The Workhouse

 

 This weekend we spent a rainy Sunday afternoon at The Workhouse in the lovely little town of Southwell, Nottinghamshire. It was a perfect day to visit, it was very atmospheric in the dull rain and we were pleased to be indoors!

 The Southwell Workhouse was built in 1824 and was designed to house over 150 paupers. Here, the destitue and idle would be given somewhere to live. Able workers were set to work and the elderly and infirm were given a place to spend their days. It certainly wasn't a nice place. I mean, who would want to eat meat and potatoes or broth every day for the rest of their lives!

The Southwell Workhouse was open until the 1940s, when workhouses were no longer neede due to changes in social welfare. The house was used for various means up until the 1990s when it was purchased by the National Trust.