Former Thornbury workhouse
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Former Thornbury workhouse by Jaggery as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
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Former Thornbury workhouse
Image: © Jaggery Taken: 2 Jan 2012
Viewed from the corner of Gloucester Road and Eastland Road. Now converted to flats named Beechacres, this was formerly Thornbury Workhouse. The main block, part of which is in the background, dates from 1837. The porter's lodge on the left shows the year 1888. Workhouses were used for poor relief in the Victorian era (and later) throughout the UK. They were places of dread for the needy poor and elderly, who had no alternatives in the days before the Welfare State. Books such as Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist highlighted conditions in the workhouse. Workhouse life was deliberately made as harsh and degrading as possible so that only the truly destitute would apply.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
51.612266
Longitude
-2.519998