About the Book

The Book

Basingstoke Workhouse and Poor Law Union

     ISBN: 978 0 7509 6240 7        5 September 2016

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The painting on the cover is 'Hard Times' by Sir Hubert von Harkomer, RA, held in Manchester Art Gallery.

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The drawing is a representation of Sampson Kempthorne's cruciform workhouse design, upon which Basingstoke and many others was based.

 

From the cover:

"This absorbing book explores all aspects of life in that feared institution, the workhouse. From the staff who lived and worked there to the poor souls kept in the medical wing, it reveals a side of Basingstoke that has long since been forgotten.

It covers the problems of administration and oversight, the stresses and strains suffered by the new, untrained and inexperienced officers who had to make it work, and the sometimes-excruciating difficulty of getting every detail sanctioned by London. It also details how caring for the destitute and unfortunate often depended on the personalities of the people in charge, and how the poor law union became a whole new tier of local government, still operating today."

The Research

The book came from researching Basingstoke Workhouse and Poor Law Union for the Victoria County History project for Hampshire. It tells the story of the union, the workhouse and its people from the beginning in 1835 to the end in the 1970s when the site was cleared.

Most of the research involved trawling through about 60 volumes of minute books and correspondence folios. A huge amount of detailed information was accumulated during the several years of research and there is room for very little of it in the book. This site is intended to provide some of the information which could not be included.

I hope you enjoy it and find something or someone interesting.

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PLEASE USE THE CONTACT PAGE if you have any questions or comments.

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Please visit the Victoria County History website, and the VCH Explore website, which has many interesting articles about the area written by members of our research group.

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The Author

I  grew up in the West Midlands, retired from a career in local government, and am now pursuing my lifelong interest in local history. I have Certificates in Post-Medieval Archaeology and Local History from Keele University.

I am a volunteer researcher for the revision of the Victoria County History of Hampshire, and design and edit the VCH Hampshire Newsletter, as well as being an active participant in the Basingstoke Talking History project, run by the Basingstoke Archaeological & Historical Society. I live in Basingstoke.