I think so, some people don't like how "empty" it is - but I think that just shows more clearly that most of the space within that building would have been taken up with human beings .. not furniture or clutter. It was a space with a purpose not an interior design piece (there was a couple of interactive displays but I chose to ignore them ... haha)
So heartbreaking. My great-grandmother grew up in Lambeth Workhouse with her siblings. Her father sent her mother to an insane asylum so that he could bring home another woman; when he disappeared on an alcoholic bender, this new woman sent the children to the workhouse. He ended up spending time in jail for hard labour for abandoning his children. Years later he pulled his son out of the workshouse to join this woman and their new family, but left my great-grandmother and her sisters in the workhouse. She eventually left at 16 to go into service, and made her way to Canada to make a life for herself. She married a man who was sent to Canada (against his will and with living family in England) to Canada as a "Home Child".
What an incredibly sad but poignant story that just underlines the problems people had to deal with (I have a great, great Grandfather that did hard labour too - but in Pentonville!) It probably sounds a bit odd to say I love reading these stories but I really do - not only because they are very interesting but also because they are tales of strength and survival against all the odds x
My great great grandparents were "inmates" at a workhouse in Birmingham which I believe became Selly Oak hospital. Sadly both died in the workhouse. My Granddad's was a BHC also sent to Canada as an 8 year old in 1912. He never saw his Mum again as she died before he was able to come back home. My Gran wasn't made aware of his whereabouts until she threatened Vincent Hudson that unless she was told where he was she would never set foot in church again. He informed her that her son had been sent away, reminding her that she actually had given her permission for her son to be sent wherever it would improve his quality of life. I don't think Gran ever forgave the church for that. Heartbreaking reading the letters my Tommy and Gran wrote to each other
A "home Child"- OMG, I have nightmares of poor young Anne Shirley's early life as a home child in the fictional Anne of Green Gables with Mrs. Hammond and 10 kids to look after! 😱
@@throughlucyslens That is exactly right. They were survivors, they started all over in a strange new land, traumatized by their past but not defeated. I feel honooured that I was given the gift of uncovering their stories through genealogical research. It makes me determined to participate in a society that gives a hand up to those who need it, and it disturbs me that there are people without empathy who would take us back to those awful Victorian values (or lack thereof!)
You've done it again! What a cracking and emotional little film. A side note I remember one visit to my grandmother as an early teen with my father to find her worried beyond belief as her electricity bill was overdue £12 and adamantly believed she would be taken to the Poor/Work House. My father a man of few words took the Bill, told me to "Mind the shop" and strolled out. Returning hours later with a receipt plus a credit for a hundred pounds.
I love this so much!!! I think it just goes to show how far the shadow of the workhouse cast in the minds of people - and I hope that credit kept the worry away for some time .. as for your Father - I do love a man of action! My own Dad was very much the same!
We went there a couple of years ago and thought it was an amazing homage to such a dark part of our quite recent past. And I also found it interesting how quickly it was left to go derelict and almost forgotten purposefully, as though to forget it's legacy in our world. I think you did it a lot of justice
Thank you, that means a lot! The workhouse here in Birmingham was left to ruin and then only an archway remained - they called in the "arch way of tears" there was a lot of upset when they wanted to demolish it because this history shouldn't be brushed under the carpet, as distasteful as it is to some people x
These were sad and unforgiving times. As an empath I find it heartbreaking to think that young and old were treated so badly just because they were poor. I remember being very moved reading about the old couple in Cider with Rosie, who were sent to the Workhouse and died within a week of each other because they were segregated. Institutions of misery. Five million died in them but there were a few who overcame. Thanks for today’s video Lucy.
Thanks Mary, I was really unsure whether to cover it or not because there's still this shame associated with it - I don't see that at all, I see it as people doing their best. My visit was a struggle, I was really moved and the people working there must have thought I was crazy! A lot of visitors were laughing and enjoying it and children were learning about history so I'm glad it's there!
My 2 times great grandfather died in the work house. He was listed as a ‘gentleman’ on his daughter’s marriage certificate and had served with the British Government in Parramatta, New South Wales, but presumably when he returned to uk, that was the only health care available to him.
@ No I don’t think so. He lived in London and I think he must have been quite ill when he went in. His daughter, my great grandmother was born in Australia, but then lived in the north of England with her husband and five children, and his son was serving abroad. I believe they didn’t even know until they were told of his death.
Oooo Lucy this was a hard one it’s the real Halloween 👻. So upsetting, the frosted windows so children couldn’t see their parents 🥹. Horrific because it’s so real and many suffered due to the demands at the time. I always say we are rich, we are lucky !!! No matter how bad things get I’m so glad I wasn’t born into that age. Thanks to the national trust this place is a reminder of those awful times. I did feel it was a little staged due to the fact it was so clean inside n out. I used to work at Wordsley hospital which was a workhouse years ago, many elderly wouldn’t go there because they remembered it’s past 🥹. Thank you so much for your empathy and knowledge of this place. Bless ya 🥰
Funnily enough I did ask why it was so sterile and apparently it's because it actually was - someone had to whitewash the walls every week (they found thousands of layers of paint) and the floors were scrubbed away. It had to be kept sparse and clean for hygiene - the lack of furniture is because very little remains and very little was there apart from the most basic wooden benches and tables so they say it's authentic .. like you though I found the cellar and upstairs with peeling paint and mouldy windows more what I expected .. and preferred!
Hi Lucy, I absolutely love your visits to historical housing in the UK, we just don’t have anything like this in the US- the Industrial Revolution played out a bit differently in our two countries, and I find that social history in the UK is a lot more cohesive due its smaller geographical area and higher population density, leading to more similarities in lifestyles and living conditions. Your channel is as good as, if not better than, any UK urban exploration channel I follow. Wish I were able to explore Britain’s social history with you in person!
Thank you, I am quite speechless by your comment, it really has meant a lot to me. I am not the most confident person in the world and I am just doing what I love and having the pleasure to share it with others. I need to brush up on my American social history to be honest, I am okay with the 20th century urban history in the states but not much else - I imagine it would be a whole new blank sheet - but I am very willing to start writing on it :)
We were still beating, raping, and lynching our "slaves". And the poor in the north were living 20 to a room and starving on the street. There is no valor in being poor.
I have visited this workhouse. I found it extremely emotionally moving. I was unsettled by my visit for some time. The infirmary was an equally emotive place to visit. I started my general nurse training in 1977 and I can’t remember elderly patients becoming distressed at being admitted into hospital. This was because they thought they were being admitted into the workhouse. 😢
Oh bless them that's so sad! Have you read "Shadows of the workhouse" by Jennifer Worth, the same author as Call the Midwife? She tells similar tales - and if you haven't read it it's a very good book. The visit was with me for weeks too I don't think I'll ever forget it x
This is timely content, Lucy. Winter is closing fast and local service organizations are struggling to find suitable accommodations for the unhoused. Families headed by adults suffering mental illness or substance abuse, whose children have behavior issues, are particularly difficult to place. If Southwell's facilities were dropped from the sky onto an empty lot, some social workers I know would shout thanks to the heavens and rush to tell their clients the good news. Never mind the lack of decor, here are roofs and walls, warmth and safety, and regular meals!
Are you a social worker? I have worked in communities my whole career and winter is always so hard every year, we do our best but there's never enough.
How to send this link to Prince William ? His concern, recognition about homelesness, involvement and commitment could move boulders in establishing modern day, focused, refuges and support for people in such need.
Thank you Lucy for such a thought provoking video. I found it very interesting how the use of the building changed over time. It's very sad to think of how people were so undervalued in the past. Most of us here in the UK are very lucky.It really is time for everyone to have access to everything they need to thrive. A very emotional reaction from me.
I agree with you so much, I've never understood why some feel the need to hold people back, let us all thrive, do what makes us happy. Even though everything isn't how my little brain wishes it was we certainly have it a LOT Better now ❤️
It all started with the enclosure of the commons, encroaching on peoples ability to provide for themselves from the commons and went on from there . Dickens also made his feelings know through the character of Betty Higden in 'Our Mutual Friend'. Thank you Lucy, such a hard scabbed life some poor people were forced to live.
At least this system was established. A bit harsh and crude in “ modern” perceptions, but functional and providing an alternative refuge to homelessness or imprisonment.
That was sooooo interesting. What a sad and heavy place. Could you imagine that day in and day out without any joy, rest, or entertainment of any kind.
I wonder did you just dissociate from it in the end - did they find small pleasures in tobacco or homemade liquor - not dissimilar to in a prison situation. Many long term residents became so institutionalised they could hardly function in life outside of the workhouse once they closed. So heavy but so important to remember them x
Hi Lucy, that was so fascinating. I obviously knew about Workhouses, but not in a sense of knowing how they worked. There was a Workhouse in High Barnet, where I live. It was in Union Street, and we were sort of told about it at School, but never really understood what it all meant. The Workhouse has long since been demolished, but there are many Alms Houses in the vicinity, and my best friend worked as a gardener there for many years. At least those poor people had food and a bed and some sort of warmth, but what a terribly sad existence. Your narration of these videos is perfect, explaining everything in simple and real terms. Thank you for all you do to provide these videos for us to enjoy. OH, you didn't tell us how you managed to break your ribs - maybe not for our ears ! Anyway Lucy, take special care and I wish you a speedy recovery. X X X X
How interesting it was in "Union Street" - I imagine the street was named after the Union of Guardians and the Workhouse - there were so many scattered all over the country, and it's soooo hard to find information about them bar a couple of very good websites (workhouses.org being the best imo - it's a lifes work that website) because they were closed, changed used or demolished and forgotten about. Quite a few of the big hospitals were on the sites of workhouses too - that's certainly the case in Birmingham.
I can't even imagine living in that environment. It's truly so sad to think of families separated because of poverty. Thank you again for another fine video
Thank you for spending your time coming with me. Yes the workhouses really are a sad sad part of history but I think it's one of those things we need to remember to stop it ever happening again!
Excellent. Excellent. Thank you, Lucy. Oliver Twist is not one of favourite Dickens' works, but we had to read it at school, in order to then contrast it with Tom Brown's School Days. Finally, comparing the two with Colditz by Pat Reid. Three very different styles of "incarceration", as it were. Food was always an issue. Routine, lodging, rules and discipline came next. The ever present punishments loomed ominously. The question of indentured servitude was brought up a few times and was soon dismissed as a pathetic excuse to defend slavery as an acceptable social concept. Seeing this reconstituted workhouse turns my mind to how we view and handle poverty, education and prisons. You did an outstanding job here. Cheers.
Thank you Tom, really appreciate this, I was so worried about publishing this video because lets face it it's a not a FUN topic .. but sometimes the most interesting things make you think, one of the main feelings I had walking about was anger really, like you say I don't feel indentured servitude is ever acceptable. Why couldn't people work to earn money which might in turn allow them the means to leave and rent a home, find a job .. because that wouldn't have created a vast income off their free labour would it? Probably won't surprise you to hear I don't like being told what to do so I would have been the most awful resident there .. I imagine I would have been familiar with that solitary confinement cell .. and it would have been WORTH it!
I remember my Nanna telling me about the workhouse and what a terribly shameful place it was to end up. She was never rich but managed to stay out of it even after she had my dad out of wedlock and her family shunned her. I can see why folk did not want to end up there. Rotten places for the most vulnerable. Thank goodness things have changed since then. A very insightful and interesting video.. thank you. Well done for soldering on with bust ribs too!
