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Paupers Collection (page 3)

"Paupers: Forgotten Lives of Desperation and Hope" Step into the world of paupers, where destitution meets resilience

Background imagePaupers Collection: Poplar Union Schools, near Brentwood, Essex

Poplar Union Schools, near Brentwood, Essex
View of the boys side of the Poplar Schools which were established in 1906 between Shenfield and Hutton, near Brentwood, Essex, to house pauper children away from the workhouse

Background imagePaupers Collection: Houseless Poor Asylum, Cripplegate, London

Houseless Poor Asylum, Cripplegate, London
A variety of barefoot individuals standing around outside the asylum or hostel on Banner Street, Cripplegate, London, operated by the Houseless Poor Society

Background imagePaupers Collection: Cover page of pamphlet, A Night in a Workhouse

Cover page of pamphlet, A Night in a Workhouse
The cover page of A Night in a Workhouse -- an undercover expose of conditions in the casual ward of the Lambeth workhouse in London

Background imagePaupers Collection: Salvation Army night shelter at supper time

Salvation Army night shelter at supper time
A midnight supper of soup and bread at a London Salvation Army shelter for men brought in from the streets

Background imagePaupers Collection: Salvation Army Christmas treat for East End children

Salvation Army Christmas treat for East End children
East End of London slum children receive a Christmas treat from the Salvation Army. In front of a decorated Christmas tree

Background imagePaupers Collection: Salvation Army Slum Sisters on a home visit

Salvation Army Slum Sisters on a home visit
Two Salvation Army so-called Slum Sisters visit the home of a poor family. At the door, the mother holds a baby in her arms while another child stands barefoot on the paving stones

Background imagePaupers Collection: Salvation Army Food Depot, London

Salvation Army Food Depot, London
Men queuing at one of the food depots set up in London by the Salvation Army in the 1890s. The depots provided low cost food and meals for down and outs

Background imagePaupers Collection: Ward at Holborn Union Infirmary, Highgate, London

Ward at Holborn Union Infirmary, Highgate, London
Interior of a ward at the Holborn Union Infirmary, Archway Road, Highate, North London, designed by Henry Saxon Snell and opened in 1879

Background imagePaupers Collection: Workhouse interior, Oliver Twist film, 1948

Workhouse interior, Oliver Twist film, 1948
A workhouse interior from the 1948 film of Oliver Twist, directed by David Lean. A female inmate carries a baby. Behind her are workhouse " coffin beds"

Background imagePaupers Collection: Cockermouth Union schools, Flimby, Cumberland

Cockermouth Union schools, Flimby, Cumberland
The Cockermouth Union workhouse schools at Flimby, Cumberland. Flimby Lodge was purchased by the Union in 1886 for conversion to a school and vagrant wards

Background imagePaupers Collection: Training Ship Exmouth, flag signalling drill

Training Ship Exmouth, flag signalling drill
Uniformed boys on the deck of the Training Ship Exmouth learning flag signalling. The Exmouth, moored off Grays in Essex, was used by the Metropolitan Asylums Board as a naval training establishment

Background imagePaupers Collection: Exeter Union Workhouse childrens home

Exeter Union Workhouse childrens home
The childrens home attached to the Union workhouse, Gladstone Road, Exeter. The building was erected in 1913-14 and immediately pressed into use as a First World War military hospital

Background imagePaupers Collection: Training Ship Exmouth, gun crew

Training Ship Exmouth, gun crew
Uniformed boys on the deck of the Training Ship Exmouth in formation as a gun crew, pulling a gun carriage. The Exmouth, moored off Grays in Essex

Background imagePaupers Collection: Parish Workhouse, Frittenden, Kent

Parish Workhouse, Frittenden, Kent
A large timber framed building that once served as the Frittenden parish workhouse, Kent. An oast house stands at the left

Background imagePaupers Collection: Parish Workhouse, Brenchley, Kent

Parish Workhouse, Brenchley, Kent
A large timber framed building that once served as the Brenchley parish workhouse. It is believed to have opened in 1732

Background imagePaupers Collection: Whitby Parish poor relief voucher for coal

Whitby Parish poor relief voucher for coal
A voucher for a shilling bag of coal, issued as poor relief by the Churchwarden at Whitby, North Yorkshire

Background imagePaupers Collection: Boy Scout Troop from Christchurch Cottage Homes

Boy Scout Troop from Christchurch Cottage Homes
A troop of boy scouts from the Christchurch Union cottage homes for pauper children. The boys, in scout uniform, sit at their camp site

