HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Leigh Union workhouse, also known as the Leigh workhouse and after 1930, Atherleigh Hospital, was a
workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...
built in 1850 by the Leigh Poor Law Union on Leigh Road, Atherton in the historic county of
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
.


Background

The Elizabethan Poor Law made the townships the unit of administration of the poor laws, and each appointed unpaid
Overseers of the Poor An overseer of the poor was an official who administered poor relief such as money, food, and clothing in England and various other countries which derived their law from England such as the United States. England In England, overseers of the poo ...
to collect poor rates. Paupers were given cash or kind as
outdoor relief Outdoor relief, an obsolete term originating with the Elizabethan Poor Law (1601), was a program of social welfare and poor relief. Assistance was given in the form of money, food, clothing or goods to alleviate poverty without the requirement t ...
.
Workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...
s were more common from the end of the 17th century and provided
indoor relief In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...
. Pauper children, especially orphans, were often apprenticed to local craftsmen to learn a trade and ease the burden on the poor rates.


Workhouses before 1837

There were several small workhouses in the area of the Poor Law Union dating from the 18th century. The Pennington township had a workhouse in King Street, now
Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...
town centre, from about 1739. It had
stocks Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law describing ...
and a
whipping post The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse. The pillory is related to the stock ...
and served “as a prison for evildoers and a place for the unhappy poor”. Rules were strictly enforced and churchgoing was compulsory. In 1777 the churchwardens leased the workhouse to two "speculators", who ran it for a salary of £9 per annum, "five quarters of coal" from each township, 15d (6p) a week for each inmate and the profits from the labours of the poor. The speculators were to find food, drink, washing and accommodation, which encouraged exploitation and harsh conditions. Usually the workhouse had few inmates; there were five in 1792, but numbers increased from the time of the
Napoleonic wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
. It was sold in 1822. Atherton's workhouse was in Hag Fold and lasted until the Leigh Union was created. Tyldesley had a workhouse after 1798 when the town started to grow rapidly. The governor's salary was £1 per month in 1798 and rose to £1 18s (£1.90) in 1808, the matron's wage was 8s (40p) a month in 1800. Inmates, unless incapacitated, had to work both outside and inside and the profit from their labour offset maintenance costs. The house had hand
loom A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but th ...
s for weaving and some inmates were sent to work in the new cotton factories.


The Poor Law Union

The
Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 The ''Poor Law Amendment Act 1834'' (PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey. It completely replaced earlier legislation based on the ''Poor Relief ...
was passed to reform the way in which relief was given to the poor and resulted in the formation of Poor Law Unions across the country. Leigh Poor Law Union was established on 26 January 1837 in accordance with the Poor Law Amendment Act covering six townships, Astley, Atherton,
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
, Pennington,
Tyldesley Tyldesley () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it is north of Chat Moss near the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, southeast of Wigan ...
with
Shakerley Shakerley is a suburb of Tyldesley in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It was anciently a hamlet in the northwest of the township of Tyldesley cum Shakerley, in the ancient parish of Leigh. The boundary between ...
and Westleigh of the ancient parish of
Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...
plus
Culcheth Culcheth is a village in the Borough of Warrington, ceremonial county of Cheshire and historic county of Lancashire, England, six miles (10 km) north-east of Warrington town centre; it is the principal settlement in Culcheth and Glazebury ci ...
,
Lowton Lowton is a suburban village within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is around from Leigh, south of Wigan and west of Manchester city centre. The settlement lies across the A580 East Lancashire Road. Wi ...
, and part of Winwick. The population of the townships was about 26,000. The Poor Law Union was run by a board of eighteen guardians, assisted by the overseers. A medical officer was appointed “to attend duly and punctually upon all paupers falling sick within the limits of the Union.” The overseers of the old poor law were retained and the new guardians included Richard Hodgkinson, Lord Lilford's agent and James Pownall, the silk manufacturer. The millowner,
James Burton James Edward Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also been recognized ...
represented Tyldesley and was at one time chairman. The Leigh Poor Law Union in 1837 used existing workhouses in Lowton and Culcheth. After 1840, numbers of inmates in the workhouse rarely exceeded 200 at any given time. The guardians report of 1840 found the inmates employed in cotton weaving and nailing. The new union workhouse at Atherleigh on Leigh Road in Atherton was completed in 1855. The land was bought from Lord Lilford and cost £640. The
red brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
workhouse, described as a "fine Gothic building" cost £8,000. After 1930 it was used as a hospital and closed in 1990. It was demolished and the site is occupied by housing. In 1840 the workhouse diet was adequate, consisting of "Breakfast: milk porridge (1 quart for adults; 3 gills for children 10 to 15 years; 1 pint for children under 10 years) and wheaten bread. Dinner: bacon, potatoes, bread, pea soup. Supper: 1 quart of meal porridge, 1 pint of butter milk. Special meals were provided on Christmas Day, such as in 1853, when the inmates received roast beef and plum pudding."


References

Notes Bibliography * * * * {{coord , 53, 30, 28, N, 2, 31, 4, W, type:landmark_region:GB-LAN, display=title Workhouses in Lancashire Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan Atherton, Greater Manchester