Thanks for sharing that, what an incredibly strong woman your Nanna was! It was no easy task bringing up a child as an unmarried woman. I hope she found happiness and chosen family after her family shunned her! x
@throughlucyslens she did! Had another son and then became a housekeeper who she eventually married. The kindest lady you could ever meet, managed to see the good in everyone (and made the best egg custard ever! )
You have done it again Lucy. A perfect subject brilliantly presented. Such a heartbreaking place but so glad we can still see it, however hard it is not to cry for those poor poor people. Thank you so much.
Thank you Janet, I wasn't sure if I would ever make a video about my visit because it is so sad, but in a way I wanted to try and dispel the shame people feel if they find anyone in the workhouse in their family trees - they were just doing their best with the only situation available to them outside a life of crime really. I highly respect that.
I went to southwell in August 2024. As an avid history fan, I found this very moving and the stories of the people who lived here over the years. I never found it boring, just take your time and read the stories. Perfect to keep you grounded.
You are so welcome! It was a bucket list place for me too, so moving but beautifully and respectfully done. Hope you get to visit one day but in the meantime thanks for watching and coming with me ❤️
Just found your channel. Just wonderful. I am a professional Historic Preservationist from the U .S. Exploring house museums solo is my absolute favorite thing in the world to do. I’ve not been to the U. K yet, so thank you for allowing me to “travel and explore “ with you.
Oh you are so welcome! Which properties do you work on? What an amazing job! It's my dream one day to come over to the USA and start exploring your historic houses! One day! 🤞🏻🤞🏻
Another fantastic video Lucy, thank you. I always find workhouses and their history hugely emotional too. We still have many of them here in Ireland... some abandoned, some repurposed etc, a lot of which were used during the Famine by incredibly destitute people. I think these buildings really hold onto a lot of pain. I hope your ribs are healing. Take care of yourself ❤
You know I've read so much about the workhouses in Ireland over the past couple of weeks - they are so well documented and actually most of the photographic evidence comes from the homes in Ireland too, particularly in relation to the famine. I really do need to visit because I am really interested in the magdeline homes too - I promise I can be fun sometimes though 😂
@@throughlucyslens Yes, the Magdalene Laundries are such a horrific part of our history. And shamefully recent as well. From a historical point of view it's fascinating but I think more importantly it's something we need to learn from and make sure is never, ever repeated. And thankfully, yes, I think the Irish and the British are wonderful at accepting the darker side of life while still having a brilliant sense of humour! 😁
Yes I do adapt the "if you don't laugh you'll cry" view of life! There were some quite funny stories about people in the workhouse that went out of their way to be a pain in the butt for the authorities - i didn't have time to fit them in but on reflection I wish I did!
My great grandmother was so scared of being put in the workhouse. It took a long time to convince her these places did not exist. She passed away peacefully at home at the age of 93!
So awful how they cast such a frightening shadow. My Dads parents lost their home in the early 1950s, they were homeless for a while and my Dad and his younger siblings slept in the front of a boarded up shop as his mother was so terrified of the "assistance". My Dad and those siblings all passed away in their 50s from very unusual types of cancer where as the older ones who didn't sleep in the fertility shop lived long lives. We've often wondered if those difficult years caused it - maybe damp or asbestos. They did their best but shows you just how scared people still were long after they had gone x
This was an amazing vlog thanks so much I grew up in Southwell 1968-1987 as a local brownie and guide we went to as was then Greet house and Caudwell house to spend time with the seniors and children, especially at Christmas when we would go to sing songs and carols I haven’t been here in over 50 years you have inspired me to return , a very moving and sensitive presentation thanks so much xx
Thank you so much for sharing this, I love to hear this place was part of the community. They did mention there was a children's home on the estate but I wasn't sure where. It was such a moving place, it's hard not to be sad there but it's so rich in real LIFE! Loved it x
15:22 that long bench is based on an orkney creepie stool! I made one at work and use it as a side table and love it. But very ancient style of milking stool ☺️ I agree about that last room being so moving
Brillant vlogg always history utube channel 😊🎉😢😊 a big fan since day one in September l have been a fan for over a year lam happy to be a histiry fan of your utube channel 🎉😊 always
I think you said it, though: the point is to reflect. History is full of so many lessons to those who take the time to reflect. That's why I believe we need to preserve every part of history, the good, bad and the ugly.
I remember, when I researched my family history a few years ago, hoping that none of them had been in the workhouse, and thankfully I didn't find anyone that had, though times had been hard for many of them. They were terrible places, but if it was a choice between that and sleeping on the streets then there wasn't really a choice was there. It was very sad to see how those poor people were living, and makes me appreciate how easy we have it now by comparison. Thank you for sharing your experience there, it's important to know what life could be like back then. I hope your ribs are much better now 🙏🏽x
One of my relatives died in a workhouse in Cornwall, I never knew until my son was researching his ancestry. My mother was always such a snob, and I don't think she would have divulged this, but I am certain she was aware of the fact. A very interesting video. Thankyou Lucy.
Thank you so much, it's sad how it's brushed under the carpet. I always wonder if they feel more ashamed no one helped them, I don't know, but it certainly wasn't talked about x
The whole work house situation really underlines the importance of not having policy makers create policy without input from those to whom the policies are directed, no matter how well meaning they are.
Thank you for all your reports on housing. This one, in particular, gave an insight into "social security. " and how much things have changed since then. Thank you ❤
I'm so glad the algorithm brought me to your channel, Lucy. That's the second video today as they are both subjects very dear to my heart. My 2nd great grandfather and his disabled son died in the Nitshill Workhouse, Glasgow. I've never entered on or been on a tour, so this video was a great insight to me. It was such a sad end for so many after a lifetime of struggle and poverty to be so humiliated by the government who deemed them unworthy. I hope you are fully recovered now, and thank you so much again.
Hello, thanks so much for sharing about your G Grandfather and son, it's heartbreaking but even more so your Great G Uncle was disabled. Felt very sad reading that and also humbled you felt able to share. I am very much better now thank you!! I am so glad that rib pain has gone, it was absolutely horrible! x
Thank you, Lucy, for your kindness. He died at 80 in there as he could no longer work to support his youngest disabled son. Robert my 2nd great uncle died a few years later in there in 1915. I can tell you, I've shed tears over this as I've become so involved in their lives. Thank you again for giving me comfort and you have a new dedicated follower. @throughlucyslens
Thoroughly appreciated this one. The U.S. also had workhouses, but I don't know of any living museums such as this. Thank you for the time, and energy - and for your good spirits, despite the pain you must have been in. Hope your ribs are feeling much better by now!
Thanks Kathleen! I did wonder if there were similar places in the USA, I knew they had them in mainland Europe so presumed they must have. We are very lucky here to have so many places like this restored for future generations to learn from x
I live fairly close to the workhouse and have been here several times. Such a heart breaking place but a place that kept people off the streets in Victorian times 😔
It did indeed have a job and for some people I always think it probably saved their lives even if in our modern eyes we can't really get our heads around why they thought treating people like that was okay.
Thank you. I really really tried to not make it all doom and gloom but it was hard To find any happy stories! All I could come up with was "better than starving in the street" which I guess it was.. maybe! Cripes it was a tough one! But weirdly very enjoyable as it's a topic I really enjoy ... 🙃
Quarry bank mill near Manchester should be on your radar too. That's very well preserved and tells the story of similarly hard times. They took children from the workhouses as cheap labour to work in the mills.
I went a couple of weeks ago and I LOVED it! I have relatives that worked in the mills and it was great to see the jobs they did I had heard them explain and the apprentice house was incredible! Video will be a couple of weeks I think x
@@throughlucyslens My English side /my Maiden name came over in the 1600s. But like most Americans, I'm a Heinz 57 or mutt lol. Mostly German on both sides.
Hi Lucy! This was an excellent video, and your commentary was superb! It was so full of historical detail, and giving the time-line, was fascinating, and provided the context for the subtle shifts in attitudes to the poor and dispossessed. I had to go back several times, while watching, because I didn't want to miss what you were saying, with what I was seeing! This is a video I will re-watch again and again! I'm sorry you were suffering from a broken rib(s) that didn't come across, at all-you are a real 'Trooper'! Your empathy is conveyed in your voice-and I can imagine how harrowing it must have been for you, seeing everything you filmed for us, in-real-life. Just one request, if you can, it would be lovely to see what the Text was written on walls and screens-even some beds/bed linen, I think. Hope you feel better soon! Thanks again, love sue xxx
Thanks Sue! I don't film the words because they can be subject to copywrite - for example if it's something someone's written .. hope that makes sense! I will bare that in mind for the future though and will if I can. I'm glad you enjoyed the video so much, it's a tough subject and I did it as I don't believe it should be brushed under the carpet! My ribs are doing good, still remind me they are there when I'm trying to get comfy in bed sometimes but way better than they were! I was so invested in being at the workhouse I didn't notice how much pain I was in until I got back into the car 😂
Absolutely fantastic video and heartbreaking lucy You do a brilliant talk on these places and certainly know your history Cannot wait to look at your other places you have visited Great work and its certainly is not boring its fantastic Im on your wave length and love the victorian history Becky 🇬🇧 🇬🇧 XX
We went there a few years back ànd had a tour. It was a really interesting place. I found it to be such an emotionally sad place walking around certain areas. Families being split up straight away. I felt for the young children. Just so sad. I worked in an old victorian asylum in the early 80's as a care assistant and it reminded me of how that building felt. Sometimes I feel people would be quite happy for society to bring these workhouses back for the poor and elderly rather than them receiving their benefits.
There is definitely an atmosphere in those places, I had a temp job in the QEPH in Birmingham once and that was a hodge podge of new and Victorian buildings, I worked nights and I would be pretty much jogging down the corridors late at night as it always felt like someone was watching you! unless you have been in one you can't appreciate just how BIG they are too!
Amazing video Lucy! And the comments here are also interesting to read. Oooh my your ribs.... please take care🙏I had 10 broken ribs 3 years ago and the trauma doctor told me it would take a year until they were fully healed and although I was back on my bike pretty soon it indeed took a very long time before I could put pressure on my ribcase. So be gentle with yourself 🌷
Thank you, yes the comment section is always fascinating, I love seeing everyones point of view and on something like the workhouse which in the British psyche is quite a difficult subject - people are quite brave to give their opinions on it. Social historians are still battling behind the scenes with strong opinions if it was right or wrong, forward thinking .. I actually read there were similar institutions in The Netherlands, Belgium and France which I had never really thought about until this video because it seems such a British thing (Thanks Charles Dickens!) My ribs are okay, like you say, can't lie on them yet but I am back to normal daily activities and trying to forget them as much as I can!
Yes, two of the main hospital sites in Birmingham were originally workhouses, another became the law courts / prison lock up. I think because of the historical shame (which I don't understand myself because I think it just shows strength and human survival) they just got rid of them without a trace, most towns and cities had one but many people wouldn't know where it was x
Hi Lucy, you should definitely check out the Framework Knitting Museum in Ruddington (just south of Nottingham) it's one of my favourite museums and amazing for working class social history. You will love it!
How very interesting these buildings are, the history of how poor people had to survive and the stigma of their circumstances. Thankyou for your videos, they are so interesting.
Thank you, I am not a fan of having to cover "sad" history really - but when you are fascinated in the history of real people there is often so much struggle, it wouldn't be write to skip over it (I don't think so anyway) I just hope if people see ancestors that were housed in the workhouses they feel proud of them for what they endured, not ashamed x
My husband's GGG grandparents were agricultural labourers in east Devon, on a tenanted farm near Honiton... they ended up on the Isle of Wight in late life, having gone to find farm work in their 60s in Arreton there. They both ended up in the island's workhouse, and both died there...one in the female wing, one in the male wing. Desperate times. I hope your ribs are less painful x
That's so painfully sad isn't it? Agricultural work was so brutal, one bad harvest and your life could go down like a pack of cards. Thanks for sharing that, sad as it is real verbal social history is so valuable x
@throughlucyslens a few years ago we contacted the farm they had tenanted in Devon for many years..ancient thatched place. The current owners allowed us to visit and showed us old names carved into beams and doors. Incredible experience. It would have been a hard life there, flagstones laid on bare earth, no foundations etc.
