In Victorian days there was no state benefit system; if you did not work you had no money therefore no food or possibly shelter. The Poor Law Amendment Act was passed in 1834 stating that accommodation had to be provided for paupers (poor people) which resulted in the setting up of the Workhouse.
If the man of the house was sent to the workhouse, his whole family went with him. Once in the workhouse the family were split up, men in one section, women in another and children over 7 in another. The children saw their parents once a day of they were lucky.
A typical day in the workhouse for all inmates was
5.00 a.m. - Rising bell
6.00 a.m. - 7.00 a.m. - Prayers and breakfast
7.00 a.m. - 12 noon - Work
12 noon - 1.00 p.m. - Dinner
1.00 p.m. - 6.00 p.m. - Work
6.00 p.m. - 7.00 p.m. - Prayers
7.00 p.m. - 8.00 p.m. - Supper
8.00 p.m. - Bed
For beds they had flock filled sacks with blankets, no sheets or pillows. Imagine how uncomfortable that was!
If the man of the house was sent to the workhouse, his whole family went with him. Once in the workhouse the family were split up, men in one section, women in another and children over 7 in another. The children saw their parents once a day of they were lucky.
A typical day in the workhouse for all inmates was
5.00 a.m. - Rising bell
6.00 a.m. - 7.00 a.m. - Prayers and breakfast
7.00 a.m. - 12 noon - Work
12 noon - 1.00 p.m. - Dinner
1.00 p.m. - 6.00 p.m. - Work
6.00 p.m. - 7.00 p.m. - Prayers
7.00 p.m. - 8.00 p.m. - Supper
8.00 p.m. - Bed
For beds they had flock filled sacks with blankets, no sheets or pillows. Imagine how uncomfortable that was!
Jobs for men in the workhouse included breaking stone, making rope, bone crushing, sack making and milling corn, all heavy, manual work. Women would do all the cleanings such as scrubbing floors, blackening the hearth and polishing brass. Often these things were already clean but they were made to do it again.
The food the inmates had was often not nutritious, consisting of a gruel, a thin porridge like dish and very little meat or vegetables. Given all the manual work the inmates had to do, do you think this was enough to keep them healthy?
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens is a good book to read to give you an insight into how life was in the workhouse. You could also watch the film.
What do you already know about life in the workhouse? What else can you find out? Maybe you could use your research to help you with the story on the Storybook page.
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