SUMMER 2015 A Skeleton in the Cupboard By the middle of the 18thC the cost of caring for the People ended-up in the workhouse for a variety of A Boys School was opened in Bridge Street in 1869. poor of Chester had become a great burden on the reasons. Usually, it was because they were too The local newspapers carried regular reports of individual parishes so in 1757 it was decided to poor, old or ill to support themselves. Unmarried trouble from the inmates – fighting, turning up build a general Workhouse or House of Industry, pregnant women were often disowned by their drunk, or refusing to work. However the workhouse for the whole of the city, and the following year work families and the workhouse was the only place they itself was not above reproach…in 1858 a Doctor could go during and after the birth of their child. The began on a “four square rectangular brick building Bedford challenged the Board of Guardians with mentally ill and handicapped poor were often round a courtyard, at the north west extremity of the various complaints including the fact that as it was Roodee”. consigned to the workhouse and incidentally, until sited next to the Gas Works and on the river bank 1918, receipt of poor relief meant a loss of the right the building was often shrouded in fog and the to vote. Each new arrival at the workhouse would go terrible fumes from the Works enveloped the area. through a fairly involved admission procedure - They laughed at his concerns, talked over him and paupers were stripped, bathed, and issued with a generally ignored his worries. The Cheshire workhouse uniform. An inmate's own clothes would Observer took up the fight and lambasted the be washed and disinfected and then put into store along with any other possessions they had and only Guardians as having “at least one skeleton in the returned to them when they left the workhouse. cupboard” as they had discovered that the casual Those who were capable of it were given a variety of poor – both men and women – slept on bare work to perform, much of which was involved in boards, without a fire, clothing or straw, huddled running the workhouse. Until the building of the together under a thin sheet in even the worst winter railway viaduct in 1840 which obscured most of the weather. The newspaper also highlighted the fact that children were crammed together, the sick Chester workhouse view of the workhouse from the city, its looming, gloomy presence would have been a constant sleeping next to the more robust and that conditions According to www.workhouses.org.uk tragedy warning of what could happen if anyone fell on hard weren’t much better for the longer term inmates. As struck ten years later – at 2am on 24th February times… a result of this crusade a Poor Law Inspector visited 1767, a disastrous fire broke out at the Roodee The weekly bill of fare is as follows: Breakfast— and reported the institution as providing workhouse used for spinning cotton. The building, Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday—Broth and bread; “inadequate care”. which then housed 200 children in addition to the other days— Milk gruel and bread. Dinner— adults, was totally destroyed. The fatalities included Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday—Beef, potatoes, etc.; sixty children, twelve men and five women — Monday, Wednesday—Butter, milk and potatoes; seventy-seven in all. A report in the London Friday—Beef, soup and potatoes; Saturday— Chronicle recounted the horrifying scenes of Oatmeal hasty pudding. Supper—Sunday, Tuesday, inmates running naked from the building, while Thursday—Bread and butter ; other days—Milk, others jumped from windows and the roof. A party gruel and bread. One lb. of bread allowed each day of thirty men was employed to dig out the bones to grown persons, 6oz. beef on meat days, and 1 and dead bodies but without success — it was pint of beer; children in proportion. Butter milk assumed that they had all burnt to ashes. served on potato and hasty pudding days. (weak The Poor-house is situated near the river, the beer was served to all in place of water which could Workhouse refectory lodging and other rooms large and well aired; 15 or be contaminated) 16 beds in a room, made of chaff or straw, and The annual numbers of inmates rose from 2,724 in much infested with bugs. No small apartments for In 1873 a new Union Workhouse was founded in 1810-11 to to 7,011 in 1817-18. The House of married people. The Poor in the house at present Hoole and the Roodee premises taken over by Industry was extended in 1819 by the addition of a are chiefly aged persons and children. Old women The Chester Preserving Company and later Davies block for pauper lunatics on the west side of the spin flax and pick oakum. Children at 10 years of Confectionery. The new workhouse was not without building. This cost about £700 and averaged age are sent as apprentices to Manchester and its problems however and in years to come it – and around twenty-two inmates. A school for 50 infant other places. About 11 deaths annually in the house. its successor the City Hospital – became the paupers was added in 1823 at a cost of £523. In (1797 Survey of the Poor in England). subject of many tales of hardship and hauntings. 