Life in a Hereford Workhouse

Entry to the Workhouse was a voluntary decision, but one that was borne out of necessity and desperation. People ended up in the workhouse for a variety of reasons. They may be too elderly or ill to work and therefore unable to support themselves and have no family who were willing or able to take them in. Unmarried mothers were often disowned by their families and forced to enter the workhouse in order to survive. People who were mentally ill or physically disabled would be entered into the workhouse as there were no medical institutions that were able to cater for them. The conditions inside the workhouse varied greatly depending on the area and the temperament of the staff that ran it. Rumours of the terrible conditions were common and would have helped to create an aura of fear around the institutions.

Weobley Workhouse - June 2003

One workhouse inspector from Kent reported in 1839:

" A short time back, it was circulated in this county that the children in the workhouses were killed to make pies with, while the old when dead were 'employed' to manure the Guardian's fields, in order to save the expense of coffins."
(PRO MH 12/12459, 29th Oct 1840).

Entry into the workhouse was a distressing and undesirable event. The applicant would have to undergo an interview to determine their circumstances and ensure that they were eligible for state help. This interview was usually done by the Relieving Officer who would visit the parishes of the Union on a regular basis. If an applicant was in urgent need of admission then the Master of the Workhouse could also carry out the interview.

If an applicant's circumstances proved worthy of a place then formal admission was authorised by the Board of Guardians who met once or twice a week. In between meeting times applicants would be placed in a probationary ward where the medical officer would check on their state of health. Any new entrants who were suffering from any kind of illness would then be placed in a sick ward to prevent infection of the other inmates. There were also strict rules governing who could receive relief from the Workhouse To read the Hereford Union Rules - click here Often the workhouse inmates would make their own uniforms as a work task but sometimes they would be supplied from outside agencies. Once they entered the workhouse paupers were stripped, bathed and given a workhouse uniform. Their own clothes would be kept in store until the day that person decided to leave the workhouse.

Hereford Record Office - BC79/11/11

The workhouse uniforms were very uncomfortable and hard wearing, for the men they included jackets of 'Fernought' cloth and for the women there were 'Grogam' gowns and petticoats of Linsey-Wooley. Fernought was a strong woollen cloth mainly used by men on ships in times of bad weather. Linsey-Wooley was a fabric made of linen, or cotton, and wool. Grogam was a very coarse mixture of silk, or mohair, and wool, which was sometimes stiffened with gum.

In some workhouses the different categories of inmates would be marked by the different uniforms or badges that they wore, for example unmarried mothers were often made to wear a yellow badge.

The workhouse was strictly split into separate areas for the different classes of inmate. These were:

1. Able-bodied men.
2. Able-bodied women.
3. The elderly, disabled and sick.
4. Children.

Once the inmates had been placed within their ward they were unable to mix with the other classes of inmates. Husbands and wives were forbidden to talk to each other and children would often go for weeks without seeing their parents. Workhouses had one central dining room where all meals were eaten in silence with the inmates in rows all facing the same way to deter interaction. They also had their own school-rooms, nurseries, chapels, fever wards and mortuaries.

The inmates would sleep in huge dormitories on simple wooden or iron-framed beds. The bedding would often be a straw-filled mattress and cover. Bed-sharing, especially among the children was common.

The inmates might also have to share one 'toilet' among up to 100 inmates - this was usually no more than a hole in the ground, although later earth closets and chamber pots might be provided in the dormitories.

Once a week the inmates were bathed and the men shaved. These bath sessions would be supervised, which further imposed on the inmates.

The workhouse was a well disciplined institution with each one having its own set of rules and regulations, which inmates were expected to adhere to strictly. The rules were usually displayed in the workhouse and read aloud on a regular basis so that even those inmates who could not read had no excuse for misbehaving. Failure to comply with the workhouse rules was severely punished. The type of offence would normally fall into two categories: Disorderly and Refractory.

Disorderly behaviour was making a noise, swearing, trying to escape, disobeying orders etc. These infringements were usually punished with a poor diet of bread and potatoes for a day or two, or the removal of 'luxuries' such as butter or tea.