Background imagePaupers Collection: Babington House Hospital, Belper, Derbyshire

Babington House Hospital, Belper, Derbyshire
Aerial view of Babington House Hospital, Belper, Derbyshire. The building, designed as a workhouse by George Gilbert Scott and William Bonython Moffatt, was erected in 1839-40

Background imagePaupers Collection: Hexagonal workhouse, second floor plan

Hexagonal workhouse, second floor plan
The second floor layout of the model hexagon (or Y-plan) workhouse design by Sampson Kempthorne, issued by the Poor Law Commissioners

Background imagePaupers Collection: Whitechapel Workhouse Casual Ward, East London

Whitechapel Workhouse Casual Ward, East London
A line of men gathers near the Whitechapel Workhouse casual ward (vagrants ward) on Thomas Street, East London, waiting for its opening time

Background imagePaupers Collection: Whitechapel Workhouse, Casual Ward Dormitory

Whitechapel Workhouse, Casual Ward Dormitory
A dormitory of the Whitechapel Workhouse Casual Ward on Thomas Street, East London. There are rolled up hammocks attached along each wall. The floor is bare boards

Background imagePaupers Collection: The Warriors Return, satirical postcard

The Warriors Return, satirical postcard
A wounded soldier, drawn as a wooden puppet and carrying his own broken-off leg, looks at a WD (War Department) signpost pointing to the workhouse

Background imagePaupers Collection: Union Workhouse, Tonbridge, Kent, Womens Ward

Union Workhouse, Tonbridge, Kent, Womens Ward
Interior of a womens ward in the Tonbridge Union workhouse, Kent. The three inmates are wearing the typical uniform of long skirt, blouse, shawl, and bonnet

Background imagePaupers Collection: Vagrant and policeman outside Truth Offices

Vagrant and policeman outside Truth Offices
A policeman shines his torch down on a vagrant asleep on the pavement outside the offices of the Truth weekly newspaper

Background imagePaupers Collection: Union Workhouse, Tonbridge, Kent, Boys Drill

Union Workhouse, Tonbridge, Kent, Boys Drill
A line of boys at Tonbridge Union workhouse in Kent, probably in band uniforms, hold their rifles in military drill style. A man at the left of the line (their bandmaster?) looks

Background imagePaupers Collection: Union Workhouse, Tetbury, Gloucestershire

Union Workhouse, Tetbury, Gloucestershire
The Tetbury Union workhouse, Gloucestershire. Loitering outside are a number of people - some small children, several labourers, and an older man with a stick

Background imagePaupers Collection: Union Workhouse, Tonbridge, Kent - Billy Brown

Union Workhouse, Tonbridge, Kent - Billy Brown
Two inmates of the Tonbridge Union workhouse with a handcart. The men are in the standard workhouse uniform of jacket, trousers, waistcoat, and billycock hat

Background imagePaupers Collection: Union Workhouse, Tonbridge, Kent, Female Inmates

Union Workhouse, Tonbridge, Kent, Female Inmates
A row of female inmates seated by a window inside the Tonbridge Union workhouse. A uniform of long skirt, blouse, shawl and bonnet was the normal attire for elderly women in the workhouse

Background imagePaupers Collection: Union Workhouse, Tonbridge, Kent, Jubilee Celebrations

Union Workhouse, Tonbridge, Kent, Jubilee Celebrations
The Tonbridge Union workhouse bedecked with flags, its lawns covered with chairs, and inmates sprawled on the grass. Thought to be the occasion of Queen Victorias Diamond Jubilee in 1897

Background imagePaupers Collection: Square workhouse, second floor plan

Square workhouse, second floor plan
The second floor layout of the model square workhouse for 300 inmates, design by Sampson Kempthorne, issued by the Poor Law Commissioners

Background imagePaupers Collection: Strand Union Boys Band

Strand Union Boys Band
A group picture of the Strand Union Boys Band on 12 July 1905, at the Childrens Fete held at the Vicarage, Tottenham, North London

Background imagePaupers Collection: Square workhouse, first floor plan

Square workhouse, first floor plan
The first floor layout of the model square workhouse for 300 inmates, design by Sampson Kempthorne, issued by the Poor Law Commissioners

Background imagePaupers Collection: Workhouse Sports Day, Sheffield, Yorkshire

Workhouse Sports Day, Sheffield, Yorkshire
Inmates of the Sheffield Union workhouse at Fir Vale watch as male competitors take part in an obstacle course during a sports day

Background imagePaupers Collection: St Marylebone Poor Law Schools, Southall

St Marylebone Poor Law Schools, Southall
The St Marylebone Schools on South Road, Southall, Middlesex. An inscription below the pediment gives its date of construction as 1858

Background imagePaupers Collection: Square workhouse, perspective view

Square workhouse, perspective view
Perspective view of the model square workhouse for 300 inmates, design by Sampson Kempthorne, issued by the Poor Law Commissioners