Gosh , very emotional watching this. I can only imagine how it must have been to visit in person. Have always wondered about workhouses and you gave a very clear insight into how life must have been. I got a lump in my throat thinking about the children there and the lives they must have had. So emotional about the ones who had escaped the abuse. Thanks for carrying on and doing the filming even though you must have been in such pain. Hope you are feeling better now. Have you on my healing list. Sending healing love and thanks. Xxx
Thank you Gail. My ribs are much better now and while I was filming I didn't realise I was in pain until I got back into the car because I was so engrossed in the visit, the body is very clever like that isn't it? X
Wow Lucy. Firstly I hope you are in less pain now.❤ And thank you for such an interesting but sad video. I have researched both sides of my family and found that they were in and out of the work houses. Some going into have babies and then they came out, with their baby. My Nana use to tell my Mum that my Grandad use to be kicked under the table and have his food stolen😢. My Nana said he was a Barnardo’s boy. But I have extensively researched this but he was not. Maybe to say he was a Barnardo’s boy was better than saying he was in the workhouse. Look forward to your next video. Take care.
It truly must’ve been so hard for the people who had to use the workhouses, I’m sure that I would shed a tear going round that place, I hope your ribs are on the mend. Thank you for sharing ❤️ 😊
Thanks Dave, it did feel very heavy, but there were plenty of people there smiling and laughing and enjoying their day out - so I am a bit of a serious visitor! Ribs are much much better thank you!! :)
I can’t understand how people would think the workhouse tour would be “stark” or “boring”. It seems they just lack empathy. The bleak feeling in the rooms, peeling paint and frosted windows, the futile jobs, the idea that these people would do almost anything to provide for themselves and their families, along with the humility and willingness to swallow one’s pride that drove the determination just to survive all seem so very human, so relatable. It’s incredibly touching and such an important part of history to be reminded of, given all of our privilege in the 21st century. I bet the reviewers weren’t thinking of that as they typed up the one star review on their £600 iPhone. Ahhh, the irony. 😂
The challenging thinking has always been: how do you provide support for those who need it WITHOUT 'encouraging the indigent'. Over the generations, the line has been drawn in different places but the quandry hasnt changed
I'm not sure it will ever be solved, humans are too complex to ever put people into boxes / solutions and as a species we love working out a system .. I like to think the workhouse, brutal as it seems to us provided a place of safety and maybe a stopgap out of destitution for some ❤️
What a great look around and definitely food for thought. Times were so hard for people back then. Thankyou for this info and wonderful insight into the Workhouse. Oliver Twist is a favourite of mine too… I’m currently listening to an audible version of the book right now - how’s that for great timing. Soon be time to watch the musical as usual every Christmas and have a singalong too 😊
I might do the same! I watched the film recently too, I knew every word to the musical version when I was a kid! The workhouse was really enjoyable even though it was hard in places, I'm glad it's been restored x
Absolutely, the workhouse used to come up in conversation a lot with not many generations behind me and now it seems out of sight out of mind but I think it's an integral part of understanding theories of welfare and the welfare "states" we have today x
Yes, a challenge for those who entered these places, very tough times and many sad outcomes. Can't really add any more; great to find some books on the subject!
It's a tough one isn't it as there isn't much to say ... I read Charles Dickens "A walk through the workhouse" Just before I edited this video, only a short read but certainly an interesting contemporary account and it's available as free access online x
@@throughlucyslens yeh, look out for that one(I read a lot in the cafe close to home) - oh also, my grandparents were in a workhouse before WW2 about 2 years, did OK later on !
I’m also fascinated by the workhouse! Lucy I think you would love Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire. Really fascinating. They also filmed ‘The Mill’ there, which is a brilliant TV show.
Hi Beckie, I went to Quarry Bank a few weeks ago - it was BR-IL-LI-ANT, somewhere I had always wanted to go and spend the day in absolute awe of the building and all the people who worked there!
Lucy-thanks for the reply; I'm a bit of a 'nerd,' for the way in which 'morally improving' quotes were often emblazoned on walls, without the hint of irony, we would perceive today! Totally understand the copyright issue-although I was not aware of the constraints you were filming under. Your connection to social history is very illuminating-better than some so-called Historians, on TV! Your poor ol' ribs;that sounds SO painful! Have you tried using 'Deep Heat'? it's really soothing-as is a warm bath with some magnesium bath salts. Take care of yourself-and hope you are feeling better soon. Lots of love, sue xxx
Lucy, I have no words to express how deeply moving this visit was to me, all the stories condensed in those marks on the door, Susan and her testimony, and your narrative... wow, this was incredible. I last re read Oliver Twist when I was maybe sixteen. I think I need to read it again, under the broader perspective I surely got from this video. And I can´t figure how painful it must have been for you to film with those broken ribs. Thank you so, so much.
Thanks Maria, I read Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol EVERY autumn, it's a comfort read to me, and every year I find different things to think about, and this year that will be the case again! I am hoping to visit the home of Charles Dickens in the next few weeks for a Christmas episode so hopefully you will enjoy that x
This is just down the road from me and I haven't visited in years. It clearly had the same effect on you as it did on me. I was doing my family tree at the time and one relative took herself to the workhouse in Retford as an unmarried mother, it appears she chose to stay there for there for the rest of her life and her family took care of her child.
Thanks for sharing that, I wonder if she suffered from a post natal depression that made her feel her feel more secure in an institutionalised environment. SO many of us have ancestors that were in workhouses for one reason or another, often never talked about within families and comes as quite a shock when you see it on paper. x
Hi Lucy, I love watching your videos. I have been to Southwell but missed the infirmary. I hope your ribs heal quickly and that they weren't broken in too traumatic a way.xx
I nearly missed the infirmary too! When I came out I wanted a drink so found the cafe and there it was! I actually found the infirmary more upsetting than the workhouse itself but I think I was emotionally drained by that point... oh don't laugh but I ran over a road, caught my toe in a pot hole and fell .. in broad day light with so many people watching! At least I cheered them all up !
Much better thank you :) It is sombre, and I tried so many ways to try and lighten it up but some things just are what they are and I would be doing the people who lived there a disservice trying to make it entertaining rather than factual. It was just a really horrible place - but I hope the people that came out and built their lives back up again saw that time as helpful in some small way towards that x
Oh Lucy aren’t we lucky we have an old workhouse building here in Christchurch it’s now a museum but you can feel the hopelessness as you walk round that said it’s a hub of activity with talks garden fates exhibitions your tour was fascinating Lucy thankyou 🥰xxx
Ohhh I have made a note of this! Somewhere to visit myself. I never know if I'm quite normal being so interested in places like this but I really am. I think it's because they just show how STRONG people had to be in the past!
I was literally going to say the same thing about the Red House Museum, it’s a fascinating place and also houses a lot of history and archeological pieces from the Bronze Age until now, photos of the area and lots of historical pieces from the fusee watchmaking which the workhouse inmates worked.
This is so touching and sad. However on the house rules. Rule 7 made me smile. About anyone being saucy to the Master or Matron would be punished. I have only just found your videos and I am enjoying watching them. Thank you so much for doing this it really is so interesting and should be shown in schools. Although in the society that we live in, there would probably have to be some kind of support after watching... Poor little souls 😕😕
Thanks Elaine, I remembering learning about the workhouse at school, I don't think it's on the curriculum anymore unless you choose the "modern history" route at GCSE. Really appreciate you watching my videos and spending your time coming with me - thank you.
Another amazing video. Thanks so much, Lucy. So moving. 🙏💚 I wonder if you’d be able to visit any mother & baby homes? Not sure if there are any that have been preserved? I was born in ‘76 and, for the first two months of my life, I was in a Catholic mother & baby home in Essex (with my mum). Unfortunately, I didn’t ask her about this before she died - at only 42 years old. I knew we had been there, but she never spoke of it. Nor did I ask her about it. Now I’ll never know her/my story about that difficult time in her life. However, I do know that the Essex mother & baby home we were in is now luxury flats. Anyway, perhaps that’s something you could consider doing a video on , if there are any you could visit? Thank you x
Thanks so much for sharing this, I would love to visit one - but like you say many are a very closed off, private place. I believe (I could be wrong) you could find some information about your circumstances from the Catholic Church, if you "want" to as I know it's a very difficult thing to start, by all means email me and I can hold your hand through the process and tell you where to start. lilsparlourtube@gmail.com x
I had to watch this one twice, I'll watch it again soon...you do such a go0d job of telling the story, I get engrossed in the whole thing..I noticed your puff eyes at the start..its not the first time youve looked tired or perhaps tearful.or maybe its just to early in the morning?.. Hope your never sad. I enjoy you so much,
You are so lovely Cindy, I have been a bit sad lately, there's been a LOT going on but everything is coming back good now - I also have horrific genetic puffy eyes! If I don't get enough sleep or I'm a tiny bit stressed they look terrible. xx
A very moving video Lucy, those who rated it 'boring' in reviews would probably be more suited to a theme park, maybe? I also get emotional at places like this. Get well soon and thank you 😊
@throughlucyslens I've found this absolutely brilliant documentary about the man who built Beamish and the start of 'working museums'. I've popped the link below for you. ua-cam.com/video/YwuDCIo4hUU/v-deo.htmlsi=AM_mKNky1TjJoUpr
i had Tears watching this 😢thank you for taking us on a tour especially when you were in pain too you poor love ❤yes they strap u up with broken Ribs i know as my sweet mum broke a few ribs in the 1970s what made it worse was she had always suffered from pleurisy from a young Girl ❤so that made it worse i remember her being in bed it was early 1970s may have been late 1960s Mum and Dad had to cancel our summer Holiday as mum became quite ill 😢our GP DR Morris came as the Doctor did in them days to apply a hot poutis to mums Ribs 😊 my youngest Sister Norah was about 5 so yes was Around 1965❤now the funny amusing bit little Sister Norah kept eating mummy’s Grapes 😂well she made her self ill and ended up in a bed in mums bedroom we were in The old Rope masters House in Plymouth Dock yard then there bedroom was Massive with victorian fire place three massive windows over looking the Garden and dock yard
The do nothing for them now! They used to wrap them up but now to stop breathing difficulties you just get on with it - I found a hot water bottle and a bag of peas interchanged really helped! They are MUCH better now, the first few weeks were horrible but now it's just like a dull ache, I can't wait to be able to lie on my right side comfortably again though! Your poor Mom - hope she was okay in the end .. and weren't grapes a treat? Your sister learnt her lesson though!
I worked in a hospital that was originally a workhouse, the outside of the buildings were actually lovely. They certainly stood the test of time. It's been demolished, and a modern monstrosity has taken its place.
Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham is on the site of the Birmingham Union Workhouse, the "archway of tears" is all that remains and that too was once a very beautiful building. Now sadly mostly gone and the archway crumbling.
