Changes at Gressenhall workhouse 1800-1900

Question 2b

The 1834 P.L.A.A. changed the nature of the poor law a lot, as this act was much harsher. The previous act was different in each parish speenhamland and allowance systems in the south and outdoor relief in north, but now there was only one system for the whole country to follow. Previously parishes could join to build workhouses but now parishes had to join into poor law unions and each union had to have a workhouse. After 1834 the unions had to appoint a full time paid official to control the parishes but before voluntary people worked in the unions. This was good for the government because the officials did not know every one individually and it was their job to keep the system running and did not accept any excuses from people not wanting to go to the workhouse. The allowance systems and the Outdoor relief were to abolished, if people wanted help they should enter a workhouse this was called the workhouse test. This was so that people could help themselves rather than rely on the poor relief. The conditions in the workhouses were to be worse than of the lowest paid labourer. They called it The principle of less eligibility, this also had the same lesson as the abolishment of the allowance and outdoor relief, people to help themselves not to rely to poor relief and to avoid the workhouses as much as possible. The conditions and rules of the workhouses were to be the same all across the country. The couples and families were to be separated because the government wanted to make workhouse place of hate breaking up families. This rules were strict and breaking them was bad and you will be punished for and to make things worse all the inmates had to wear uniforms now the workhouse sounded like prison to the people inside and outside and it also increased the fear of being in a workhouse. The diet had to be plain people have not been starved but also not given a lot of food. All inmates had to do work inside the workhouse. However, was the 1834 P.L.A.A {Poor law amendment act} accepted in the south? it was welcomed by the ratepayers, as it was their money that they were saving so they were happy with it, workhouses were built as the act said. however rising employment meant that many poor people did not enter workhouses. In the north the P.L.A.A. was criticised by the poor and many employer as they thought what was the point of the building a workhouses as the economy recovered later leaving the workhouse unused for the rest of the time and said that it was just a waste of the time and money and preferred outdoor relief. Overall, the 1834 p.l.a.a cut the poor relief by 1/3 to 1/2 however, outdoor relief never completely died out especially in the north. This act enabled 350 workhouses to be built in 5 years only so this shows that the act has succeeded in some ways.

Question 3

The Gressenhall workhouse was severely affected by the 1834 poor law amendment act as before this the workhouse was relatively relaxed but then it had to adapt to the new government requirements saying that the work houses were to be as grim as possible. So in order to do this new changes had to occur The workhouse had to be expanded to cater for the large amount of people be cause with no outdoor relief and no jobs available the poor had no choice but to go to a workhouse. The Gressenhall workhouse had nice surroundings it even had an arcade and a wind mill, but the windmill was removed and sold in 1837 just three years after the act was passed. The same year £4,800 was borrowed to pay for the enlargement of the workhouse done 1n1835-36. There was now a wall surrounding the workhouse making the place look like a prison. There were generally proportioned windows at the original workhouse but were bricked up and refractory cell was created to impose the new strict discipline at the workhouse under the new poor law. The workhouse had before accommodated families before but together but now the workhouse was being divided up to create new segregated accommodation and the arcade was blocked up. There were only a little able-bodied people and they were made to break stones, pump water and cart gravel. Before 1834, the beds were comfortable and the inmates were allowed to go out on Sundays. After 1834 the discipline was so strict and minor offences could earn you a 12-hour confinement in a separate room and a diet of brad and water and the refractory cell for heavy offences. Unmarried mother were forced to wear the jacket that was made of the same material as the uniforms. All inmates got no pay for their work except for some few rewards for particular responsibility with small gratitude's. Before 1836 the inmates diet was generous with regular meat meals, vegetables and bread, which was made from the windmill, erected in 1781 and beer was brewed on the premises after 1836, the diet was meagre and monotous and meals were eaten in quiet dining halls.

Overall, the 1834 P.L.A.A had a great impact on the conditions and the look of Gressenhall workhouse. It turned it like the rest of the workhouses across the countries, which were all grim and horrible.

Question 4

The attitudes towards the poor in the 1830's were awful as the ratepayers blamed the poor for their problems and were putting in new harsher laws that tackled down poor and put them in horrible workhouses but by 1850 the attitudes began to change, ratepayers became more generous toward the poor. This sympathy was because of many reasons for one the cost of keeping a poor person in workhouse was much more costly than giving outdoor relief. The other reasons for this sympathy was the Andover scandal in which men were caught eating bone marrow as they were underfed and badly treated so getting the bone marrow them health in a way. This shocked the upper-class community and they thought that they had gone too far in their idea of reducing cost and disciplining the poor. New ideas from new writers increased this sympathy toward the poor and the ideas of old writers of poor being responsible for being poor were seen as wrong and new writers like Arnold Toynbee who believed that the Working Class have been betrayed by the Middle Class. The Middle Class people took over the leadership of the country and refused to take over the role of caring which the previous aristocracy had fulfilled. Henry Mayhew also a new writer said that Dockers wages were cut because of winds delaying the ships from docking and Charles Booth a respectable businessman who had set out to show how previous poor law reports have been exaggerated. He was a respectable campaigner and was listened to, his books said the idle, criminal and undeserving poor only made about 1 percent of the population, so putting lots of people in grim workhouses was not any good. These writers have been taken seriously by the rich people and their ideas were different as did not blame the poor for being poor. After the period of 1850 onwards-national changes began to occur and hospitals were built in workhouses where the people were separated according to their conditions, for example the insane people were kept in different wards. Schools were set up, orphans were placed in foster homes, and married couples over 60 years old were allowed to leave together in their own separate room. However, the stigma of the workhouses was still there.

Gressenhall workhouse, which was also under the harsh poor law, was becoming much nicer. These are examples of where Gressenhall was fitting in with the new more generous attitudes toward from ratepayers. In 1853, building erection was built to accommodate elderly married couples and another building adjoining the southern boundary at the workhouse was built in 1871, as fever ward. The refractory cell was no longer considered as necessary and was converted into a washhouse for men and with new doorway providing communication with the exercise outside. Money was borrowed to improve the infirmary and kitchens and a main drainage and hot water supply were added. There were also some other things that did not fit in with the new attitudes e.g. the punishment did get little harsher and the job of breaking stones was stopped and was replaced with oakum picking which was particularly hated the inmates. The workhouse guardian was also getting more generous as in one letter he was asking government to improve the diet in the workhouse and replace uniforms with warmer clothes in winter time. Overall, the workhouse did improve a lot as the attitudes improved. The ratepayers now became keen on their money and harsher toward the poor.

By Hussein Mahdi

11A