1821, a warm bath was installed in the main house. History and Heritage Editorial Don’t Miss… Welcome to our Summer newsletter – From Bricks to Villas let’s hope it heralds lots of lovely weather Hough Green Local History Group has produced a fabulous new book covering the last 600 years, for us all! During the past months the noting both the mighty and the mundane. 144 Museum service has been encouraged pages, with a wealth of images and written by local to make more use of social media, so experts Ray Carpenter, Pam Corkerton, Carol Farrell take a look at the Facebook pages for and Mike Lloyd this new book is a must both for Chester History & Heritage Centre and those with a special interest in the Hough Green area and those who love reading about Chester’s our new twitter feed @cwacmuseums past. The book is priced at £14.95 and is available for many more photographs and details from Ray (01244 671684), Pam (01244 680277), of what we are up to, as well as the new Carol (01244 874955) or Mike (01244 680328). Cheshire Museums website Beneath the Surface – Volume 2 www.westcheshiremuseums.co.uk Published by Backford, Mollington & District Local and enjoy our engagement with new History Society, this is a collection of essays on the technology! history of local people and places. Subjects range from studies of the different families who lived at Mollington Hall, to the horrific events which took place at Gibbet Mill and the life of ‘Cobber’ Kane, the first R.A.F. ace of WW2. The book is illustrated by both monochrome and coloured pictures. Price £16 plus postage and packing if required at cost price of £3. Contact either Michael Richardson (01244 851346) or Ann Marie Curtis (01244 851717) Watch Out For… 11 July 1pm – 3pm Button Bouquet Workshop at Chester History & Heritage, St Michael’s Chester History & Heritage, St, Michael’s Church. £10, Church, Bridge St Chester CH1 1NW booking essential on 01244 972210. Make a Tel: 01244 972210 fashionable permanent alternative to flowers. email: [email protected] 15 July/12 August 2pm film screening of Brief Encounter This poignant film starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine is a classic. Saturday Extended 16 September/14 October 2pm film Opening Hours screening of The Ghost Train Enjoy Arthur Askey at his comical best in We have again been allowed to open this ghostly caper. on Saturdays from 11am-4pm in 2015 These film screenings are free but so that we are accessible for those booking is essential as places are limited. visitors who cannot come in 19 August 1.30pm guided walk with Gerry Tighe, Our Railway – Life, Death & Rebirth. Monday-Friday. The dates are: (Meet outside the railway station). £5, 9 May booking essential at Chester History & 13 June Heritage. 11 July 7 October 6pm (meet at Hoole Community Centre Westminster Road) A Ghost Walk Join local guide John Whittingham as he explores some of 8 August Chester’s most haunted sites including the grounds of the old City 12 September (Heritage Open Days) Hospital. The tour ends with a visit to the wonderful Albion Inn. £3, booking essential at Chester History & Heritage. 10 October 2 History and Heritage Past exhibitions Oh You Pretty Things Up to 27 March The 1970s was a time of political unrest but it was also the time of Glam Rock and the Space Hopper! This display looked at our outings, local sports teams and entertainments as well as the changing face of our city. Band of Gold up to 27 March Voluntary Action on the Home This proved very Front up to 27 March popular with our romantic customers who fondly reminisced about their own wedding days. From an elaborate ceremony for Lady Mary Grosvenor in 1894 to a 1970s registry office marriage this exhibition brought back some lovely memories. A centenary display from Chester Voluntary Action highlighting the major events and social issues in Chester from 1914 and the impact of the CVA. 3 History and Heritage Current exhibitions Cheers! The Pubs, Inns and Taverns of Chester 30 March-26 June Taking a look at our local pubs – many of which have long since disappeared – where friends and family met up after a hard day’s work, including The Swan, the Market Tavern and the Mariners Arms.