The London Workhouse A Total Institution for the

The London Workhouse: A ‘Total Institution’ for the C 18 th? http: //research. ncl. ac. uk/pauperlives/ Peter Jones

Defining the ‘Total Institution’ • P. O’Brien, The Promise of Punishment: Prisons in C 19 th France (1982) • Sean Mc. Conville, A History of English Prison Administration (1981) • Andrew Scull, Museums of Madness: the Social History of Insanity in C 19 th England (1981) • M. A. Crowther, The Workhouse System 1834 -1929 (1981), ‘…any attempt to reconstruct workhouse life must be a patchwork, selected from the letters and reminiscences of the literate poor, or gleaned from middle class accounts’ – Crowther, p. 193 ‘[The image of the workhouse] has been created by outsiders, who usually condemned it either for harshness or laxity’ – ibid.

The C 18 th London Workhouse • c 1800: 50 workhouses in the London metropolitan area • Diverse institutions: between 10 and 1, 000 inmates • Diversity of experience: between 89% and 19% of parish poor relieved indoors • In total, almost 12, 000 of London’s inhabitants resident in workhouses in 1801

The Project Jeremy Boulton, Leonard Schwarz, John Black http: //research. ncl. ac. uk/pauperlives/ The Workhouse in 1871

Admission and Residency

Pregnancy and Birth 1725 -1824 • 1, 376 women heavily pregnant or in labour at admission • Over 4, 000 children born and baptised

Early Childhood 11, 155 children <7 admitted • 73% admitted with family member • 2, 230 died in the workhouse • 20% within 14 days • 91% within a year • 1, 188 were sent to nurse • 206 bound apprentice

Adolescence Destination of Children (7 -14 yrs) Apprenticed Outside London County Number of Apprentices Manchester 141 7, 515 children aged 7 -14 admitted Lancashire 40 Flintshire 34 • 3, 376 (44. 5%) entered with another family member Hertfordshire 32 Sheffield 29 Staffordshire 21 Yorkshire 16 Cheshire 10 Nottinghamshire 8 Derbyshire 8 • 80% apprenticed in London Jamaica 5 Kent 4 • 20% further afield Essex 3 Worcestershire 2 Durham 2 Monmouth 1 Huntingdonshire 1 Hampshire 1 Cumberland 1 Berkshire 1 • 270 (3. 5%) died in the workhouse • 2, 316 (30. 5%) either bound apprentice or sent ‘on likeing’ • 50 sent to Hungerford School • 8 boys sent to sea

Early Adulthood Women admitted to the workhouse aged 20 -40 • Constitute 80% of all admissions in this age range • 70. 5% of all women admitted aged 20 -40 years are ‘single independents’ • Average length of stay = 111 days (216 for all admissions)

Old Age 11, 023 Over-60 s Admitted • 36. 5% died in workhouse • Average length of stay = 431 days

Sickness

Death

To Conclude… • Ann Ashton, admitted November 1765, ‘her husband paying 2 s. 6 d. for her keep’ • Jane Graham, admitted October 1800, ‘on condition that he husband pays 5 s. per week’ • Charlotte Sowley, admitted June 1795, aged 9, ‘her father paying 3 s. a week’ ‘…any attempt to reconstruct workhouse life must be a patchwork, selected from the letters and reminiscences of the literate poor, or gleaned from middle-class accounts…’ - Crowther, p. 193