Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire

[Up to 1834] [After 1834] [Staff] [Inmates] [Records] [Bibliography] [Links]

Up to 1834

On the 24th May 1720, the Hemel Hempstead Vestry contracted Matthew Marryott:

...to undertake the Care of the Poor, or to put in some other proper Person, such as he shall think fit to name and send, with the Approbation of the Parishioners, to take Care to feed, lodge, and cloath all the Poor of the said Parish, that shall be sent to the House of Maintenance by the Order of the Parishioners, at the Charge of the parish; and we do, in Consideration of the great Pains and Trouble the said Matthew Marryott shall be at in the Management of it, consent and fully agree with the said Matthew Marryott, to pay him the yearly Sum of forty Pounds, and one Coat of thirty Shillings, to commence from Midsummer next, and to continue for the Term of three Years.

A parliamentary report of 1777 recorded parish workhouses in operation at Flampstead (for up to 30 inmates), Great Gaddesden (30), Hemel Hempstead (60), and King's Langley (30).

After 1834

Hemel Hempstead Poor Law Union was formed on 12th June 1835. Its operation was overseen by an elected Board of Guardians, 14 in number, representing its 6 constituent parishes as listed below (figures in brackets indicate numbers of Guardians if more than one):

County of Hertford: Bovingdon (2), Flamstead (2), Flaunden, Great Gaddesden (2), Hemel Hempstead (5), King's Langley.
Later Addition: Markyate (1897).

The population falling within the Union at the 1831 census had been 9,910 — with parishes ranging in size from Flaunden (population 316) to Hemel Hempstead itself (4,759). The average annual poor-rate expenditure for the period 1832-35 had been £5,672 or 11s.5d. per head of the population.

A new Hemel Hempstead Union workhouse was erected in 1835-6 at the east side of Redbourn Road (now Allendale) in Hemel Hempstead. In 1835, the Poor Law Commissioners authorised an expenditure of £3,450 on construction of the building which was to accommodate 200 inmates. It was designed by John Griffin who was also the architect of the Union workhouses at Barnet and St Albans. The workhouse's location and layout are shown on the 1878 and 1897 maps below.

Hemel Hempstead Site, 1878.

Hemel Hempstead Site, 1897.

Although the workhouse bore a certain resemblance to the Poor Law Commissioners model "square" plan, it had a T-shaped main building rather than the cruciform layout normally associated with the square plan. The surrounding entrance and outbuildings were probably single storeyed. Women were housed at the south of the site (note the Drying Ground for laundry on the 1878 map) and men at the north (note the Gymnasium). A separate 40-bed infirmary was built at the rear of the workhouse in 1869. It was probably a two storey building and had separate sections for male and female patients.

A children's home was later added at the east of the workhouse site.

After 1930, the workhouse became Hempstead House Public Assistance Institution. It was transferred to the National Health Service in 1948 and became St Paul's Hospital which served as a maternity hospital for the town. The buildings have now all been demolished.

Records

  • Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies, County Hall, Pegs Lane, Hertford SG13 8DE. The few surviving holdings include: Guardians' minute books (1838-1921, 1924-30); Staff service register (1876-1930); etc.

Staff

Inmates

Bibliography

  • An Account of Several Work-houses for Employing and Maintaining the Poor. Anon, 1725.
  • Gutchen RM, Truwert E, and Peters G (1984) Down and Out in Hertfordshire — A Symposium on the Old and New Poor Law (Hertfordshire Publications)

Links

  • None.

[Top of Page] [Unions List] [Unions Map] [Home Page]

This page () is copyright Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.