Refractory behaviour was assaulting a member of staff or another inmate, damaging property, being drunk or acting in an indecent manner. These offences might be punished with solitary confinement. Serious cases would be put before the Justice of the Peace.

Examples of the types of punishment that were handed out for bad behaviour can be seen in the Records of the Board of Guardians for Hereford Union:

On 14th feb 1838 the master reported the following punishments of the last fortnight:
'Joseph Taylor of Marden, stopped his cheese, gruel and soup for one day for breaking stone in a negligent manner and making use of ill language.'

'Joseph Green of Holm, Refractory Ward for one hour for cursing and fighting with the smaller boys.'

On march 7th 1838:
'Margaret Morgan, age 14, of Saint Owens - 2 hours in Refractory Ward for stealing Schoolmistress's gloves. Also stopped cheese, soup and gruel for cursing the other children in the schoolroom and taking bread belonging to other paupers.'

(Records of the Board of Guardians, 1837 - 1838: Hereford Record Office - K42/215)

In Hereford we also have records of a man, who in 1837, was jailed for three months for desertion. This type of punishment, which often resulted in jail, was handed out by the magistrates.

The punishment of children was usually dealt with within the workhouse and in Hereford Record Office are details of 2 six year old boys being caned for falling asleep in Sunday Service and of 8 boys being flogged for kicking and throwing water over the schoolmaster.

It has often been said that the diet of those in the workhouse was no better than that of the lowest paid labourer, but at least those in the workhouse had it cooked and provided for them.

The food supplied inside the workhouse was regulated according to a strict official diet and three meals a day were provided.

Breakfast was usually one and a half pints of gruel and 5-6 ounces of bread. On Sundays and Wednesdays dinner consisted of 5 ounces of cooked meat and one pound of potatoes. On Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays half a pound of potatoes and half a pint of soup and on the remaining two days there was only suet or rice pudding.

Supper was 5-6 ounces of bread and either one and a half ounces of cheese or one pint of broth. The elderly and the young were usually allowed some tea, sugar and butter in addition to the normal diet to perhaps keep their strength up and ward off illness.

The diet of the children in the Hereford workhouse was considerably better than the adult diet. Between the ages of 5 and 9 years children were allowed 8 ounces of bread, 4 ounces of meat and 1ounce of cheese per day. For children up to five years the bread and meat were reduced by one ounce.

The main ingredient of the Workhouse diet was bread and many Workhouses had their own bakeries on site to produce the large amounts required and to cut costs. At breakfast time gruel or porridge - both made from watered down oatmeal - was served with the bread. The sick and the children would often have a broth that was made from water that had been used to boil the meat for dinner with a few vegetables.

Sometimes on special occasions the inmates were given a treat. On the Coronation Day of Queen Victoria in 1838, the inmates at Hereford Workhouse were fed roast beef and plum pudding at the expense of the Guardians. Local alehouses had also donated beer for the residents. This was not a common occurrence.

Meals were eaten in the communal dining room in silence with everyone sat in rows facing the same way so that interaction was further prohibited.

Most Workhouse dining rooms had scales so the inmates could weigh their food if they thought that they weren't getting the prescribed amount. If an inmate complained the reaction was most probably very similar to the scene in Oliver Twist where Oliver asks for more. The Records for the Guardians of Hereford Union does make note of complaints made by inmates concerning the food.

On 30th July 1836 John Hopkins Esq made a complaint on evidence of the Relieving Officer for District 3, where 2 paupers had complained about the quality of the bread, Mr Hills (the baker) was cautioned. however not all compaints were so successful.

On 23rd August 1837, there is a record that Alderman Davies brought a complaint (on behalf of an inamte) against the baker relating to the bread being mouldy and unwholesome. The Board investigated and found the complaint unfounded saying that the pauper had put bread by until it became mouldy.
(Records of the Board of Guardians of Hereford Union - Hereford Record Office K42/215)

The standard, quantity and sometimes unhealthy conditions that the food was prepared in often led to sickness within the Workhouse, such as diarrhoea. In 1845, inmates at Andover were caught fighting one another for decaying scraps of meat on bones that they were meant to be crushing.

