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What Was Life Really Like In A Victorian Workhouse? | Secrets From The Workhouse | Absolute History

Absolute History

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In Victorian England, the Workhouse formed the basis of society. The poor and destitute entered Workhouses to receive free health care and food. But in a society that viewed poverty as a crime, these workhouses were never meant to comfort. It was a means to punish the destitute and encourage future independence. In this two-part documentary, several UK celebrities explore how their ancestors survived the difficult environment of the Workhouse and discover some unexpected family secrets that shock and inspire them in turn.

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20 Comments

@bernardbarton972 1 year ago

My grandmother was born in 1888. She died in 1972, her last words were, "don't send me to the workhouse".

@judithholder2537 1 year ago

My grandfather was placed in a Catholic orphanage in Chicago in the 1800's. The boys were rented out as child labor. He worked for butchers. He left as soon as he could. He applied to go down to the Panama Canal dig as a "meat inspector." He was 16 yrs old. He contracted malaria & survived. He became the 1st driver of a non-horse fire engine in Troy, NY. They were such a stoic, hardy generation! He sent 4 boys to WW2, & they came home. My father, # 2 son, lived until 102 1/2 yrs old. I am so honored to have come fr such people.

@Tinthia82 3 years ago

What's sad is that people are still treated like criminals for being poor.

@golemsnatch5755 3 years ago (edited)

My great aunt's husband and his sister were sent to the workhouse circa 1870 when their parents died. While they were there the sister was hit across the head by the matron, with a set of heavy keys. She was one of the poor souls who died in these hell holes. She was ten years old.

@mistysinclair4852 1 year ago

I think this is why Dicken’s work The Christmas Carol was so groundbreaking. There was little love for fellow man.

@deemccarthy8456 4 years ago

My lovely mum was in a work/poor house in Staffordshire from 1941 when she was 12 until 1944 when she was 15. Even today mum cannot talk about it. Both her parents had died and that's why she was sent there. She was from a very poor family so that was bad enough. Now and again she will speak of what happened and then gets so upset she cannot carry on. I feel so sad for my mum and others that were forced to live in those awful places. I count my blessings every single day.

@cindyp9857 4 years ago

The fact they're called "inmates" breaks me heart.

@jadefire1814 3 years ago

Now I know why my Grandparents always said, "Turn out that light! Do you want us to end up in the poorhouse!?" It actually sounds worse than being homeless in the open air. We are SO incredibly blessed, even spoiled, nowadays. Even those of us with very little money aren't as bad off as the people then.

@SabbathaBastet 3 years ago

As an American raised on Dickens and Stevenson, I’ve had an interest in Victorian England and Scotland for decades. I only recently learned that my current city, Louisville, Kentucky, also had a workhouse/poorhouse.
I think a lot of Americans don’t realize we had this system too.
What a shame. Being poor is a crime today.

@flowersforthedead5182 3 years ago

The love his mother must have felt to name him Friend. That just stabbed my heart to bits for some reason.

@nikkitronic80 3 years ago

When I was growing up, a common phrase I’d hear from my family was “ you don’t want to end up in the poor house!” I never really grasped exactly what that meant. Now I understand how much of a threat, a scary thing that actually could be.

@Liz-ek3hc 4 years ago

My great aunt, born 1903, was terrified to the day she died about ending up in the workhouse. Not that she was ever in it, and she eventually had a good job as a forewoman in a shirt factory in Derry, Northern Ireland, but what she saw happening to others in her lifetime remained with her forever. God rest her and all souls who lived through those terrible times.

@Lauramarie1212 3 years ago

My family has secrets, that my mother died, telling very few of them. One she did tell, was that her grandmother, when she entered menopause, was put in an asylum in England, and never heard from again, which must have been horrible.

@jennaolbermann7663 3 years ago

Such a cruel system. I cannot understand how poverty is seen as something worth punishment instead of trying to make things better so people are in a better situation.

@WhiteDragon689 9 months ago

Workhouses where institutionalized cruelty, misery, humiliation and shame for many. Total war on the dignity of humanity and family. Its amazing that Victorian England even survived at all.

@RD-py9sv 4 years ago

"Poverty regarded as a crime." This sentiment hasn't changed. Same as the idea that it's the fault of said person for being poor. The only real difference is that the poor aren't dissected to repay their so-called debt to society. Mostly.