Thinking of the life these people lived dad to day in the work house is harrowing, we have a workhouse in my town but it is in ruins, I often thought how hard life was for children and families in those days, I did a lot of research into the lives of the children in the workhouse
Birmingham had several, the same they are all gone now apart from a few outer shells, there was quite the uproar when one of the entrances was going to be demolished, people don't want to talk about them .. but they also don't think they should be forgotten. I bet you found some very touching stories in your research x
That was, as usual, very interesting, thank you, Lucy. Yes, it was horrible for the inmates, and we hear many stories of people dying in workhouses, and so on. But at the same time, I think of what must have been the intentions of the social reformers who came up with the idea of workhouses. I can see how they would think it was a good idea, both for the councils of the time and for the people; because I suspect that their vision, if they had any kind of heart, was probably not how things turned out. I wonder whether they reflected in later years on what these places had become, whether they took the trouble to check on them (given that they were social reformers), and what they really thought of them.
@@throughlucyslensPerhaps they never saw the truth about what life was like for the inmates. Or perhaps they saw, but reasoned that it was better than the slums they had come from. I suppose we will never know unless they set out their thoughts in letters or diaries (which I haven't looked for). I just found it rather intriquing to wonder, because as you spoke in the video, I could see the logic of creating these places in the first place.
What a poignant tour! I noticed that there was text written on the objects, like the sheets, the room devider, .... in an old fashioned handwriting. I don't known what it said but I find it contributes to the experience of the visit. In my opinion it's a more authentic, personal way of giving information, context than a sign (against the wall). I hope your ribs are beter! 🤗
Thank you, there were all kinds of things written, mostly census details of the people who resided in that workhouse, I didn't film them in detail as I am always frantic about copywrite! I agree though they are a really good way of bringing somewhere to life, because for me it's always about the people!
I suppose because the council owned it, it made sense to put it to "good use" not nice for the people who lived there though. I found the little personal touches like the records and childrens toys very touching in that space.
Many thanks, it's a tough subject but I think it's getting forgotten this happened- and not too long ago so I wanted to put it there for people to see if it's something they are interested in x
I saw a really fascinating UA-cam in which Boy George traces his roots and discovers records going back several generations. Some were workhouse records of inmates. It's was a pretty moving story. I think there are several videos in which he researches his family over the last few generations.
Yes! I love this episode! I absolutely love Boy George too! It's amazing how many featured on programmes like "Who do you think you are" come across workhouse records - it just shows how many people had to endure it.
Such a poignant visit to a place of such misery. But this could have been the fate of any of our ancestors as it was so easy to lose everything. We say we are more enlightened these days but the social welfare system is still strained almost to breaking point and can’t help those who need it. Lots to think about. So glad to hear you’re on the mend and looking forward to the next visit
I read somewhere that most people are 2 or 3 pay cheques away from nothing even today, thankfully we have some systems to fall back on but they are indeed strained. Honestly you can open a can of worms talking about workhouses, social historians are always arguing about them .. but I think anything that makes us scared makes us impassioned.
I’ve wondered about the workhouses as I’ve read about them and they’ve been mentioned in shows I watch. It was really interesting to see one. Thanks! As sad as these places are, they probably, to some degree, created resilience and determination in people and their children. They might have also given others some kind of purpose or dignity. Do you think something like the workhouse, but less uncomfortable,sparse, and with more freedoms, would benefit the homeless in countries today? Would people have more hope if they lived in a modern workhouse rather than a tent city such as those that exist all over the world right now? The homeless (young and old) could be taught trades, take lessons, have access to medical help, eat three meals a day plus snacks, as well as work on site. Anyway, I hope you’re well. Have your ribs healed enough that you’re not afraid to cough? I remember once having a cracked rib, I was scared to do laugh, carry things, sneeze, etc!
I remember when my mother told me about these places & I just didn’t believe her so I just dismissed it until I was older & saw it was true 😢 It must have been so humiliating to have to go there. The only thing “good” you could say about them is it was a roof over their heads, something in their stomach’s & clean which they wouldn’t have received on the streets 🤷🏼♀️ Thanks Lucy 🥰
I was really scared of the idea of the workhouse when I was a child, I had no idea where I got it from but probably Oliver Twist or hearing people talk about it, I used to worry we would have to go one day - not realising they were long gone!
Hi, hoping your ribs are healing. That was very moving. How could people call it boring ? As you said, what were they expecting to see ? When i was a teenager saying i was bored, my dad would get so cross, he'd say only a boring person gets bored...i always remember that. Thankyou Lucy
I will be watching again as I think you gain more info the more you watch an interesting vlog such as this. It's sad enough to watch it but without the smell and the misery of inmates which would be heartbreaking. Split families how could the authorities think this was a good idea. Maybe it was safer than on the streets. What a time to live, no thanks. What are you doing running around with broken ribs so that we get to have an episode sigh? Look after yourself and hopefully someone will pamper you. Take care =-)
There was NO WAY I was missing that workhouse! I would have crawled around .. there had been people in that space before me in a much worse state than me. They split families so they were not distracted from their "work" .. and of course in the case of a couple to prevent any workhouse pregnancies and mouths to feed. They even sometimes split siblings if they were seen as being a "bad influence" on one another! Can't even imagine it can you!
@@throughlucyslens I have looked into workhouses quite a bit and some Who Do You Think You Are (one of my favourite programmes, and I don't even care if I don't know the person involved lol. )episodes have included workhouses. It's amazing how many people haven't got a clue about them. A major part of social history in England. Some of my ancestors ended up in them. =-(
They were very different and harsh times. They were beneficial in that they saved the poor from literally starving, however many aspects seem inhumane, especially separating families.
It's really difficult to come out of a modern mindset, I like to believe they thought it was for the best it's just sad the system itself would attract people who liked to be "in control" to run it in it's very nature.
You know when I film the front of the house and there's those big double doors in a grand entrance - that is those doors inside, usually only "important" people would use them as they led right to the board of guardians room, inmates and their visitors would use the entrance at the back.
how much better off were the well to do at the time? (It's hard to tell when we even hear the salaries from the 1960's to feel any equivalence to today) were there very wealthy Lord Sugars or Richard Bransons while others were destitute? Or were those not in the workhouse, just barely out of it themselves?
There were very very wealthy people, Particularly after industrialisation where people were making money from factories, house building etc. before that the really rich were landed gentry or landowners (and of course royalty) , industrialisation also saw the growth of the middle classes who would usually be safe from the workhouse. Everyone else though was working class and like we say now most people are 2 or 3 salaries away from poverty it was the same then but with no unemployment or disability benefits to fall back on the workhouse might be the only option - or committing crimes ranging from theft to prostitution just to get by for which the punishments of hard labour in prison were arguably worse than the workhouse. I hope that makes sense!
@@throughlucyslens Yes, I was just thinking that in today's day and age with literal billionaires, no one should be in poverty & was wondering if it was similar in the that time.
If the reviewers thought it was boring, they didn't have to live there imagine what the inmates thought. Some people in our day haven't any idea of social history. I won't get on my soapbox of society has not changed in many ways, that there will always be poor people as society works within a bell curve sadly.
Don’t forget this has been made to clean and tidy. We got to remember as well with that pollution and everything most some people would be preferred to die and be on the street and go to these work house.
I asked them why it was so sparce and clean and they said it's actually because it was expected to be kept like that, the walls were white washed every week and the floors were scrubbed and windows buffed. What do you think you would have done in their shoes? I'm not sure - there are people in my family tree went in there and came out and made good lives for themselves.
It's tough isn't it to approach such an emotive subject and then be needing "likes" to help more people see it. Thank you, and thank you for your empathy x
The New Poor Law was in my opinion little better than a crime against humanty and it horrifies me to realise that in that time and place I'd have fallen victim to its cruelties. Better to do something to get sent to Australia than end up in one of those hell holes.
Yes, I have 2 great grandfathers who were transported to Australia (one a Brummy and one a Londoner), and I really do think that (eventually) they made a far better life for themselves than would have ever been possible, back in England!! Other ancestors emigrated to Oz in the 19th century and likewise made a good life. Good One, Lucy, as always!! RjB 🥰
1834 marks a cruel year in the calendar of the poor in my opinion too. There have been times when I would have been in there with you too Duncan. It makes me feel angry and powerless just thinking about what these people put up with - usually for no fault of their own!
Ohhh do you know why they were transported? I find the transportation records fascinating .. stole bread? Off to Australia you go .. I have a relative that went to America "for a better life" .. but got deported back to the UK because he was a pain in the butt .. drunk and disorderly
@@throughlucyslens I must confess that my two bad boys were not bread-stealers! The London lad stole (with a mate), some clothing from a "young gentleman's academy" c.1820s and was sent down to NSW - and the Brummy, around 20 years later, broke into a pub and stole silverware and was sent down to West Aussie!!! Both very lucky with the timing, not to be hung instead of transported ....... 😰 RjB
Very lucky as we wouldn't have wonderful you!! Made me laugh the Brummie broke into a pub - my great great grandad didn't same but he stole coins from a meter instead of silverware 😂
I like that the National Trust didn't feel the need to fill the building with interpretive displays. The starkness makes it so evocative.
I think so, some people don't like how "empty" it is - but I think that just shows more clearly that most of the space within that building would have been taken up with human beings .. not furniture or clutter. It was a space with a purpose not an interior design piece (there was a couple of interactive displays but I chose to ignore them ... haha)
So heartbreaking. My great-grandmother grew up in Lambeth Workhouse with her siblings. Her father sent her mother to an insane asylum so that he could bring home another woman; when he disappeared on an alcoholic bender, this new woman sent the children to the workhouse. He ended up spending time in jail for hard labour for abandoning his children. Years later he pulled his son out of the workshouse to join this woman and their new family, but left my great-grandmother and her sisters in the workhouse. She eventually left at 16 to go into service, and made her way to Canada to make a life for herself. She married a man who was sent to Canada (against his will and with living family in England) to Canada as a "Home Child".
What an incredibly sad but poignant story that just underlines the problems people had to deal with (I have a great, great Grandfather that did hard labour too - but in Pentonville!) It probably sounds a bit odd to say I love reading these stories but I really do - not only because they are very interesting but also because they are tales of strength and survival against all the odds x
My great great grandparents were "inmates" at a workhouse in Birmingham which I believe became Selly Oak hospital. Sadly both died in the workhouse. My Granddad's was a BHC also sent to Canada as an 8 year old in 1912. He never saw his Mum again as she died before he was able to come back home. My Gran wasn't made aware of his whereabouts until she threatened Vincent Hudson that unless she was told where he was she would never set foot in church again. He informed her that her son had been sent away, reminding her that she actually had given her permission for her son to be sent wherever it would improve his quality of life. I don't think Gran ever forgave the church for that. Heartbreaking reading the letters my Tommy and Gran wrote to each other
A "home Child"- OMG, I have nightmares of poor young Anne Shirley's early life as a home child in the fictional Anne of Green Gables with Mrs. Hammond and 10 kids to look after! 😱
@@throughlucyslens That is exactly right. They were survivors, they started all over in a strange new land, traumatized by their past but not defeated. I feel honooured that I was given the gift of uncovering their stories through genealogical research. It makes me determined to participate in a society that gives a hand up to those who need it, and it disturbs me that there are people without empathy who would take us back to those awful Victorian values (or lack thereof!)
So very very sad, but really interesting. Hope your ribs heal quickly Lucy x
You've done it again!
What a cracking and emotional little film.
A side note I remember one visit to my grandmother as an early teen with my father to find her worried beyond belief as her electricity bill was overdue £12 and adamantly believed she would be taken to the Poor/Work House.
My father a man of few words took the Bill, told me to "Mind the shop" and strolled out.
Returning hours later with a receipt plus a credit for a hundred pounds.
I love this so much!!! I think it just goes to show how far the shadow of the workhouse cast in the minds of people - and I hope that credit kept the worry away for some time .. as for your Father - I do love a man of action! My own Dad was very much the same!
