Stratton, Cornwall
Up to 1834
A parliamentary report of 1777 recorded a parish workhouse in operation at Stratton for up to 20 inmates.
A parish workhouse is said to have operated at Bude. Below is an image of the building:
Former parish workhouse, Bude, date unknown.
After 1834
Stratton Poor Law Union was officially formed on 28th January 1837. Its operation was overseen by an elected Board of Guardians, 24 in number, representing its 11 constituent parishes as listed below (figures in brackets indicate numbers of Guardians if more than one):
Cornwall:
St Genny's (2), Jacobstow (2), Kilkhampton (3), Launcells (2), Marhamchurch (2), Moorwinstow (3), Poughill, Poundstock (2), Stratton (4), Week St Mary (2), Whitstone.
Later Addition: Stratton and Bude (from 1900).
The population falling within the union at the 1831 census had been 9,084 with its parishes ranging in size from Poughill (population 360) to Stratton itself (1,613). The average annual poor-rate expenditure for the period 1834-36 had been £3,628 or 8s.0d. per head of the population.
Up until the 1853, the Stratton Board of Guardians refused to erect a union workhouse. In that year, they relented and advertised for plans for a new building, not costing more th £1,200 and able to accommodate up to 80 inmates. The Stratton Union workhouse was built in 1856 on a site at the west of Stratton. The workhouse location and layout are shown on the 1906 map below.
Stratton workhouse site, 1906.
It had a main block with a T-shaped layout, with a separate building, possibly an infirmary, to the north.
Stratton workhouse from the south-west, c.1939.
After 1930, the workhouse was redesignated as the Hillhead House Public Assistance Institution under the control of the Cornwall County Council. Exactly when the Institution closed is unclear but in 1939 the building was taken over for use as a youth hostel. It ceased operation later the same year following the outbreak of the Second World War.
The workhouse buildings have been demolished and the site is now occupied by industrial premises.
Stratton former workhouse site from the west, 2001.
© Peter Higginbotham.
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.
- Cornwall Archives, Kresen Kernow, Little Vauxhall, Redruth TR15 1AS. Few records survive. Holdings include Guardians' minute books (1869-1929); Ledgers (1902-30); Relief order book (1930).
Bibliography
- Higginbotham, Peter The Workhouse Encyclopedia (2014, The History Press)
Links
- YHA Historical Archive at Birmingham University.
Acknowledgement
- Thanks to John Martin and the YHA Archive for the picture and information.
For US readers 
Unless otherwise indicated, this page () is copyright Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.