Lincolnshire County Council Young People's Learning Provision (LCC YPLP) to TheWorkhouse,Southwell. The Workhouse, Southwell. The Workhouse, also known as Greet House, in the town of Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England, is a museum operated by the National Trust. Built in 1824, it was the prototype of the 19th-century workhouse, and was cited by the Royal Commission on the poor law as the best example among the existing workhouses, before the resulting New Poor Law of 1834 led to the construction of workhouses across the country.
It is described by the National Trust as the best-preserved workhouse in England. The building remained in use until the early 1990s, when it was used to provide temporary accommodation for mothers and children.[1] Its acquisition by the National Trust reflects that organisation's wish to broaden its interests and to ensure the continued existence of a Grade II* listed building that was potentially to be turned into residential flats. Restoration work began with roof repairs in 2000 and is ongoing. References[edit] Notes Bibliography External links[edit] Coordinates: Southwell Workhouse. Southwell workhouse: front. [Click on thumbnail for a larger photographs and additional information.] At the end of the French Wars the cost of poor relief reached new heights. In 1784, it was estimated that poor relief cost £2 million; by 1815 it had reached £6 million, at a time when attitudes towards poverty and the poor were beginning to change.
In the period following the passing of the Elizabethan Poor Law (1601) it was generally accepted that the poor should be looked after but increasingly, it was felt — by the ratepayers — that poverty was the result either of idleness or of a personality defect. Consequently, it was thought that the poor should be encouraged to find work or be 'taught the error of their ways'. Nottinghamshire was the first area to implement a system of poor relief that was intended to deter the poor from seeking parish relief and hence reduce the poor rates. In 1824 Thurgarton Hundred Incorporated workhouse was opened.
Right: Women's work at Southwell. The Workhouse Car Park, Southwell - UK Car Parks. Visitor information - National Trust. Southwell Town Council - Places to Eat. HotelsSaracens Head HotelMarket Place, Southwell. Tel: 01636 812701Restaurant Mon-Thurs 12 noon-3pm & 5pm-9pmFri-Sat 12 noon-3pm & 5pm-9pmSun 12 noon-3pm & 5pm-8pmBar Food TimesMon-Thurs 12 noon-3pm & 5pm-9pmFri-Sat 12 noon-9pmSun 12 noon-8pmFamous 17th Century Coaching Inn. Eat and drink in style, fine food with attentive service. Admiral Rodney Hotel King Street, Southwell. The Crown Hotel11 Market Place, Southwell. PubsThe Hearty Goodfellow Church Street, Southwell. The Bramley AppleChurch Street, Southwell. Wheatsheaf Inn47 King Street, Southwell. The Reindeer Inn26 Westgate, Southwell.
RestaurantsCafé Piano1 Westgate, Southwell. La Parisienne 12 King Street, Southwell. Khyber Pass46 King Street, Southwell. Bamboo Garden Restaurant18 Market Place, Southwell. Mughal Rasoi1st Floor, 15-17 King Street, Southwell.Indian Restaurant & TakeawayMon-Sun 5.30-11.00pm Southwell Garden Centre49 Fiskerton Road, Southwell. Gossips24/26 King Street, Southwell. Southwell workhouse. SOUTHWELL WORKHOUSE (The One Show, BBC1, 22/01/11) The rise and fall of the workhouse. Charlotte Hodgman talks to Peter Higginbotham about British workhouses, and visits ten locations linked with the provision of relief to Britain’s poor For many, the word ‘workhouse’ conjures up the image of an orphaned Oliver Twist begging for food from a cruel master.
The reality, however, was somewhat different, and Britain’s system of poor relief arguably saved thousands of people from starvation over the course of its 300-year history. The provision of state-provided poor relief was crystallised in the 1601 Poor Relief Act, which gave parish officials the legal ability to collect money from rate payers to spend on poor relief for the sick, elderly and infirm – the ‘deserving’ poor. Labelled ‘out relief’, handouts usually took the form of bread, clothing, fuel or money.
Though they were termed ‘workhouses’ from the 1620s, the early institutions that provided poor relief were, more often than not, non-residential, offering handouts in return for work. 1. 2. 3. 48 Doughty Street, London. The Workhouse, Southwell Reviews - Nottinghamshire, England Attractions. Southwell Workhouse Review - Ticket Prices & Opening Times | Free Attraction Reviews. The Workhouse in Southwell is one of Britain’s best preserved workhouses from the Victorian era, operated as a historical attraction by the National Trust.
It was built by the local churches to look after the infirm in their parishes, but also to take in those who couldn’t maintain their own home through lack of employment. Workhouses were controversial. On one hand, they offered food and shelter to the poor and infirm, but on the other they were authoritarian, sometimes brutal and expected those inside who were capable to work hard…very hard. In Southwell, you enter the workhouse through some of the old outbuildings where you can watch a video, which is well worth seeing.
You then arrive immediately in the women’s courtyard. At the centre stands a water pump, which still works, and you’re welcome to have a go! On arrival at the workhouse, families were split up and segregated. As an attraction, this place is fascinating.