Thursday Doors – The Poorhouse (1)

The Bawnboy workhouse, often referred to in the old days as the poorhouse, is the subject of this week’s Thursday Doors. You can see a glimpse of it in the first photo and it’s one of the largest workhouses that I’ve come across so far. The next few images will show how big it is.

Would you like to see inside? Unfortunately, there wasn’t any public access but there was an information board at the entrance, displaying some interior images.

I think this was later used as a sports hall.

These are the straw beds the inmates slept on. I’ll never complain about a mattress again.

The first image is of a cell, where those who broke the strict workhouse rules were locked up and the second one is of the latrines. No privacy in those days. However, because men and women (even married couples) were kept segregated and housed in separate areas of the workhouse, they didn’t have to share the same toilets.

You can get an idea of it’s size from this plan.

Here is an old aerial shot of the grounds. The workhouse buildings are on the top left, with the front facing the main road which runs diagonally across the photograph.

This may have been part of the infirmary.

The workhouse is a cut-stone structure which was built in 1852 and the funding for it came from rates paid by land and property owners. The diet was very limited and strict rules were enforced. It was a last resort for anyone to enter the poorhouse, as couples were separated and even children found themselves apart from their mothers and fathers. In 1920 the boys school room became a dance hall and was used for concerts, meetings and for Irish dance classes. In later years it was used for indoor sports, such as basketball and volleyball. In 1933 a vocational school was also in operation in the Bawnboy workhouse.

For next week’s blogpost I have more images from Bawnboy Workhouse and a wee bit more history, too. If you travel over to Norm’s blog you’ll find lots of lovely Thursday Doors to view, with links to even more in the comments at the end of his post.