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Poor Law Act 1388 -

The workhouse can be traced back to the Poor Law Act of 1388, which attempted to address the labor shortages following the Black Death in England. The bubonic plague pandemic reached the British Isles in 1348 and resulted in the deaths of nearly 200 million people, around 30%-40% of the entire population.

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Willing to work, or not? -

The fear of social disorder following the plague ultimately resulted in the state becoming responsible for the support of the poor. From the 16^th century onwards, laws were becoming more distinct and made clear delineations between those who were willing to work but could not, and those who were able to work but would not.

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Relief of the Poor Act 1601 -

The Act of the Relief of the Poor of 1601 created a poor law system for England and Wales. The law charged parishes (local church communities) with providing outdoor relief (a program of social relief and poor relief) for their own financially disadvantaged.

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House of correction -

Measures implemented by the advent of the 1601 law included ideas about the construction of homes for the elderly and infirm. More immediate, however, was the proposal that the able-bodied though reluctant be offered work in a house of correction (the precursor of the workhouse).

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"Persistent idler" -

Employment in a house of correction essentially served as a punishment for the "persistent idler"—those who were capable of work but unwilling.

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The workhouse system -

The workhouse system evolved in the 17^th century. Further acts were brought in which would help formalize the structure and practice of the workhouse.

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Workhouses Test Act 1723 -

The 1723 Workhouses Test Act obliged anybody seeking poor relief to enter a workhouse and undertake a set amount of work, usually for no pay (a system called indoor relief). The engraving depicts a workhouse superintendent receiving an old woman into his care.

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Parish workhouses -

By 1776, the number of parish workhouses stood at around 1,800 institutions, with a total capacity of more than 90,000 places. By the 1830s, most parishes had at least one workhouse, which operated under prison-like conditions.

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Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 -

The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, also known as the New Poor Law, replaced earlier legislation drawn up in 1601 in an attempt to fundamentally change the poverty relief system in England and Wales. By 1832, the amount spent on poor relief nationally had risen annually to £7,000,000 (a staggering £788,000,000 nowadays, equivalent to over US$1 billion). The huge number of those seeking assistance was pushing the system to collapse. Furthermore, many suspected that the system of poor relief was being widely abused. This illustration is of a 1836 report by The Mirror newspaper showing Abingdon workhouse in Oxfordshire, the first workhouse in England completed under the provisions of the 1834 Act.

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Workhouse or nothing -

In 1835, outdoor relief for the able-bodied was abolished. This meant that claimants who weren’t destitute enough to enter a workhouse received no financial assistance from the parish. So in order to get at least a roof over your head, it was the workhouse or nothing.

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Union workhouse -

Soon, a union of parishes was established, which bought together individual parishes, each of which would have a union workhouse. More than 500 of these were built during the next 50 years, two-thirds of them by 1840. Illustrated is the parish workhouse in  Tanner Street, Bermondsey, London.

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Early Victorian workhouse -

The 1834 law formally established the early Victorian workhouse system. The New Poor Law commissioners proposed that all workhouses should allow for the segregation of paupers. Illustrated is St Saviour's workhouse and the Rockingham Arms Inn located on New Kent Road in Southwark, London.

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Segregated groups -

Inmates were split into four distinct groups, each to be housed separately: the aged and the impotent, children, able-bodied males, and able-bodied females. By entering a workhouse, paupers were considered to have forfeited responsibility for their families. The illustration depicts the separation of a husband and wife as they enter a workhouse. In fact, this system contributed to the splitting up of family units, with people forced to sell what little belongings they owned and hoping they could survive the rigorous and disciplined workhouse regime.

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The "Guardians" -

Each Poor Law Union employed "Guardians" who were charged with running the workhouse. Writer and social critic Charles Dickens (1812–1870) described these individuals as merciless administrators who sought profit and delighted in the destitution of others. Dickens campaigned vigorously for children’s rights, education, and other social reforms.

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'Oliver Twist' (1838) -

Dickens, of course, would go on to pen 'Oliver Twist,' published in book form in 1838. It tells the story of an orphan who's born in a workhouse and includes the famous scene where Oliver causes a sensation in the children's ward of a institution by asking for a second helping of porridge.

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Issued with uniforms -

Upon entry, clothing and personal items were confiscated. Inmates bathed under supervision before being issued with a uniform: for men it might be a striped cotton shirt, jacket and trousers, and perhaps a cloth cap. Women were handed a blue-and-white striped dress worn underneath a smock. The photograph shows male inmates waiting to be processed.

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Harsh conditions -

Conditions were harsh and treatment was cruel. Inmates were expected to work long hours undertaking a range of manual labor, including cooking, laundry duties, and operating machinery. And all the time, inmates were prohibited from talking to one another. Male inmates are photographed chopping wood circa 1880.