We went there a couple of years ago and thought it was an amazing homage to such a dark part of our quite recent past. And I also found it interesting how quickly it was left to go derelict and almost forgotten purposefully, as though to forget it's legacy in our world. I think you did it a lot of justice
Thank you, that means a lot! The workhouse here in Birmingham was left to ruin and then only an archway remained - they called in the "arch way of tears" there was a lot of upset when they wanted to demolish it because this history shouldn't be brushed under the carpet, as distasteful as it is to some people x
These were sad and unforgiving times. As an empath I find it heartbreaking to think that young and old were treated so badly just because they were poor. I remember being very moved reading about the old couple in Cider with Rosie, who were sent to the Workhouse and died within a week of each other because they were segregated. Institutions of misery. Five million died in them but there were a few who overcame. Thanks for today’s video Lucy.
Thanks Mary, I was really unsure whether to cover it or not because there's still this shame associated with it - I don't see that at all, I see it as people doing their best. My visit was a struggle, I was really moved and the people working there must have thought I was crazy! A lot of visitors were laughing and enjoying it and children were learning about history so I'm glad it's there!
My 2 times great grandfather died in the work house. He was listed as a ‘gentleman’ on his daughter’s marriage certificate and had served with the British Government in Parramatta, New South Wales, but presumably when he returned to uk, that was the only health care available to him.
Gosh that is absolutely fascinating! What a thing to find out - and what a shame! Did you find out if he was ever discharged?
@ No I don’t think so. He lived in London and I think he must have been quite ill when he went in. His daughter, my great grandmother was born in Australia, but then lived in the north of England with her husband and five children, and his son was serving abroad. I believe they didn’t even know until they were told of his death.
Oh bless them. So sad how people could just vanish into these places x
Oooo Lucy this was a hard one it’s the real Halloween 👻. So upsetting, the frosted windows so children couldn’t see their parents 🥹. Horrific because it’s so real and many suffered due to the demands at the time. I always say we are rich, we are lucky !!! No matter how bad things get I’m so glad I wasn’t born into that age. Thanks to the national trust this place is a reminder of those awful times. I did feel it was a little staged due to the fact it was so clean inside n out. I used to work at Wordsley hospital which was a workhouse years ago, many elderly wouldn’t go there because they remembered it’s past 🥹.
Thank you so much for your empathy and knowledge of this place. Bless ya 🥰
Funnily enough I did ask why it was so sterile and apparently it's because it actually was - someone had to whitewash the walls every week (they found thousands of layers of paint) and the floors were scrubbed away. It had to be kept sparse and clean for hygiene - the lack of furniture is because very little remains and very little was there apart from the most basic wooden benches and tables so they say it's authentic .. like you though I found the cellar and upstairs with peeling paint and mouldy windows more what I expected .. and preferred!
Hi Lucy, I absolutely love your visits to historical housing in the UK, we just don’t have anything like this in the US- the Industrial Revolution played out a bit differently in our two countries, and I find that social history in the UK is a lot more cohesive due its smaller geographical area and higher population density, leading to more similarities in lifestyles and living conditions. Your channel is as good as, if not better than, any UK urban exploration channel I follow. Wish I were able to explore Britain’s social history with you in person!
In the US they had the "Poor Farm" system, and of course there were lots of orphanages.
Thank you, I am quite speechless by your comment, it really has meant a lot to me. I am not the most confident person in the world and I am just doing what I love and having the pleasure to share it with others. I need to brush up on my American social history to be honest, I am okay with the 20th century urban history in the states but not much else - I imagine it would be a whole new blank sheet - but I am very willing to start writing on it :)
Thanks Sheila x
@@throughlucyslens I would love to watch, should you decide to do so! Love your channel 😊 - watching from Maryland, US.
We were still beating, raping, and lynching our "slaves". And the poor in the north were living 20 to a room and starving on the street. There is no valor in being poor.
I have visited this workhouse. I found it extremely emotionally moving. I was unsettled by my visit for some time. The infirmary was an equally emotive place to visit. I started my general nurse training in 1977 and I can’t remember elderly patients becoming distressed at being admitted into hospital. This was because they thought they were being admitted into the workhouse. 😢
Oh bless them that's so sad! Have you read "Shadows of the workhouse" by Jennifer Worth, the same author as Call the Midwife? She tells similar tales - and if you haven't read it it's a very good book. The visit was with me for weeks too I don't think I'll ever forget it x
This is timely content, Lucy. Winter is closing fast and local service organizations are struggling to find suitable accommodations for the unhoused. Families headed by adults suffering mental illness or substance abuse, whose children have behavior issues, are particularly difficult to place. If Southwell's facilities were dropped from the sky onto an empty lot, some social workers I know would shout thanks to the heavens and rush to tell their clients the good news. Never mind the lack of decor, here are roofs and walls, warmth and safety, and regular meals!
Are you a social worker? I have worked in communities my whole career and winter is always so hard every year, we do our best but there's never enough.
@@throughlucyslens No, I'm not a social worker, but many of my friends are Friends (Quakers) and we share your concerns.
❤️❤️❤️
Be thankful for your enslavement.
How to send this link to Prince William ? His concern, recognition about homelesness, involvement and commitment could move boulders in establishing modern day, focused, refuges and support for people in such need.
Thank you Lucy for such a thought provoking video. I found it very interesting how the use of the building changed over time. It's very sad to think of how people were so undervalued in the past. Most of us here in the UK are very lucky.It really is time for everyone to have access to everything they need to thrive. A very emotional reaction from me.
I agree with you so much, I've never understood why some feel the need to hold people back, let us all thrive, do what makes us happy. Even though everything isn't how my little brain wishes it was we certainly have it a LOT Better now ❤️
It all started with the enclosure of the commons, encroaching on peoples ability to provide for themselves from the commons and went on from there . Dickens also made his feelings know through the character of Betty Higden in 'Our Mutual Friend'. Thank you Lucy, such a hard scabbed life some poor people were forced to live.
Yes, a land grab.
I need to read our mutual friend again, not read that for a long time :)
@throughlucyslens a great read, but then Dickens always is!
My great great grandad was in the workhouse in Hereford. I'm proud of him, never ashamed.
Absolutely. You should be ❤️
At least this system was established. A bit harsh and crude in “ modern” perceptions, but functional and providing an alternative refuge to homelessness or imprisonment.
It was indeed the start of some kind of universal welfare and like you say it just seems so brutal to our modern eyes.
That was sooooo interesting. What a sad and heavy place. Could you imagine that day in and day out without any joy, rest, or entertainment of any kind.
I wonder did you just dissociate from it in the end - did they find small pleasures in tobacco or homemade liquor - not dissimilar to in a prison situation. Many long term residents became so institutionalised they could hardly function in life outside of the workhouse once they closed. So heavy but so important to remember them x
@@throughlucyslens such a sad and dreary life. May God rest and give peace their weary souls.
Hi Lucy, that was so fascinating. I obviously knew about Workhouses, but not in a sense of knowing how they worked. There was a Workhouse in High Barnet, where I live. It was in Union Street, and we were sort of told about it at School, but never really understood what it all meant. The Workhouse has long since been demolished, but there are many Alms Houses in the vicinity, and my best friend worked as a gardener there for many years. At least those poor people had food and a bed and some sort of warmth, but what a terribly sad existence. Your narration of these videos is perfect, explaining everything in simple and real terms. Thank you for all you do to provide these videos for us to enjoy. OH, you didn't tell us how you managed to break your ribs - maybe not for our ears ! Anyway Lucy, take special care and I wish you a speedy recovery. X X X X
How interesting it was in "Union Street" - I imagine the street was named after the Union of Guardians and the Workhouse - there were so many scattered all over the country, and it's soooo hard to find information about them bar a couple of very good websites (workhouses.org being the best imo - it's a lifes work that website) because they were closed, changed used or demolished and forgotten about. Quite a few of the big hospitals were on the sites of workhouses too - that's certainly the case in Birmingham.
.... oh and I broke my ribs crossing a road .. that simple .. I tripped in a pot hole .. yes, story of my life! :)
I can't even imagine living in that environment. It's truly so sad to think of families separated because of poverty. Thank you again for another fine video
Thank you for spending your time coming with me. Yes the workhouses really are a sad sad part of history but I think it's one of those things we need to remember to stop it ever happening again!
Excellent. Excellent. Thank you, Lucy. Oliver Twist is not one of favourite Dickens' works, but we had to read it at school, in order to then contrast it with Tom Brown's School Days. Finally, comparing the two with Colditz by Pat Reid. Three very different styles of "incarceration", as it were. Food was always an issue. Routine, lodging, rules and discipline came next. The ever present punishments loomed ominously. The question of indentured servitude was brought up a few times and was soon dismissed as a pathetic excuse to defend slavery as an acceptable social concept. Seeing this reconstituted workhouse turns my mind to how we view and handle poverty, education and prisons.
You did an outstanding job here. Cheers.
Thank you Tom, really appreciate this, I was so worried about publishing this video because lets face it it's a not a FUN topic .. but sometimes the most interesting things make you think, one of the main feelings I had walking about was anger really, like you say I don't feel indentured servitude is ever acceptable. Why couldn't people work to earn money which might in turn allow them the means to leave and rent a home, find a job .. because that wouldn't have created a vast income off their free labour would it? Probably won't surprise you to hear I don't like being told what to do so I would have been the most awful resident there .. I imagine I would have been familiar with that solitary confinement cell .. and it would have been WORTH it!
I remember my Nanna telling me about the workhouse and what a terribly shameful place it was to end up. She was never rich but managed to stay out of it even after she had my dad out of wedlock and her family shunned her. I can see why folk did not want to end up there. Rotten places for the most vulnerable. Thank goodness things have changed since then. A very insightful and interesting video.. thank you. Well done for soldering on with bust ribs too!
Thanks for sharing that, what an incredibly strong woman your Nanna was! It was no easy task bringing up a child as an unmarried woman. I hope she found happiness and chosen family after her family shunned her! x
@throughlucyslens she did! Had another son and then became a housekeeper who she eventually married. The kindest lady you could ever meet, managed to see the good in everyone (and made the best egg custard ever! )
You have done it again Lucy. A perfect subject brilliantly presented. Such a heartbreaking place but so glad we can still see it, however hard it is not to cry for those poor poor people.
Thank you so much.
Thank you Janet, I wasn't sure if I would ever make a video about my visit because it is so sad, but in a way I wanted to try and dispel the shame people feel if they find anyone in the workhouse in their family trees - they were just doing their best with the only situation available to them outside a life of crime really. I highly respect that.
I went to southwell in August 2024. As an avid history fan, I found this very moving and the stories of the people who lived here over the years. I never found it boring, just take your time and read the stories. Perfect to keep you grounded.
Absolutely - I love that about keeping you grounded. Agree entirely ❤️
I'm obsessed with history and this place is the top of my list to visit. Thank you so much for sharing this brilliant video.
You are so welcome! It was a bucket list place for me too, so moving but beautifully and respectfully done. Hope you get to visit one day but in the meantime thanks for watching and coming with me ❤️
Just found your channel. Just wonderful. I am a professional Historic Preservationist from the U .S. Exploring house museums solo is my absolute favorite thing in the world to do. I’ve not been to the U. K yet, so thank you for allowing me to “travel and explore “ with you.
