The former Bridgnorth Workhouse

Image: © Richard Law Taken: 31 Mar 2019

Built in 1848 at the behest of the Bridgnorth Poor Law Union, which had been formed a decade or so earlier, this large workhouse replaced earlier (and presumably outgrown) premises elsewhere in the town. By the 1881 census, it had 4 staff (plus the master & matron's daughter) and 134 inmates, ranging in age from 3 months right up to 90 years. Most were relatively local, hailing from places such as Bridgnorth, Alveley, Eardington and Claverley, whilst there were also some poor souls from Middlesex, Essex, Kent, Somerset and Ireland. As in other rural workhouses, a depressingly high proportion of these residents are listed as Agricultural Labourers, which rather reflects on the way the economy was heading at that time. The buildings were falling out of use as a workhouse by the turn of the 20th century, after which they became a Public Assistance Institute for a while (similar to a workhouse but without so much of the stigma) then they became a residential home for the elderly around 1930, and have now been converted to residential use.

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