Poor Relief

A selection of buildings connected to the relief of poverty through time including almshouses and workhouses Check out our Teaching Activity History: Poverty and Poor Law

Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR/Mr Derek Routen Poor House, Framlingham Castle, Suffolk From 1662 parishes only had to support people if that parish was their official home. Overseers' account books show regular payments for transport to send paupers back to their own parish. This property is now in the care of English Heritage (2010).	Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR/Mr Cyril Selby LRPS, LMPA Fifteenth century Priest's House Itchingfield, West Sussex Monks looked after the poor, elderly and infirm from the twelfth century. After the Reformation Churches continued to help the poor. This tiny building was once used as an almshouse
Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Almshouses, Ewelme, Oxfordshire During Tudor and Stuart times almshouses were generally built and maintained by Craft Guilds or wealthy individuals The almhouse was founded in 1437 by the Earl and Countess of Suffolk to house 13 poor men under the care of two chaplains.	Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR/Mr KM Walker LRPS Former Parish Poor House, Upton-on-Severn, Worcestershire In the late 1500s individual parishes became responsible for looking after their poor. Each parish had an Overseer of the Poor to collect money from householders and distribute it to the needy. This building was the parish Poor House 1763-1836.
Add to My Favourites Copyright Crown copyright.NMR Romsey Workhouse, Romsey, Hampshire Larger, often purpose-built, poor houses or workhouses were built in the 1700s. Some included training schools for children, a 'hospital' for the elderly and a house of correction where poor people were trained and made to work. Originally built in 1774 this workhouse was subsequently enlarged in 1836. It is now used to provide sheltered housing.	Add to My Favourites Copyright Crown copyright.NMR Former Workhouse, Wootton, Northamptonshire, 1839 In 1834 the New Poor Law was introduced based on a system of 'Union' workhouses serving collections of parishes and often built in isolated positions on the outskirts of towns. The workhouses were designed to segregate different types of inmates in separate parts of the building.
Add to My Favourites Copyright Crown copyright.NMR Union Workhouse, Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire This workhouse was built in 1850. After 1834 people were only offered support if they entered the workhouse. Known as the 'Test' this was supposed to stop people asking for relief unless they really needed it.	Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR/Mr Trevor Cowans Workhouse, now St Albright's Hospital, Colchester, Essex. Lexden and Winstree workhouse was built in 1837 to an approved plan. This plan was like a wheel with a raised building at the hub [centre] to enable the masters and matrons to watch and supervise the inmates at all times particularly when outside in the exercise yards.
Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR/Mr Chris Pocock FRPS Workhouse, now hospital, High Street, Purton, North Wiltshire This workhouse, built for Cricklade and Wootton Bassett Union in 1837, was a modest, low-cost building based on one of several off the peg 'models' of workhouse provided by the central Poor Law Authority.	Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR/Mr Edward Parrott Workhouse, now Northleach Hospital, Gloucestershire. Accommodation in workhouses was provided for men and women in separate blocks. It was also considered very important to separate the 'deserving' poor; children and the elderly, from the 'undeserving' able bodied men and women. this meant fmilies were split up.
Add to My Favourites Reproduced by permission of English Heritage.NMR Union Workhouse, Northleach, Gloucestershire The new Northleach Union workhouse was built at the east end of Northleach in 1836. The Poor Law Commissioners authorised an expenditure of £3,650 on construction of the building which was intended to accommodate up to 200 inmates.	Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR/Mr Alan Simpson LRPS Chapel to former West Ham Union Workhouse, Greater London From the 1840s some Unions began to build separate chapels like this one. It was not compulsory and finance was generally raised by voluntary contributions with inmates sometimes used as labour.
Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR/Mr David R. Grounds LRPS Aston Union Cottage Homes, Erdington, Birmingham Around the early 1900s it was decided that children should not live in workhouses. Birmingham built these Cottage Homes in 1898 for children whose parents could not look after them. The children lived in groups of 20 or 30 in an environment designed to be more homely.	Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR/Mr Brian Arnold Countesthorpe Cottage Homes and School, Countesthorpe, Leicestershire From around the early 1900s children whose parents could not support them lived in cottage homes. They were given a basic education; boys were taught a trade and girls were trained to be servants. They were generally found jobs when they left.
Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR/Mr D.R. Smith LRPS Holy Trinity Almshouses, Heath Town, Wolverhampton The tradition of almshouses continued alongside the workhouse system. These almshouses were built around 1850 at the expense of a local benefactor, and were closely associated with Holy Trinity Church. They still provide sheltered housing today.	Add to My Favourites English Heritage. NMR/ Former Leeds New Workhouse, St James' Hospital, Leeds Originally a workhouse St James' Hospital was built by Perkin and Backhouse of Leeds. The Leeds New Workhouse was built to accomodate 800 persons, at a cost of £32,000. The foundation stone was laid in 1858 and the building opened 28/03/1861. In common with many workhouses it later became part of the Leeds Township Infirmary which was funded by the Poor Law Guardians. In 1995 it was converted into the Thackray Medical Museum.
Add to My Favourites English Heritage.NMR/Mr K. Foster LRPS Former Preston Union Workhouse, Lancashire This building was originally Preston Union Workhouse. It was built in 1865-1868 by the architect Leigh Hall. It was to accommodate up to 1,500 inmates. The building was delayed by 30 years after the formation of the Poor Law Union, because of local political opposition. The main object of the architect was "to make the classification of the inmates as perfect as possible" (females to west, males to east, children of each sex in the corresponding wing). Rear exercise yards, plunge baths, wash-houses for females (etc) have since been demolished. The cost was estimated as £30,000 but exceeded £50,000, many local ratepayers were critical of its architectural extravagance.