Oh you are so welcome! Which properties do you work on? What an amazing job! It's my dream one day to come over to the USA and start exploring your historic houses! One day! 🤞🏻🤞🏻
Another fantastic video Lucy, thank you. I always find workhouses and their history hugely emotional too. We still have many of them here in Ireland... some abandoned, some repurposed etc, a lot of which were used during the Famine by incredibly destitute people. I think these buildings really hold onto a lot of pain. I hope your ribs are healing. Take care of yourself ❤
You know I've read so much about the workhouses in Ireland over the past couple of weeks - they are so well documented and actually most of the photographic evidence comes from the homes in Ireland too, particularly in relation to the famine. I really do need to visit because I am really interested in the magdeline homes too - I promise I can be fun sometimes though 😂
@@throughlucyslens Yes, the Magdalene Laundries are such a horrific part of our history. And shamefully recent as well. From a historical point of view it's fascinating but I think more importantly it's something we need to learn from and make sure is never, ever repeated. And thankfully, yes, I think the Irish and the British are wonderful at accepting the darker side of life while still having a brilliant sense of humour! 😁
Yes I do adapt the "if you don't laugh you'll cry" view of life! There were some quite funny stories about people in the workhouse that went out of their way to be a pain in the butt for the authorities - i didn't have time to fit them in but on reflection I wish I did!
My great grandmother was so scared of being put in the workhouse. It took a long time to convince her these places did not exist. She passed away peacefully at home at the age of 93!
So awful how they cast such a frightening shadow. My Dads parents lost their home in the early 1950s, they were homeless for a while and my Dad and his younger siblings slept in the front of a boarded up shop as his mother was so terrified of the "assistance". My Dad and those siblings all passed away in their 50s from very unusual types of cancer where as the older ones who didn't sleep in the fertility shop lived long lives. We've often wondered if those difficult years caused it - maybe damp or asbestos. They did their best but shows you just how scared people still were long after they had gone x
This was an amazing vlog thanks so much
I grew up in Southwell 1968-1987 as a local brownie and guide we went to as was then Greet house and Caudwell house to spend time with the seniors and children, especially at Christmas when we would go to sing songs and carols
I haven’t been here in over 50 years you have inspired me to return , a very moving and sensitive presentation thanks so much xx
Thank you so much for sharing this, I love to hear this place was part of the community. They did mention there was a children's home on the estate but I wasn't sure where.
It was such a moving place, it's hard not to be sad there but it's so rich in real LIFE! Loved it x
15:22 that long bench is based on an orkney creepie stool! I made one at work and use it as a side table and love it. But very ancient style of milking stool ☺️
I agree about that last room being so moving
Ohhh I've never heard of one of those,
I'm pretty rubbish at more ancient history and customs - I need to get better!
Brillant vlogg always history utube channel 😊🎉😢😊 a big fan since day one in September l have been a fan for over a year lam happy to be a histiry fan of your utube channel 🎉😊 always
I agree. Lucy got me through a most difficult year just by being her beautiful self and taking us along. I hope she knows how loved she is. ❤✌️
Hey Stephen! Thank you!! Yes, a year, can you believe it? I don't think I can sometimes! :)
Okay Andrea, I'm crying not you ... I hope your year is on the up .. let me know if there is anything I can do x
I think you said it, though: the point is to reflect. History is full of so many lessons to those who take the time to reflect. That's why I believe we need to preserve every part of history, the good, bad and the ugly.
Absolutely - sorry for late reply for some reason this comment had been hidden! ❤️
I remember, when I researched my family history a few years ago, hoping that none of them had been in the workhouse, and thankfully I didn't find anyone that had, though times had been hard for many of them. They were terrible places, but if it was a choice between that and sleeping on the streets then there wasn't really a choice was there. It was very sad to see how those poor people were living, and makes me appreciate how easy we have it now by comparison. Thank you for sharing your experience there, it's important to know what life could be like back then. I hope your ribs are much better now 🙏🏽x
Thanks Margaret, I think I've found just one but it's complicated - I'm hoping I can find out more and share it x
One of my relatives died in a workhouse in Cornwall, I never knew until my son was researching his ancestry. My mother was always such a snob, and I don't think she would have divulged this, but I am certain she was aware of the fact. A very interesting video. Thankyou Lucy.
Thank you so much, it's sad how it's brushed under the carpet. I always wonder if they feel more ashamed no one helped them, I don't know, but it certainly wasn't talked about x
The whole work house situation really underlines the importance of not having policy makers create policy without input from those to whom the policies are directed, no matter how well meaning they are.
Louder for the people at the back - love this! x
Thank you for all your reports on housing.
This one, in particular, gave an insight into "social security. " and how much things have changed since then.
Thank you ❤
Absolutely, I think really the work house was the birth of social security, even if for our modern eyes and ears it seems brutal and inhumane x
I'm so glad the algorithm brought me to your channel, Lucy. That's the second video today as they are both subjects very dear to my heart. My 2nd great grandfather and his disabled son died in the Nitshill Workhouse, Glasgow. I've never entered on or been on a tour, so this video was a great insight to me. It was such a sad end for so many after a lifetime of struggle and poverty to be so humiliated by the government who deemed them unworthy. I hope you are fully recovered now, and thank you so much again.
Hello, thanks so much for sharing about your G Grandfather and son, it's heartbreaking but even more so your Great G Uncle was disabled. Felt very sad reading that and also humbled you felt able to share. I am very much better now thank you!! I am so glad that rib pain has gone, it was absolutely horrible! x
Thank you, Lucy, for your kindness. He died at 80 in there as he could no longer work to support his youngest disabled son. Robert my 2nd great uncle died a few years later in there in 1915. I can tell you, I've shed tears over this as I've become so involved in their lives. Thank you again for giving me comfort and you have a new dedicated follower. @throughlucyslens
Thoroughly appreciated this one. The U.S. also had workhouses, but I don't know of any living museums such as this. Thank you for the time, and energy - and for your good spirits, despite the pain you must have been in. Hope your ribs are feeling much better by now!
Thanks Kathleen! I did wonder if there were similar places in the USA, I knew they had them in mainland Europe so presumed they must have. We are very lucky here to have so many places like this restored for future generations to learn from x
I love your fascinating videos .I hope you are recovering now from your injuries.
Thank you so much, I am, they are much better thank you!
I live fairly close to the workhouse and have been here several times. Such a heart breaking place but a place that kept people off the streets in Victorian times 😔
It did indeed have a job and for some people I always think it probably saved their lives even if in our modern eyes we can't really get our heads around why they thought treating people like that was okay.
So interesting and sad, thank you for sharing 😊great narrative as usual😅
Thank you. I really really tried to not make it all doom and gloom but it was hard
To find any happy stories! All I could come up with was "better than starving in the street" which I guess it was.. maybe! Cripes it was a tough one! But weirdly very enjoyable as it's a topic I really enjoy ... 🙃
Quarry bank mill near Manchester should be on your radar too. That's very well preserved and tells the story of similarly hard times. They took children from the workhouses as cheap labour to work in the mills.
I went a couple of weeks ago and I LOVED it! I have relatives that worked in the mills and it was great to see the jobs they did I had heard them explain and the apprentice house was incredible! Video will be a couple of weeks I think x
Thank you for sharing a look into this world since I'm in America. I'm not sure if I had relatives there or not, I think mine came over far before.
You are very welcome, thank you for coming with me. Do you know when they emigrated? x
@@throughlucyslens My English side /my Maiden name came over in the 1600s. But like most Americans, I'm a Heinz 57 or mutt lol. Mostly German on both sides.
Hi Lucy! This was an excellent video, and your commentary was superb! It was so full of historical detail, and giving the time-line, was fascinating, and provided the context for the subtle shifts in attitudes to the poor and dispossessed. I had to go back several times, while watching, because I didn't want to miss what you were saying, with what I was seeing! This is a video I will re-watch again and again! I'm sorry you were suffering from a broken rib(s) that didn't come across, at all-you are a real 'Trooper'! Your empathy is conveyed in your voice-and I can imagine how harrowing it must have been for you, seeing everything you filmed for us, in-real-life. Just one request, if you can, it would be lovely to see what the Text was written on walls and screens-even some beds/bed linen, I think. Hope you feel better soon! Thanks again, love sue xxx
Thanks Sue! I don't film the words because they can be subject to copywrite - for example if it's something someone's written .. hope that makes sense! I will bare that in mind for the future though and will if I can. I'm glad you enjoyed the video so much, it's a tough subject and I did it as I don't believe it should be brushed under the carpet! My ribs are doing good, still remind me they are there when I'm trying to get comfy in bed sometimes but way better than they were! I was so invested in being at the workhouse I didn't notice how much pain I was in until I got back into the car 😂
Absolutely fantastic video and heartbreaking lucy
You do a brilliant talk on these places and certainly know your history
Cannot wait to look at your other places you have visited
Great work and its certainly is not boring its fantastic
Im on your wave length and love the victorian history
Becky 🇬🇧 🇬🇧 XX
Thanks Becky - really appreciated!
We went there a few years back ànd had a tour. It was a really interesting place.
I found it to be such an emotionally sad place walking around certain areas. Families being split up straight away. I felt for the young children. Just so sad.
I worked in an old victorian asylum in the early 80's as a care assistant and it reminded me of how that building felt.
Sometimes I feel people would be quite happy for society to bring these workhouses back for the poor and elderly rather than them receiving their benefits.
There is definitely an atmosphere in those places, I had a temp job in the QEPH in Birmingham once and that was a hodge podge of new and Victorian buildings, I worked nights and I would be pretty much jogging down the corridors late at night as it always felt like someone was watching you! unless you have been in one you can't appreciate just how BIG they are too!
Amazing video Lucy! And the comments here are also interesting to read.
Oooh my your ribs.... please take care🙏I had 10 broken ribs 3 years ago and the trauma doctor told me it would take a year until they were fully healed and although I was back on my bike pretty soon it indeed took a very long time before I could put pressure on my ribcase.
So be gentle with yourself 🌷
Thank you, yes the comment section is always fascinating, I love seeing everyones point of view and on something like the workhouse which in the British psyche is quite a difficult subject - people are quite brave to give their opinions on it. Social historians are still battling behind the scenes with strong opinions if it was right or wrong, forward thinking .. I actually read there were similar institutions in The Netherlands, Belgium and France which I had never really thought about until this video because it seems such a British thing (Thanks Charles Dickens!) My ribs are okay, like you say, can't lie on them yet but I am back to normal daily activities and trying to forget them as much as I can!
Fascinating, there are surprisingly few of these left. Even those that evolved over time, usually into hospital and care homes. Thank you
Yes, two of the main hospital sites in Birmingham were originally workhouses, another became the law courts / prison lock up. I think because of the historical shame (which I don't understand myself because I think it just shows strength and human survival) they just got rid of them without a trace, most towns and cities had one but many people wouldn't know where it was x
Hi Lucy, you should definitely check out the Framework Knitting Museum in Ruddington (just south of Nottingham) it's one of my favourite museums and amazing for working class social history. You will love it!
Hi Alex, thank you! This sounds great for my hidden museums series - thank you :)
How very interesting these buildings are, the history of how poor people had to survive and the stigma of their circumstances.
Thankyou for your videos, they are so interesting.
Thank you, I am not a fan of having to cover "sad" history really - but when you are fascinated in the history of real people there is often so much struggle, it wouldn't be write to skip over it (I don't think so anyway) I just hope if people see ancestors that were housed in the workhouses they feel proud of them for what they endured, not ashamed x
My husband's GGG grandparents were agricultural labourers in east Devon, on a tenanted farm near Honiton... they ended up on the Isle of Wight in late life, having gone to find farm work in their 60s in Arreton there. They both ended up in the island's workhouse, and both died there...one in the female wing, one in the male wing. Desperate times. I hope your ribs are less painful x
That's so painfully sad isn't it? Agricultural work was so brutal, one bad harvest and your life could go down like a pack of cards. Thanks for sharing that, sad as it is real verbal social history is so valuable x
@throughlucyslens a few years ago we contacted the farm they had tenanted in Devon for many years..ancient thatched place. The current owners allowed us to visit and showed us old names carved into beams and doors. Incredible experience. It would have been a hard life there, flagstones laid on bare earth, no foundations etc.
