The workhouses Flashcards
When they were electing governors for the workhouses who would win?
The person who said it would cost the least to run
How much was a prison governor paid compared to a workhouse governor?
£600 a year compared to £80 a year
How many workhouses were built?
500
what was the name for people who lived in the workhouses?
Paupers
What happened to families after they arrived at the workhouses?
They were usually split up
Who is George Gilbert Scott?
A famous builder who built the workhouses and Brighton College
Give some examples as to the types of things that the people did for work?
oakum, breaking rocks and bones for fertiliser
What did the people have to wear?
a uniform like a prison
What law was created at what time to make the workhouses unbearable?
the ‘Poor Law Act’ in 1834
What eventually did happen?
conditions did improve, health, education. In fact the Medical Journal said that the diet was better than today
What was the Andover scandal 1845?
The workers got so hungry that they were eating the meat off the bones they were supposed to be crushing for fertiliser
What happened in Leeds?
In Leeds, the workers were forced to eat their meals out of troughs
Name some punishments?
Solitary confinement (like a prison?) and not allowed food
What were they treated like (maybe even worse than)?
Prisoners
What kind of people would you have had to work with?
Prostitutes, mentally ill people and alcoholics?