The dietary provisions in Bromyard Workhouse were:
Breakfast - 3lbs 8oz of bread and 10.5 pints of gruel to last the week, women 14oz less bread.

Dinner  - on two days they would have 8oz bacon, 2lbs of potatoes, for another two days 3 pints of soup, 1lb 6oz of bread and for the remaining three days 1lb 5oz of bread and 6oz of cheese.

Supper - for the week there was 2lbs1oz of bread and 10.5 oz of cheese. The women had the same food as the men just less of it.

Old persons may have been given 1oz of tea, 5oz of butter and 7oz of sugar a week instead of their gruel for breakfast. (Hereford Record Office - C95/B/5/vi)

Often children in the workhouse would be given a separate diet. In Hereford Workhouse in January 1838, children aged 5-9 were given 8oz bread, 4oz of meat and 1oz of cheese per day. Children aged 1-5; 7oz of bread, 3oz of meat and 1oz of cheese and children under 1 had 6oz of bread supplemented with milk.
(Records of the Board of Guardians of Hereford Union - Hereford Record Office K42/215)

Within the Workhouse various work tasks were undertaken. Female inmates would often be involved in the daily running of the Workhouse, such as doing the cleaning or helping in the kitchen and laundry. Some workhouses had workshops for spinning and weaving where products would be made to provide an income for the workhouse. Many of the men would work in the Workhouses' vegetable garden and piggery, working to provide food for the Workhouse.

In rural areas such as Herefordshire the inmates would often be employed in agricultural labour such as: stone breaking (used for road surfaces), corn grinding, bone crushing and Gypsum crushing (for use in plaster). these were physically demanding tasks often given to the men of the workhouse. They were not paid for the work that they did but any money made went towards the running of the Workhouse. The image on the right is a poster from Hereford Union Workhouse in 1909, stating the work that was required of casual paupers. It states: The task of work for casual paupers when Breaking Stone shall be the following, viz: 3cwt. when detained one night only. 10cwt. daily when detained for more than one night. Such Stone must be broken to such a size as to pass through holes in the screen provided for that purpose, such holes being two inches in diameter. By Order, R. Moore, Clerk. (Hereford Record Office - BC79/11/11)

A high proportion of the inmates of Herefordshire workhouses were children, especially after the admission of orphans became compulsory in 1838.

The Guardians of the workhouse were then made responsible for the education of the inmates and most workhouses in the county contained a schoolroom.

Within the workhouse the responsibility of educating the children fell to the Chaplain who was to instruct children 'in their moral and religious duties' two to three times a week. The Schoolmaster was to teach the boys a trade and the Schoolmistress was to teach the girls to knit and sew.

School hours in Hereford workhouse were 9-12 and 2-5 on Monday to Saturday. On each school day the children would be separated into boys and girls and be taken for an hours walk. They were to avoid the town and not cause any mischief. They were also required to salute people that they passed.

Some of the children received individual training in a trade by the workhouse tailor, shoesmith or farm manager.

The education system of Hereford Workhouse was criticised by Inspectors in 1848, who found that only 6 of the 89 children could work out an account or add up a bill, but the industrial training was recorded as satisfactory.

As soon as the children were old enough, usually at the age of nine, they were apprenticed out or put into service with local businesses. In 1840, the Great Western Cotton Works of Bristol offered to take able-bodied girls of about 13 years of age from Hereford, offering to pay them 3s 6d per week and to give them board and lodging for the first six weeks, then upping their wages to 6s 8d a week.

(The Poor Law in Hereford - Sylvia A Morill, Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists Field Club, vol XLI, 1974.)

Workhouses were often equipped with their own mortuaries to deal with their own dead. If an inmate died then the family would be notified and if they wished, or were able, they could arrange the funeral themselves. If the family were not able to organise the funeral the Board of Guardians would arrange to have a burial, which would usually take place in a local burial ground or cemetery. The grave would be an unmarked paupers grave and several coffins may be placed in the same grave in one go.

Sometimes unclaimed bodies would be donated to medical institutions to be used in research and training.

There is no record of the deaths in Hereford Workhouse between 1836 and 1851, but it does appear that individual parishes were responsible for the pauper burials of their own parishioners.

MG