Background imagePaupers Collection: Oracle Workhouse, Reading, Berkshire

Oracle Workhouse, Reading, Berkshire
The ornate entrance and gates of Readings Oracle workhouse, established in 1628. A shopping centre of the same name now stands on the site

Background imagePaupers Collection: Union Workhouse, Reading, Berkshire

Union Workhouse, Reading, Berkshire
Reading Union workhouse was opened in 1867 at a site on Oxford Road in Reading, Berkshire. This view of the entrance dates from the First World War when the site was taken over for use as a military

Background imagePaupers Collection: Open air church service at a workhouse

Open air church service at a workhouse
An open air church service for workhouse inmates, location unknown. Male and female inmates in workhouse uniform sit on chairs while a service is conducted by two men

Background imagePaupers Collection: Kensington & Chelsea District School, infirmary

Kensington & Chelsea District School, infirmary
In 1876, the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea established a District School for pauper children at Banstead, Surrey (later known as Beechholme)

Background imagePaupers Collection: Union Workhouse, New Forest, Hampshire

Union Workhouse, New Forest, Hampshire
The New Forest Union workhouse, designed by Sampson Kempthorne, was erected at Ashurst in 1836. This view shows the main frontage of the workhouse with its chapel just visible at the left

Background imagePaupers Collection: Kensington & Chelsea District School, gymnasium

Kensington & Chelsea District School, gymnasium
In 1876, the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea established a District School for pauper children at Banstead, Surrey (later known as Beechholme)

Background imagePaupers Collection: Union Workhouse, Limerick, Ireland, perspective view

Union Workhouse, Limerick, Ireland, perspective view
The Union workhouse at Limerick, Ireland, was designed by George Wilkinson and opened in 1841. This 1847 view shows the workhouse after proposed enlargements

Background imagePaupers Collection: Old women picking oakum in a Casual Ward

Old women picking oakum in a Casual Ward
The womens casual ward (vagrants ward) of a workhouse, thought to be at Lambeth, south London. Three women in workhouse uniform sit on benches

Background imagePaupers Collection: Kensington & Chelsea District School, gym team

Kensington & Chelsea District School, gym team
In 1876, the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea established a District School for pauper children at Banstead, Surrey (later known as Beechholme)

Background imagePaupers Collection: Kensington & Chelsea District School, boys group photo

Kensington & Chelsea District School, boys group photo
In 1876, the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea established a District School for pauper children at Banstead, Surrey (later known as Beechholme)

Background imagePaupers Collection: Irish 800-pauper workhouse, ground plan

Irish 800-pauper workhouse, ground plan
Ground plan of the model plan for Irish union workhouses housing up to 800 inmates. The plan was devised by George Wilkinson, the Poor Law Commissioners architect in Ireland

Background imagePaupers Collection: Irish 800-pauper workhouse, perspective view

Irish 800-pauper workhouse, perspective view
Perspective view of the model plan for Irish union workhouses housing up to 800 inmates. The plan was devised by George Wilkinson, the Poor Law Commissioners architect in Ireland




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"Paupers: Forgotten Lives of Desperation and Hope" Step into the world of paupers, where destitution meets resilience. From The Hollies Children's Home in Sidcup, Kent to the haunting scenes of Christmas Day in the Workhouse, these places bear witness to the struggles faced by those on society's margins. Market Hill and former workhouse in Maldon stand as a testament to the harsh realities endured by paupers seeking refuge. Luke Fildes' poignant painting "Houseless and Hungry" captures their plight with heartbreaking clarity. In Congleton Union Workhouse, Arclid, Cheshire, lives were defined by hardship but also moments of camaraderie amidst adversity. The Union Workhouses in Wokingham, Berkshire and Wantage, Oxfordshire provided shelter for countless souls yearning for a glimmer of hope. The walls of Poplar Workhouse in East London echo with tales of survival against all odds. Meanwhile, the East End Doss House remains a symbol of both despair and fleeting solace for those without a roof over their heads. Journeying further across Britain reveals more stories etched within stone walls - from Pontypool's Union Workhouse in Monmouthshire to Dursley's Union Workhouse in Gloucestershire. Each place bears witness to humanity's struggle against poverty. Finally, we arrive at Newport Pagnell's Union Workhouse in Buckinghamshire - an emblematic reminder that even amidst scarcity there is strength found through unity. These pauper institutions may have faded into history but they serve as reminders that compassion can triumph over adversity. Let us remember these forgotten lives; let us strive for a future where no one goes unnoticed or uncared for – where every person finds dignity and opportunity regardless of circumstance.