The London The London Workhouse: Workhouse:

A ‘Total Institution’ for the A ‘Total Institution’ for the C18th?C18th?

Peter Jones

http://research.ncl.ac.uk/pauperlives/

Defining the ‘Total Institution’• P. O’Brien, The Promise of Punishment: Prisons in C19th France

(1982)• Sean McConville, A History of English Prison Administration (1981)• Andrew Scull, Museums of Madness: the Social History of Insanity in

C19th 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 C18th London Workhouse

• c1800: 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

The Workhouse in 1871

http://research.ncl.ac.uk/pauperlives/

Jeremy Boulton, Leonard Schwarz, John Black

Admission and Residency

Percentage length of stay in St Martin's workhouse in days by gender, 1738-1824

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

0 1-5 6-10 11-20 21-30 31-60 61-90 91-120 121-150 151-180 181-360 361-720 721+

Female

Male

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

1725 1729 1733 1737 1741 1745 1749 1753 1757 1761 1765 1769 1773 1777 1781 1785 1789 1793 1797 1801 1805 1809 1813 1817 1821

Admissions per year

Total Inmates in the House

5 per. Mov. Avg. (Admissions per year)

5 per. Mov. Avg. (Total Inmates in the House)

St Martin's Workhouse: admissions and inmates 1725-1824

Pregnancy and BirthPregnancies and Births in the Workhouse 1745-1819

(5-yearly aggregates)

0

50100

150

200

250300

350

1745-49

1750-54

1755-59

1760-64

1765-69

1770-74

1775-79

1780-84

1785-89

1790-94

1795-99

1800-04

1805-09

1810-14

1815-19

No. of Births inWorkhouse

No. of PregnantAdmissions toWorkhouse

KnownIllegitimateAdmissions

Neo-Natal Deaths in the Workhouse, 1740-1819 (5-yearly aggregates)

0%2%4%6%8%

10%12%14%16%

17

40

-44

17

45

-49

17

50

-54

17

55

-59

17

60

-64

17

65

-69

17

70

-74

17

75

-79

17

80

-84

17

85

-89

17

90

-94

17

95

-99

18

00

-04

18

05

-09

18

10

-14

18

15

-19

Deathswithin 24hours

Deathswithin 7days

1725-1824

•1,376 women heavily pregnant or in labour at admission

• Over 4,000 children born and baptised

Early ChildhoodPercentage Length of Stay in the Workhouse in days

of Infants aged Under 7 years, 1725-1824

0.002.004.006.008.00

10.0012.0014.0016.0018.0020.00

>1

1-5

6-1

0

11

-20

21

-30

31

-60

61

-90

91

-12

0

12

1-1

50

15

1-1

80

18

1-3

60

36

1-7

20

72

1+

Percentage length of stay in St Martin's workhouse in days by gender, 1738-1824

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

0 1-5 6-10 11-20 21-30 31-60 61-90 91-120 121-150 151-180 181-360 361-720 721+

Female

Male

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 (7-14yrs) Apprenticed Outside London

CountyNumber of

Apprentices

Manchester 141

Lancashire 40

Flintshire 34

Hertfordshire 32

Sheffield 29

Staffordshire 21

Yorkshire 16

Cheshire 10

Nottinghamshire 8

Derbyshire 8

Jamaica 5

Kent 4

Essex 3

Worcestershire 2

Durham 2

Monmouth 1

Huntingdonshire 1

Hampshire 1

Cumberland 1

Berkshire 1

7,515 children aged 7-14 admitted

• 3,376 (44.5%) entered with another family member

• 270 (3.5%) died in the workhouse

• 2,316 (30.5%) either bound apprentice or sent ‘on likeing’

• 80% apprenticed in London

• 20% further afield

• 50 sent to Hungerford School

• 8 boys sent to sea

Early Adulthood

Yearly Admissions of Females aged 20-40yrs (as % of total admissions)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

17

40

17

44

17

48

17

52

17

56

17

60

17

64

17

68

17

72

17

76

17

80

17

84

17

88

17

92

17

96

18

00

18

04

18

08

18

12

18

16

18

20

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 AgePercentage Length of Stay in the Workhouse (in days)

of Infants <7 yrs and Adults >60 yrs, 1725-1824

0.002.004.006.008.00

10.0012.0014.0016.0018.0020.00

>1 1-5

6-10

11-20

21-30

31-60

61-90

91-120

121-150

151-180

181-360

361-720

721+

Infants <7years

Adults >60years

Percentage length of stay in St Martin's workhouse in days by gender, 1738-1824

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

0 1-5 6-10 11-20 21-30 31-60 61-90 91-120 121-150 151-180 181-360 361-720 721+

Female

Male

11,023 Over-60s Admitted

• 36.5% died in workhouse

• Average length of stay = 431 days

SicknessPercentage of discharges sent to medical institutions, St Martin's workhouse, 1725-1824

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

8.00

9.00

10.00

17251728173117341737

174017431746174917521755

175817611764176717701773

177617791782178517881791

179417971800180318061809

18121815181818211824

% sent to medical institutions

5 per. Mov. Avg. (% sent to medical institutions)

DeathTotal Deaths in the Parish

Total Deaths in the Workhouse

Workhouse Deaths as % of Total Deaths

Water in the Head 467 1 0.2Thrush 356 9 2.5Inflammation 1699 44 2.6Measles 791 26 3.3Whooping Cough 963 43 4.5Smallpox 3119 140 4.5Decline 274 16 5.8Convulsions 8697 528 6.1Fits 212 13 6.1Teeth 1058 79 7.5Childbed 353 28 7.9Apoplexy 225 19 8.4Palsy 101 12 11.9Mortification 363 46 12.7Abortive/Stillborn 646 89 13.8Sudden death 111 17 15.3Consumption 8144 1627 20.0Asthma 728 160 22.0Jaundice 113 27 23.9Gripes 509 136 26.7Fever 4757 1282 26.9Dropsy 1465 447 30.5Aged 2629 900 34.2

To Conclude…

‘…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

• Ann Ashton, admitted November 1765, ‘her husband paying 2s. 6d. for her keep’

• Jane Graham, admitted October 1800, ‘on condition that he husband pays 5s. per week’

• Charlotte Sowley, admitted June 1795, aged 9, ‘her father paying 3s. a week’