Gosh , very emotional watching this. I can only imagine how it must have been to visit in person. Have always wondered about workhouses and you gave a very clear insight into how life must have been. I got a lump in my throat thinking about the children there and the lives they must have had. So emotional about the ones who had escaped the abuse.
Thanks for carrying on and doing the filming even though you must have been in such pain. Hope you are feeling better now. Have you on my healing list. Sending healing love and thanks. Xxx
Thank you Gail. My ribs are much better now and while I was filming I didn't realise I was in pain until I got back into the car because I was so engrossed in the visit, the body is very clever like that isn't it? X
Wow Lucy. Firstly I hope you are in less pain now.❤ And thank you for such an interesting but sad video. I have researched both sides of my family and found that they were in and out of the work houses. Some going into have babies and then they came out, with their baby. My Nana use to tell my Mum that my Grandad use to be kicked under the table and have his food stolen😢. My Nana said he was a Barnardo’s boy. But I have extensively researched this but he was not. Maybe to say he was a Barnardo’s boy was better than saying he was in the workhouse.
Look forward to your next video. Take care.
Oh gosh it's all so sad, but thank you so much for sharing. So so many people went through it and it's usually so hidden. X
It truly must’ve been so hard for the people who had to use the workhouses, I’m sure that I would shed a tear going round that place, I hope your ribs are on the mend. Thank you for sharing ❤️ 😊
Thanks Dave, it did feel very heavy, but there were plenty of people there smiling and laughing and enjoying their day out - so I am a bit of a serious visitor! Ribs are much much better thank you!! :)
I can’t understand how people would think the workhouse tour would be “stark” or “boring”. It seems they just lack empathy. The bleak feeling in the rooms, peeling paint and frosted windows, the futile jobs, the idea that these people would do almost anything to provide for themselves and their families, along with the humility and willingness to swallow one’s pride that drove the determination just to survive all seem so very human, so relatable. It’s incredibly touching and such an important part of history to be reminded of, given all of our privilege in the 21st century. I bet the reviewers weren’t thinking of that as they typed up the one star review on their £600 iPhone. Ahhh, the irony. 😂
Ironic indeed 😂
Thanks Lucy, your getting good at this.👏👏👏
Oh bless you, thanks! This one took aaaaagesss and I was worried about it being too sad,
But I still think it's a very interesting place!
The challenging thinking has always been: how do you provide support for those who need it WITHOUT 'encouraging the indigent'. Over the generations, the line has been drawn in different places but the quandry hasnt changed
I'm not sure it will ever be solved, humans are too complex to ever put people into boxes / solutions and as a species we love working out a system .. I like to think the workhouse, brutal as it seems to us provided a place of safety and maybe a stopgap out of destitution for some ❤️
What a great look around and definitely food for thought. Times were so hard for people back then. Thankyou for this info and wonderful insight into the Workhouse. Oliver Twist is a favourite of mine too… I’m currently listening to an audible version of the book right now - how’s that for great timing. Soon be time to watch the musical as usual every Christmas and have a singalong too 😊
I might do the same! I watched the film recently too, I knew every word to the musical version when I was a kid! The workhouse was really enjoyable even though it was hard in places, I'm glad it's been restored x
Such an interesting video! Thanks for creating. Hope your ribs are all sorted now! ✨
All good - but they took AGES to stop hurting! Could have been a lot worse though so always look on the bright side (or something like that!)
We love to think of the past as simpler times, easy to romanticize...but there are darker stories we tend to forget or pass over. ❤😢
Absolutely, the workhouse used to come up in conversation a lot with not many generations behind me and now it seems out of sight out of mind but I think it's an integral part of understanding theories of welfare and the welfare "states" we have today x
Oh wow, they filmed at that workhouse when they did '24 hours in the past'. There were various celebrities in it!
I think they did! I have never actually seen it but I think it had Ruth Goodman in it didn't it? I absolutely LOVE her so should watch!
Yes, a challenge for those who entered these places, very tough times and many sad outcomes. Can't really add any more; great to find some books on the subject!
It's a tough one isn't it as there isn't much to say ... I read Charles Dickens "A walk through the workhouse" Just before I edited this video, only a short read but certainly an interesting contemporary account and it's available as free access online x
@@throughlucyslens yeh, look out for that one(I read a lot in the cafe close to home) - oh also, my grandparents were in a workhouse before WW2 about 2 years, did OK later on !
They were a help to some people, I'm proud of the people who went through it to make their lives better x
I love how you tell the stories thank you❤
My pleasure 😊I adore making them!
I’m also fascinated by the workhouse! Lucy I think you would love Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire. Really fascinating. They also filmed ‘The Mill’ there, which is a brilliant TV show.
Hi Beckie, I went to Quarry Bank a few weeks ago - it was BR-IL-LI-ANT, somewhere I had always wanted to go and spend the day in absolute awe of the building and all the people who worked there!
@@throughlucyslens Oh I’m so glad you enjoyed it as much as I did! Xx
Lucy-thanks for the reply; I'm a bit of a 'nerd,' for the way in which 'morally improving' quotes were often emblazoned on walls, without the hint of irony, we would perceive today! Totally understand the copyright issue-although I was not aware of the constraints you were filming under. Your connection to social history is very illuminating-better than some so-called Historians, on TV!
Your poor ol' ribs;that sounds SO painful! Have you tried using 'Deep Heat'? it's really soothing-as is a warm bath with some magnesium bath salts. Take care of yourself-and hope you are feeling better soon. Lots of love, sue xxx
Thanks Sue, I love magnesium!!! I get so many aches and pains (time of life...) and it really helps! ❤️❤️❤️
Lucy, I have no words to express how deeply moving this visit was to me, all the stories condensed in those marks on the door, Susan and her testimony, and your narrative... wow, this was incredible. I last re read Oliver Twist when I was maybe sixteen. I think I need to read it again, under the broader perspective I surely got from this video. And I can´t figure how painful it must have been for you to film with those broken ribs. Thank you so, so much.
Thanks Maria, I read Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol EVERY autumn, it's a comfort read to me, and every year I find different things to think about, and this year that will be the case again! I am hoping to visit the home of Charles Dickens in the next few weeks for a Christmas episode so hopefully you will enjoy that x
@@throughlucyslens oh, that will be awesome!
This is just down the road from me and I haven't visited in years. It clearly had the same effect on you as it did on me. I was doing my family tree at the time and one relative took herself to the workhouse in Retford as an unmarried mother, it appears she chose to stay there for there for the rest of her life and her family took care of her child.
Thanks for sharing that, I wonder if she suffered from a post natal depression that made her feel her feel more secure in an institutionalised environment. SO many of us have ancestors that were in workhouses for one reason or another, often never talked about within families and comes as quite a shock when you see it on paper. x
Hi Lucy, I love watching your videos. I have been to Southwell but missed the infirmary. I hope your ribs heal quickly and that they weren't broken in too traumatic a way.xx
I nearly missed the infirmary too! When I came out I wanted a drink so found the cafe and there it was! I actually found the infirmary more upsetting than the workhouse itself but I think I was emotionally drained by that point... oh don't laugh but I ran over a road, caught my toe in a pot hole and fell .. in broad day light with so many people watching! At least I cheered them all up !
Thanks, Lucy. So much information and rather sombre.
I do hope that your ribs are more comfortable now 😊
Much better thank you :) It is sombre, and I tried so many ways to try and lighten it up but some things just are what they are and I would be doing the people who lived there a disservice trying to make it entertaining rather than factual. It was just a really horrible place - but I hope the people that came out and built their lives back up again saw that time as helpful in some small way towards that x
Oh Lucy aren’t we lucky we have an old workhouse building here in Christchurch it’s now a museum but you can feel the hopelessness as you walk round that said it’s a hub of activity with talks garden fates exhibitions your tour was fascinating Lucy thankyou 🥰xxx
Ohhh I have made a note of this! Somewhere to visit myself. I never know if I'm quite normal being so interested in places like this but I really am. I think it's because they just show how STRONG people had to be in the past!
I was literally going to say the same thing about the Red House Museum, it’s a fascinating place and also houses a lot of history and archeological pieces from the Bronze Age until now, photos of the area and lots of historical pieces from the fusee watchmaking which the workhouse inmates worked.
This is so touching and sad. However on the house rules. Rule 7 made me smile. About anyone being saucy to the Master or Matron would be punished. I have only just found your videos and I am enjoying watching them. Thank you so much for doing this it really is so interesting and should be shown in schools. Although in the society that we live in, there would probably have to be some kind of support after watching... Poor little souls 😕😕
Thanks Elaine, I remembering learning about the workhouse at school, I don't think it's on the curriculum anymore unless you choose the "modern history" route at GCSE. Really appreciate you watching my videos and spending your time coming with me - thank you.
Another amazing video. Thanks so much, Lucy. So moving. 🙏💚
I wonder if you’d be able to visit any mother & baby homes? Not sure if there are any that have been preserved? I was born in ‘76 and, for the first two months of my life, I was in a Catholic mother & baby home in Essex (with my mum). Unfortunately, I didn’t ask her about this before she died - at only 42 years old.
I knew we had been there, but she never spoke of it. Nor did I ask her about it. Now I’ll never know her/my story about that difficult time in her life. However, I do know that the Essex mother & baby home we were in is now luxury flats. Anyway, perhaps that’s something you could consider doing a video on , if there are any you could visit? Thank you x
Thanks so much for sharing this, I would love to visit one - but like you say many are a very closed off, private place. I believe (I could be wrong) you could find some information about your circumstances from the Catholic Church, if you "want" to as I know it's a very difficult thing to start, by all means email me and I can hold your hand through the process and tell you where to start. lilsparlourtube@gmail.com x
I had to watch this one twice, I'll watch it again soon...you do such a go0d job of telling the story, I get engrossed in the whole thing..I noticed your puff eyes at the start..its not the first time youve looked tired or perhaps tearful.or maybe its just to early in the morning?.. Hope your never sad. I enjoy you so much,
You are so lovely Cindy, I have been a bit sad lately, there's been a LOT going on but everything is coming back good now - I also have horrific genetic puffy eyes! If I don't get enough sleep or I'm a tiny bit stressed they look terrible. xx
A very moving video Lucy, those who rated it 'boring' in reviews would probably be more suited to a theme park, maybe? I also get emotional at places like this. Get well soon and thank you 😊
Thank you - sorry for delay in replying a load of my comments had been hidden! X
@throughlucyslens I've found this absolutely brilliant documentary about the man who built Beamish and the start of 'working museums'. I've popped the link below for you. ua-cam.com/video/YwuDCIo4hUU/v-deo.htmlsi=AM_mKNky1TjJoUpr
i had Tears watching this 😢thank you for taking us on a tour especially when you were in pain too you poor love ❤yes they strap u up with broken Ribs i know as my sweet mum broke a few ribs in the 1970s
what made it worse was she had always suffered from pleurisy from a young Girl ❤so that made it worse i remember her being in bed it was early 1970s may have been late 1960s Mum and Dad had to cancel our summer Holiday as mum became quite ill 😢our GP DR Morris came as the Doctor did in them days to apply a hot poutis to mums Ribs 😊
my youngest Sister Norah was about 5 so yes was Around 1965❤now the funny amusing bit little Sister Norah kept eating mummy’s Grapes 😂well she made her self ill and ended up in a bed in mums bedroom we were in The old Rope masters House in Plymouth Dock yard then there bedroom
was Massive with victorian fire place three massive windows over looking the Garden and dock yard
The do nothing for them now! They used to wrap them up but now to stop breathing difficulties you just get on with it - I found a hot water bottle and a bag of peas interchanged really helped! They are MUCH better now, the first few weeks were horrible but now it's just like a dull ache, I can't wait to be able to lie on my right side comfortably again though! Your poor Mom - hope she was okay in the end .. and weren't grapes a treat? Your sister learnt her lesson though!
