Kingston Russell, Little Bredy, Long Bredy, Maiden Newton, Piddlehinton, Piddletown (2), Stinsford, Stratton, Tincleton, Toller Fratrum, Toller Porcorum, Tolpuddle, Warnwell, West Knighton, West Stafford, Whitcombe, Winterborne Came, Winterborne Herringstone, Winterborne Monckton, Winterborne St Martin, Winterborne Steepleton, Winterborne Abbas, Woodsford, Wynford Eagle.
Later Additions: Watercombe (from 1862).
The population falling within the union at the 1831 census had been 14,048 - ranging from Winterborne Herringstone (population 46) to the combined parishes of Dorchester (3,033). The average annual poor-rate expenditure for the period 1833-35 had been £7,041.
The new Union workhouse was built in 1836 at the west of Dorchester, on what became known as Union Road, renamed Damers Road in about 1900. Designed by George Wilkinson, it followed the popular cruciform plan. A chapel was added in about 1900.
The site layout can be seen on the 1887 map below. It had extensive gardens, on which male inmates worked to provide vegetables for workhouse consumption.
Dorchester workhouse site, 1887
Dorchester workhouse entrance block from the south-east, early 1900s.
© Peter Higginbotham.
The figures in the above photo are presumed to be the workhouse master at that period, George Henry Brown, the matron, Mrs Kate Brown, and their children Dorothy and Walter.
Dorchester workhouse master and matron, early 1900s.
© Peter Higginbotham.
Dorchester workhouse from the east, 2000.
© Peter Higginbotham.
Dorchester workhouse entrance block from the east, 2000.
© Peter Higginbotham.
Dorchester workhouse entrance block from the north-west, 2000.
© Peter Higginbotham.
In 1900, a chapel for the workhouse was added at the south of the site. It was commissioned by Miss Ashley, of Stratton Manor, in memory of her father, the Hon. Henry Ashley, brother of tho late Earl of Shaftesbury.
Dorchester workhouse and chapel from the south-east, 2000.
© Peter Higginbotham.
Dorchester workhouse chapel entrance, 2000.
© Peter Higginbotham.
Dorchester workhouse from the south-east, 2000.
© Peter Higginbotham.
After 1930, the former workhouse became Dorchester Public Assistance Institution and a nurses' home was erected at the north-east of the site. In 1948, the establihment joined the newly formed National Health Service as Damers Hospital. In the 1980s, a new hospital,originally known as the West Dorset District General Hospital, now Dorset County Hospital, was erected on former allotments to the north of the workhouses site. The rear wings of the old workhouse were then demolished to create space for a car park.
Only the eastern entrance block, the chapel, and a derelict cottage survive. The entrance block has latterly been used for offices and the chapel as a day nursery.
Staff
Inmates
Records
Note: many repositories impose a closure period of up to 100 years for records identifying individuals. Before travelling a long distance, always check that the records you want to consult will be available.
- Dorset History Centre, Bridport Road, Dorchester DT1 1RP. Relatively few records survive. Holdings include: Guardians' minute books (1900-30); Assessment committee minutes (1904-27); etc.
Bibliography
- Higginbotham, Peter The Workhouse Encyclopedia (2014, The History Press)
Links
- None.
For US readers 
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