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Bone-crushing work -

Paupers for the most part were unskilled, so guardians used them for backbreaking manual tasks. One such job was crushing bone to make fertilizer. However, starving inmates at Andover workhouse were reduced to fighting over the rotting bones they were supposed to be grinding, to suck out the marrow (illustrated). The plight of the inmates became public and the resulting scandal led to the withdrawal of bone-crushing as a job in workhouses.

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Menial tasks -

Other menial tasks included picking oakum (a preparation of tarred fiber, basically old rope, used to seal gaps). This was done using a large metal nail called a spike, a term which would later be used as a colloquial reference to the workhouse. And collecting coal (pictured) was commonplace in order to fuel stoves and steam-driven machinery.

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Able-bodied labor -

Illustrated: inmates of All Saints workhouse in Hertford grinding corn to produce flour for use in the workhouse. Able-bodied inmates had to carry out tasks necessary for the running of the institution.

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Women's work -

Pictured: women inmates hanging out washing. Laundry, cooking, and cleaning duties were typical of the tasks assigned to women.

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Domestic duties -

An engraving depicting the steam washing machines at the St Pancras workhouse in London. These would have been operated by men.

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Strict discipline -

Little value was placed on the well being of inmates. Beatings and neglect were commonplace. For minor offenses such as swearing or feigning sickness, inmates could have their diet restricted for two days. More serious infractions, including imbibing smuggled alcohol, could result in a jail sentence. Pictured is workhouse staff around 1880.

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Mental and physical health -

Paupers suffering metal health disorders were treated with brutish indifference, and set to work without hesitation. And even blind inmates (illustrated) were expected to contribute towards the workload.

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Child labor -

Child labor was rife during the Industrial Revolution, and youngsters unfortunate enough to find themselves in a workhouse could expect to work up to 12 hours a day. Education was provided for children, but many were unruly with little or no interest in their lessons. A more immediate problem was finding teachers: the pay was poor and training standards rudimentary at best. The photograph shows a group of children at Crumpsall workhouse, around 1895.

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Diet -

Malnutrition was rife among paupers laboring in workhouses. Rations were minimal, the food tasteless and of limited variety. In fact, the same meal was often served every day. In time, the diet did improve. Meals were prepared with greater care, and specific diets and nutritional needs for each class of inmate were considered. Photographed is a workhouse member of staff cutting portions of bread for inmates, circa 1880.

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Dining -

Larger workhouses had separate dining halls for men and women; workhouses without designated dining rooms would stagger meal times to avoid any contact between the sexes.

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Mealtime -

Pictured: mealtime for women at St Pancras workhouse in London.

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Religion and spiritual needs -

Religion played an important part in workhouse life. The daily routine of prayers and graces was usually carried out by the workhouse master, who'd read to the paupers before breakfast and after supper each day. Each Poor Law Union was required to appoint a chaplain to look after the spiritual needs of the workhouse inmates. Chaplains were expected to be from the established Church of England: the appointment of a Catholic chaplain was unthinkable. And it was virtually impossible to comply with Jewish ritual requirements.

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Decline of the workhouse -

Already by the late 1840s most workhouses outside of London and the larger provincial towns housed only sick and infirm inmates. By the end of the 19th century, only about 20% of those admitted to workhouses were unemployed or destitute. Photographed are paupers waiting for admission to St Marylebone workhouse in Luxborough Street, London, circa 1901.

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Social change -

Furthermore, as the 1800s drew to a close, people's attitudes were changing, with much of society objecting to the cruelty and inhuman conditions associated with these institutions. Pictured is an inmate photographed in the prison-like confinements of a London workhouse in the late 1800s.

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Workhouse system abolished -

The Local Government Act of 1929 allowed local authorities to take over workhouses as hospitals, although few outside London did so. However, the following year the workhouse system was abolished. Pictured is the former Cleveland Street workhouse in London, photographed in 1930. It later became part of the Middlesex Hospital.

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Legacy -

In 1948, the last vestiges of the Poor Law was abolished with the passing of the National Assistance Act, and with it the workhouses. Today, several former workhouse buildings across England operate as hospitals, university buildings, retirement homes, or museums. All stand as a cultural legacy of the brutal conditions and social savagery of the Victorian workhouse, most of which became virtual prisons detaining the most vulnerable in society. Pictured is the Holly Village, Swains Lane, Highgate, London, 1865.

Sources: (Historic UK) (British Heritage) (Medium) (Victorian Web) (Workhouses) 

See also: Funny or absurd facts about the Victorian era

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