@ mum was ok yes she did have lot of problems with pleurisy i inherited it from her i get pleurisy too 💞💞
Ohh that's nasty! Make sure you stay wrapped up in the coming months xx
@ 💞💞💞💞💞
I worked in a hospital that was originally a workhouse, the outside of the buildings were actually lovely. They certainly stood the test of time. It's been demolished, and a modern monstrosity has taken its place.
Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham is on the site of the Birmingham Union Workhouse, the "archway of tears" is all that remains and that too was once a very beautiful building. Now sadly mostly gone and the archway crumbling.
That was so interesting. I also have a fascination with the old lunatic asylums. Thankfully they're not around anymore either!
Me too. My Great Grandfather on my Maternal side was in one for decades and no one really knows why, we are trying to find out!
Thinking of the life these people lived dad to day in the work house is harrowing, we have a workhouse in my town but it is in ruins, I often thought how hard life was for children and families in those days, I did a lot of research into the lives of the children in the workhouse
Birmingham had several, the same they are all gone now apart from a few outer shells, there was quite the uproar when one of the entrances was going to be demolished, people don't want to talk about them .. but they also don't think they should be forgotten. I bet you found some very touching stories in your research x
That was, as usual, very interesting, thank you, Lucy. Yes, it was horrible for the inmates, and we hear many stories of people dying in workhouses, and so on. But at the same time, I think of what must have been the intentions of the social reformers who came up with the idea of workhouses. I can see how they would think it was a good idea, both for the councils of the time and for the people; because I suspect that their vision, if they had any kind of heart, was probably not how things turned out. I wonder whether they reflected in later years on what these places had become, whether they took the trouble to check on them (given that they were social reformers), and what they really thought of them.
That is such an insightful and thoughtful point of view, in fact I've sat and thought about it before replying, I wonder what they thought too?
@@throughlucyslensPerhaps they never saw the truth about what life was like for the inmates. Or perhaps they saw, but reasoned that it was better than the slums they had come from. I suppose we will never know unless they set out their thoughts in letters or diaries (which I haven't looked for). I just found it rather intriquing to wonder, because as you spoke in the video, I could see the logic of creating these places in the first place.
What a poignant tour! I noticed that there was text written on the objects, like the sheets, the room devider, .... in an old fashioned handwriting. I don't known what it said but I find it contributes to the experience of the visit. In my opinion it's a more authentic, personal way of giving information, context than a sign (against the wall). I hope your ribs are beter! 🤗
Thank you, there were all kinds of things written, mostly census details of the people who resided in that workhouse, I didn't film them in detail as I am always frantic about copywrite! I agree though they are a really good way of bringing somewhere to life, because for me it's always about the people!
The later use as temporary accommodation was, in theory, a good idea. It does look very stark, however.
I suppose because the council owned it, it made sense to put it to "good use" not nice for the people who lived there though. I found the little personal touches like the records and childrens toys very touching in that space.
How dreadfully the people were treated, but nevertheless, thank you for your informative video, wonderful as usual,
Many thanks, it's a tough subject but I think it's getting forgotten this happened- and not too long ago so I wanted to put it there for people to see if it's something they are interested in x
I saw a really fascinating UA-cam in which Boy George traces his roots and discovers records going back several generations. Some were workhouse records of inmates. It's was a pretty moving story. I think there are several videos in which he researches his family over the last few generations.
Yes! I love this episode! I absolutely love Boy George too! It's amazing how many featured on programmes like "Who do you think you are" come across workhouse records - it just shows how many people had to endure it.
Such a poignant visit to a place of such misery. But this could have been the fate of any of our ancestors as it was so easy to lose everything. We say we are more enlightened these days but the social welfare system is still strained almost to breaking point and can’t help those who need it. Lots to think about. So glad to hear you’re on the mend and looking forward to the next visit
I read somewhere that most people are 2 or 3 pay cheques away from nothing even today, thankfully we have some systems to fall back on but they are indeed strained. Honestly you can open a can of worms talking about workhouses, social historians are always arguing about them .. but I think anything that makes us scared makes us impassioned.
another fascinating trip back in time. what was the text that was printed on the sheets, pillowcases, and room dividers? were they inmate quotes?
Some of them were quotes, others were names and dates of birth, and sadly dates of passing if they died in the workhouse.
I’ve wondered about the workhouses as I’ve read about them and they’ve been mentioned in shows I watch. It was really interesting to see one. Thanks!
As sad as these places are, they probably, to some degree, created resilience and determination in people and their children.
They might have also given others some kind of purpose or dignity.
Do you think something like the workhouse, but less uncomfortable,sparse, and with more freedoms, would benefit the homeless in countries today?
Would people have more hope if they lived in a modern workhouse rather than a tent city such as those that exist all over the world right now?
The homeless (young and old) could be taught trades, take lessons, have access to medical help, eat three meals a day plus snacks, as well as work on site.
Anyway, I hope you’re well. Have your ribs healed enough that you’re not afraid to cough? I remember once having a cracked rib, I was scared to do laugh, carry things, sneeze, etc!
... I remember the fear to cough or sneeze well ... the first week or so I cried every time 😂
Some interesting thoughts there. X
I remember when my mother told me about these places & I just didn’t believe her so I just dismissed it until I was older & saw it was true 😢 It must have been so humiliating to have to go there. The only thing “good” you could say about them is it was a roof over their heads, something in their stomach’s & clean which they wouldn’t have received on the streets 🤷🏼♀️ Thanks Lucy 🥰
I was really scared of the idea of the workhouse when I was a child, I had no idea where I got it from but probably Oliver Twist or hearing people talk about it, I used to worry we would have to go one day - not realising they were long gone!
Hi, hoping your ribs are healing.
That was very moving.
How could people call it boring ? As you said, what were they expecting to see ?
When i was a teenager saying i was bored, my dad would get so cross, he'd say only a boring person gets bored...i always remember that.
Thankyou Lucy
Hahah my dad used to say the same thing or .. "I'll show you bored" 😂
I will be watching again as I think you gain more info the more you watch an interesting vlog such as this. It's sad enough to watch it but without the smell and the misery of inmates which would be heartbreaking. Split families how could the authorities think this was a good idea. Maybe it was safer than on the streets. What a time to live, no thanks. What are you doing running around with broken ribs so that we get to have an episode sigh? Look after yourself and hopefully someone will pamper you. Take care =-)
There was NO WAY I was missing that workhouse! I would have crawled around .. there had been people in that space before me in a much worse state than me. They split families so they were not distracted from their "work" .. and of course in the case of a couple to prevent any workhouse pregnancies and mouths to feed. They even sometimes split siblings if they were seen as being a "bad influence" on one another! Can't even imagine it can you!
@@throughlucyslens I have looked into workhouses quite a bit and some Who Do You Think You Are (one of my favourite programmes, and I don't even care if I don't know the person involved lol. )episodes have included workhouses. It's amazing how many people haven't got a clue about them. A major part of social history in England. Some of my ancestors ended up in them. =-(
They were very different and harsh times. They were beneficial in that they saved the poor from literally starving, however many aspects seem inhumane, especially separating families.
It's really difficult to come out of a modern mindset, I like to believe they thought it was for the best it's just sad the system itself would attract people who liked to be "in control" to run it in it's very nature.
Scary times!😳
Absolutely!
18:17 where did the double doors lead to?
You know when I film the front of the house and there's those big double doors in a grand entrance - that is those doors inside, usually only "important" people would use them as they led right to the board of guardians room, inmates and their visitors would use the entrance at the back.
I want to visit there badly
It's a tough visit but totally worth it if you can make it x
how much better off were the well to do at the time? (It's hard to tell when we even hear the salaries from the 1960's to feel any equivalence to today) were there very wealthy Lord Sugars or Richard Bransons while others were destitute? Or were those not in the workhouse, just barely out of it themselves?
There were very very wealthy people,
Particularly after industrialisation where people were making money from factories, house building etc. before that the really rich were landed gentry or landowners (and of course royalty) , industrialisation also saw the growth of the middle classes who would usually be safe from the workhouse. Everyone else though was working class and like we say now most people are 2 or 3 salaries away from poverty it was the same then but with no unemployment or disability benefits to fall back on the workhouse might be the only option - or committing crimes ranging from theft to prostitution just to get by for which the punishments of hard labour in prison were arguably worse than the workhouse. I hope that makes sense!
@@throughlucyslens Yes, I was just thinking that in today's day and age with literal billionaires, no one should be in poverty & was wondering if it was similar in the that time.
❤
Doing my ancestry I found out that my great grandfather died in the workhouse it made me really sad to find this out he was 36 years old when he died.
36 is absolutely no age either is it? He would have been doing his best x
ouch , hope you recover!
If the reviewers thought it was boring, they didn't have to live there imagine what the inmates thought. Some people in our day haven't any idea of social history. I won't get on my soapbox of society has not changed in many ways, that there will always be poor people as society works within a bell curve sadly.
Absolutely agree!
Don’t forget this has been made to clean and tidy. We got to remember as well with that pollution and everything most some people would be preferred to die and be on the street and go to these work house.
I asked them why it was so sparce and clean and they said it's actually because it was expected to be kept like that, the walls were white washed every week and the floors were scrubbed and windows buffed. What do you think you would have done in their shoes? I'm not sure - there are people in my family tree went in there and came out and made good lives for themselves.
This is so awful I don't even want to leave a like but you deserve one anyway for the interesting video.
It's tough isn't it to approach such an emotive subject and then be needing "likes" to help more people see it. Thank you, and thank you for your empathy x
The New Poor Law was in my opinion little better than a crime against humanty and it horrifies me to realise that in that time and place I'd have fallen victim to its cruelties. Better to do something to get sent to Australia than end up in one of those hell holes.
Yes, I have 2 great grandfathers who were transported to Australia (one a Brummy and one a Londoner), and I really do think that (eventually) they made a far better life for themselves than would have ever been possible, back in England!! Other ancestors emigrated to Oz in the 19th century and likewise made a good life. Good One, Lucy, as always!! RjB 🥰
1834 marks a cruel year in the calendar of the poor in my opinion too. There have been times when I would have been in there with you too Duncan. It makes me feel angry and powerless just thinking about what these people put up with - usually for no fault of their own!
Ohhh do you know why they were transported? I find the transportation records fascinating .. stole bread? Off to Australia you go .. I have a relative that went to America "for a better life" .. but got deported back to the UK because he was a pain in the butt .. drunk and disorderly
@@throughlucyslens I must confess that my two bad boys were not bread-stealers! The London lad stole (with a mate), some clothing from a "young gentleman's academy" c.1820s and was sent down to NSW - and the Brummy, around 20 years later, broke into a pub and stole silverware and was sent down to West Aussie!!! Both very lucky with the timing, not to be hung instead of transported ....... 😰 RjB
Very lucky as we wouldn't have wonderful you!! Made me laugh the Brummie broke into a pub - my great great grandad didn't same but he stole coins from a meter instead of silverware 😂
I bet the room where they stored dead bodies was creepy?
I was more horrified for the poor person who had to stay in the cell knowing there was a body the other side of the wall - so cruel!
Thank goodness none of us live within the mind of a Victorian man anymore...LOL
... I reakon there's a few out there like to think they still are ;)