LIFE IN THE WORKHOUSE

The Victorian attitude viewed poverty as a result of laziness, drunkenness or vice. So, what was it like for the workhouses in Sturminster Newton and Cerne Abbas? The answers can be found in the Dorset County Record Office, and these give fascinating insights into the life of poor people and their treatment. The Poor Law stipulated that workhouses were to be well-built and with sufficient quality food. However, the Commissioners were loath to make the workhouse too attractive and so the regime became monotonous, as was the diet. Dorset Workhouses were built with minimum facilities and due to this, the poor had a fear of ending up there. There were many reasons why people ended up in the workhouse such as old age, unemployed, orphaned and infirm. When times were hard admission to the Workhouse became the only solution for large families – sometimes it was only on a temporary basis. New inmates were required to have a medical inspection, bathe on arrival, and, after surrendering their clothing, dress in a special workhouse uniform. This system continued until the early years of the 20th century. When wayfarers arrived needing a night’s shelter, if there were not enough beds to go round they would drape themselves over a rope rather than sleep on the cold damp floor. The expression ‘I could sleep on a clothesline’ may have derived from this.

Life in the workhouse was harsh, with little food consisting mainly of watery soup, potatoes, bread and cheese. Many inmates were literally starving and some were known to scavenge for putrid meat on the bones which they were being forced to grind into fertiliser. Children were often beaten for misbehaving. There was a scandal in London where a number of children ended up dead as a result of their terrible mistreatment. The writer Charles Dickens (1812 -1870) was so shocked and concerned about these conditions that he wrote Oliver Twist to highlight the problem, and he campaigned throughout his lifetime to turn public opinion against these austere places.

Groceries were mostly purchased from local shops. In Sturminster Newton flour came from the Mill and general provisions from Strange and Son, the premises of which are now occupied by One Stop. The best food and finest teas were reserved for the master and matron, not the inmates. And it was much the same in Cerne Abbas, but provisions came from the village shop. Cleaning materials were also purchased, including yellow soap, washing soda, starch and the ‘blue bag’ –also, candles and oil to provide light and blacking for the fireplace. Some medical records show that treacle was purchased, being a favourite remedy for its iron content or for its laxative property.

The sexes were kept separate as were married couples, and children over the age of seven were not allowed to sleep with their mothers. The children received some education, and the Chaplain would conduct prayers, baptisms and burials. Sometimes there was entertainment, as in 1889 Canon Lowndes of Sturminster Newton gave the inmates a magic lantern slide show. His daughter Mary designed a stained glass window in his memory, which can still be seen in the church. And in Cerne Abbas, Lady Digby from Minterne Magna entertained the inmates with tea and cake for special occasions.

Able-bodied men had some form of daytime work consisting mainly of stone breaking for the repair of roads and teasing out strands from old rope, known as ‘oakhum’ picking, to make caulking for waterproofing boats. In Cerne Abbas they worked in the fields for tokens which could be spent in the village shop. Women would have been involved in domestic duties within the house itself, such as scullery work, cleaning, laundry and needlework.

There were twelve Union Workhouses in Dorset, only seven of which are still standing. Despite these buildings rapidly disappearing the social history of the Poor Law in Dorset is well recorded. Sturminster Newton workhouse is now known as Stour View House, serving the community in a very different way from that of the Victorian period. It is now a day centre for the elderly and those with special needs, and also houses a hydrotherapy pool for their use. The Chapel next door is now the town’s museum and here you can find further information on life in the workhouse. Likewise in Cerne Abbas, the workhouse became a Youth Hostel, and later in 1989 was redeveloped and became known as Davidson Nursing Home. Later still it changed hands and is now known as Casterbridge Manor Care Home.

These buildings, though once very depressing, have now been given a facelift and serve once more a value to the community. They are of immense historic value and were an important feature of everyday life spanning a century. They are also reminders of the grim and severe attitudes which were prevalent in the Victorian era.