Table of Contents
What rules did they have in the workhouse?
The new Poor Law ensured that the poor were housed in workhouses, clothed and fed. Children who entered the workhouse would receive some schooling. In return for this care, all workhouse paupers would have to work for several hours each day.
Who was the workhouse supposed to punish?
The Act essentially classified the poor into one of three groups. It proposed that the able-bodied be offered work in a house of correction (the precursor of the workhouse), where the “persistent idler” was to be punished.
How were prisoners treated in Victorian times?
They tended to be damp, unhealthy, insanitary and over-crowded. All kinds of prisoners were mixed in together, as at Coldbath Fields: men, women, children; the insane; serious criminals and petty criminals; people awaiting trial; and debtors. Each prison was run by the gaoler in his own way. He made up the rules.
What is a workhouse Victorian times?
The Victorian Workhouse was an institution that was intended to provide work and shelter for poverty stricken people who had no means to support themselves. The exact origins of the workhouse however have a much longer history. They can be traced back to the Poor Law Act of 1388.
What was the most common punishment in Victorian times?
Whipping was the most common punishment.It was very painful and the amount of lashes depended on how bad you were. Whippings were also performed in front of all the paupers inmates. Do not make any noise when silence is ordered to be kept.
What was the workhouse like in the Victorian era?
A workhouse workers daily schedule. If a pauper misbehaved and were caught stealing or harming other paupers they were locked up in the punishment block, a bare room with no windows,for a day and night and they were fed on bread and water.
What was the punishment book in a workhouse?
The workhouse dining hall was required to display a poster which spelt out these rules: Workhouse punishment books record the severity of punishments meted out to inmates. Some chilling examples of this can be seen in the “Pauper Offence Book” from Beaminster Union in Dorset.
What did they do in the workhouse book?
Workhouse punishment books record the severity of punishments meted out to inmates. Some chilling examples of this can be seen in the “Pauper Offence Book” from Beaminster Union in Dorset. Offences against property, for example breaking a window, received particularly harsh punishment: