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For those without wealth, the Victorian era was often a period of hardship and despair. Among the many challenges, one term struck terror into the hearts of the impoverished and jobless: the workhouse.
Workhouses were facilities designed to house and employ the poor, elderly, or jobless, yet they were widely seen as a place of last resort. What made these institutions so dreadful, and how were they managed? Explore 10 sobering truths about life inside a Victorian workhouse.
10. Created by the Poor Law Act of 1834
Before 1834, the cost of supporting the poor was rising. The middle and upper classes, who funded this through taxes, began to believe they were simply encouraging laziness among the poor.
Following widespread grievances, the Poor Law of 1834 was enacted. Many backed this legislation, believing it would reduce the cost of supporting the poor and motivate them to earn their own living.
Under this new law, parishes were grouped into unions, each mandated to establish a workhouse if none existed. Except in rare cases, the sole option for the poor to receive aid was to reside and labor in a workhouse. Despite this, the idea of workhouses faced opposition, with critics labeling them as 'prisons for the poor.'
9. Brutal and Unhygienic Living Conditions
Workhouses became a grim symbol of the Victorian era, characterized by severe environments, endless workdays, child exploitation, starvation, and physical abuse. Their prison-like atmosphere made them universally dreaded and despised.
Survival in these institutions was a daily struggle, with high mortality rates due to rampant diseases like measles and smallpox. Sleeping arrangements were deplorable, with overcrowded beds, minimal personal space, and almost no light.
Inmates were required to work whenever they weren’t sleeping. The factory-like production lines were hazardous, prioritizing profit over addressing the root causes of poverty.
8. Healthcare in Workhouses
For those forced into workhouses, falling ill was a nightmare. Until the 1870s, medical care in these institutions was abysmal. Most workhouses had infirmaries, but they were often cramped, poorly ventilated, and unsanitary.
Patients were grouped together regardless of their conditions, and some even had to share beds. Although the Poor Law mandated at least one qualified medical officer per workhouse, this requirement was rarely met due to the unattractiveness of the position.
Initially, medical care was often administered by female inmates, many of whom were illiterate and frequently intoxicated—hardly ideal for patient care. Astonishingly, before 1863, no trained nurses were employed in workhouses outside London.
7. Children in Workhouses Suffered Immensely
Children in workhouses endured appalling conditions. In 1838, a doctor visiting a Whitechapel workhouse in London was horrified to find 23 frail and sickly toddlers, aged two to three, confined to a single room with little exposure to fresh air or physical activity.
In another part of the same workhouse, 104 girls were crammed into a room measuring just 7 feet (2.1 meters) in height, 16.5 feet (5 meters) in width, and 88 feet (26.8 meters) in length, often sleeping four or more to a bed. Despite strict regulations against corporal punishment, many children still faced brutal treatment.
One tragic incident involved an eight-year-old boy who was whipped for three days after protesting an unjust beating. Other cases included a 13-year-old girl beaten for failing to clean a room thoroughly and an eight-year-old boy tied in a bag and hung from a beam.
6. Families Were Torn Apart
Workhouses were not only grim and disease-infested but also enforced the cruel separation of families. This was a calculated strategy to prevent husbands and wives from having more children, as the middle class accused the poor of having large families to exploit financial aid.
Children were isolated from their parents within the workhouse, based on the belief that this would mold them into productive workers, unlike their parents. It was assumed that if the parents were capable, they wouldn’t have needed to seek refuge in a workhouse.
Workhouse inmates were divided into four groups: the elderly and infirm, children, able-bodied men, and able-bodied women. Each group had separate living quarters, dayrooms, and exercise areas. While families might catch glimpses of each other in the chapel or during meals, communication was strictly forbidden.
5. Scandals Surrounding Workhouses
Workhouses were plagued by numerous scandals. One notorious incident occurred in 1845 at the Andover workhouse, where the master and his wife ruled the institution with the brutality of a prison camp.
Conditions were so unbearable that inmates deliberately committed crimes to be sent to prison, where life was comparatively better. A guardian witnessed male inmates fighting over bones meant for grinding into fertilizer. Starvation drove them to scavenge gristle and marrow from decaying bones.
Investigations revealed that inmates were starved while forced to crush rotten bones using 28-pound (12.7-kilogram) tools called 'rammers.' The workhouse master profited from this, buying bones at 17 shillings per ton and selling the crushed product for 24 shillings per ton.
Another scandal erupted in 1848 at the Huddersfield workhouse. Inmates reportedly went nine weeks without clean bedding. Beds used by typhus victims were reused without sanitation, and the straw-filled mattresses were infested with lice.
Patients with contagious fevers were often forced to share beds, and in one horrifying instance, a living patient shared a bed with a deceased one.
4. The Fate of Those Who Died in Workhouses
When an inmate passed away in a workhouse, their family was informed to organize the funeral. If the family couldn’t cover the costs, the workhouse would arrange a basic burial in a local cemetery.
The cheapest coffin was used, and the deceased was often buried in an unmarked grave, sometimes in unconsecrated ground.
3. Monotonous and Repetitive Meals
Gourmet meals were nonexistent in workhouses. The 1834 Poor Law dictated strict dietary rules. Breakfast and supper typically included bread, cheese, or porridge, while lunch might consist of soup, meat with potatoes, or occasionally suet or rice pudding.
Women and children received smaller portions than men. Elderly inmates were granted weekly rations of butter, sugar, and tea for breakfast and supper. However, the overall diet was dull and repetitive, devoid of fruits or vegetables, leading to severe nutritional deficiencies.
This monotonous diet was intended to provide just enough sustenance to keep inmates alive while discouraging those who didn’t truly need workhouse assistance.
2. Endless and Repetitive Days
For those unfortunate enough to enter a workhouse, every day followed the same dreary routine. The day began with a bell ringing between 6 and 7 am, varying by season.
Breakfast was served at 6:30 am, followed by work starting at 7 am. A one-hour lunch break occurred from midday to 1 pm, and work continued until 6 pm. Supper was from 6 to 7 pm, and inmates had no choice but to be in bed by 8 pm.
Tasks were divided by gender. Men typically performed labor like bone crushing, oakum picking, or stone breaking, while women handled chores such as laundry, cooking, and sewing.
1. Discipline in Workhouses
Workhouses operated under strict discipline, with each institution enforcing its own set of rules. These regulations were prominently displayed and often read aloud to ensure even illiterate inmates understood them, leaving no room for excuses.
Inmates who violated these rules faced harsh penalties, with infractions categorized as either disorderly or refractory.
Disorderly conduct included excessive noise, disobedience, swearing, or escape attempts. Punishments typically involved the removal of privileges like tea or butter, and offenders were often restricted to a diet of bread and potatoes.
Refractory behavior, such as assaulting staff or inmates, drunkenness, property damage, or misconduct, was met with solitary confinement. In extreme cases, offenders were brought before a Justice of the Peace.
Punishments for children were typically administered within the workhouse. For instance, two six-year-old boys in a Hereford workhouse were caned for dozing off during Sunday Service. Similarly, eight boys were whipped for splashing water on the schoolmaster and kicking him.
