Review Ripon Article
Hard Life At The Workhouse
Tuesday 01 May
One of our city’s three excellent small museums, Ripon’s Workhouse Museum on Allhallowgate gives visitors a real insight into the hard lives of Ripon’s Victorian poor.
The present buildings were erected in 1854 on the site of the original workhouse built in 1766 and donated to the city by William Aislabie. In 1832 a national survey found that Ripon’s poorhouse had 33 inmates in total. These consisted of 11 men, 11 boys, 9 women and 2 girls.
The able bodied among them spent eight hours a day breaking stones which were then used for mending the roads - the idea being that being the poorhouse wasn’t supposed to be a free ride and you were expected to work for the privilege. In 1832, only one out of those 33 inmates was considerable unable to work, due to being 68.
The workhouse was almost a self-sufficient unit, with its own teacher, chaplain, and doctor. The inmates did their own laundry, grew their own vegetables and chopped their own firewood. There was an infirmary for those deemed to be ill, either physically or mentally, with its own van for transporting lunatics to other larger asylums if they became too violent or unmanageable.
Vagrants were a special problem, so in 1877 a new block was built. In the vagrant’s section, they could have an evening meal, a bed for the night (under lock and key) and be turned out the next day to fend for themselves again. To qualify for this benevolence, they had to carry out a designated task. In the museum today, you can wander round the former male vagrants section, which had 14 cells where inmates would be locked in the for the night.
Ripon Museums have opened again for the 2007 season, and to maintain these fascinating showcases of our city’s heritage, the Ripon Museum Trust are again seeking new volunteers to help out in all areas. If you have a few hours to spare weekly or monthly, and fancy bringing history to life, call Ripon Museums Trust on 01765 690799 or email info@riponmuseums.co.uk
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