Hey Hey! Today, our program director took us to a small town just 30 minutes outside of Nottingham for a day trip. We went there to look at the workhouse, which was a 19th century institution that provided work and living accommodations for individuals and/or families that could not find work and could not afford a place to stay. It sounds like a nice deal, doesn’t it? But there is a catch. Life there was not easy and it was that way intentionally. Why would people make life there hard? The idea behind a workhouse was a last resort type of thing.
The following were the principles of the workhouse:
- workhouses should be made less preferable than those of the lowest paid labour because it would make people want to take other jobs
- no public aid outside the workhouse so people couldn’t get ‘lazy’ and get welfare (either get a job or go to the workhouse)
- segregation of paupers (people that worked there). They segregated families into male, females, and children dorms
- abolished grants to supplement low wages
The workhouse was not a place people wanted to go, even with the free house and food. The conditions of the workhouse was meant to resemble prison-like life to motivate people to get a job and provide for themselves. The living areas were cramp and shared with others of the same gender. You were not allowed to lived with your family. Food was not any better. It was enough to get people through the day if they were even able to eat it since they would be so tired from the hard labor. Freedom was also not a common right. If a pauper wanted to leave workhouse to go into the city, it would be to look for a job. It would not be just for leisure.
Young children up to the age of 14 were educated in classrooms near by the workhouse. Those who were older were forced to work and stop their education. Life for children with psychological disabilities was harsher than those without because when they would act out, punishment would follow. Treatment of the disabled would be seen today as cruel.
That was just a quick summary of the workhouse in Southwell the group and I visited. It was a good experience, but the conditions there were very harsh and sad. However, when people have no other choice on their own to survive, this was their last option due to the Poor Law of 1834. Check out the photos below!! 🙂
After the workhouse, a small group of us went to walk around the cute town of Southwell. Since it was a Sunday, most shops were closed…BUT we found a cute, old fashion sweetshop. Got ourselves some yummy gummies for the ride back to Nottingham! While wait for the next bus, we went into the Cathedral cafe for some tea (very British of us… I know) and relaxing time.
Nottingham Adventures 