New book highlights the Bridport Union Workhouse

DOWN and Out in Bridport and the Surrounding Parishes

1200-1900, a history of the poor, sick and elderly in the local community, and the development of Bridport Union Workhouse has been published by Sylvia Stafford. A history of the lives and conditions of the poor, sick, and elderly and their care within the local community, the book traces the development of the role of the monasteries and almshouses of the 12th and 13th centuries, to the early poorhouses and workhouses, and by the mid-19th century to the establishment of hundreds of union workhouses. The twenty parishes which formed Bridport Union Workhouse provide the framework for the study, whilst further examples are drawn from other Dorset towns, and relevant locations mostly in the South West of England. The development of Bridport Union Workhouse is examined against the parallel development of the town of Bridport and the nearby parishes, as well as the particular challenges faced by the poor, sick and elderly in accessing education, training, employment and health services in the locality

Twenty per cent of the sale price of the book will go to support recently launched charity ‘Bridport Food Bank Hardship Fund’ which strives to help those in need today. The book costs £12.00 and is available from Bridport Tourist Information Centre, Bridport Museum, West Bay Discovery Centre, The Book Shop, South Street, and Little Toller Books, Beaminster.