Newington Workhouse was an institution for indoor relief of the poor at 182 Westmoreland Road, (now Beaconsfield Road), Walworth, London, in what is now the London Borough of Southwark. It became the Newington Lodge

Public Assistance Institution 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' ...

in 1930, and was converted into social housing in 1948. The building was demolished in 1969.

History

The workhouse was built in 1850 in the hamlet of Walworth to replace an older workhouse belonging to the parish of St Mary Newington first opened in 1734. The 1850 building was originally intended to be an industrial school. The site was taken over in 1868 by the St Saviour Poor Law Union and became an infirmary. The Local Government Act 1929 abolished the workhouse system, and in 1930 Newington Workhouse became the Newington Lodge

, until the

Poor Laws In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

were repealed in 1948. It then continued to be used as social housing by London County Council Welfare Department. In 1961 it held "266 women and children from 72 fragmented families". The building was demolished in 1969 and replaced by the Aylesbury Estate. The records of the institution are now held in the London Metropolitan Archives.

Cultural significance

The comic actor

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

spent a short time in Newington Workhouse in 1896.Eric L. Flom, ''Chaplin in the Sound Era: An Analysis of the Seven Talkies'', McFarland, 1997, The 1966 television play ''

Cathy Come Home ''Cathy Come Home'' is a 1966 BBC television play about homelessness. It was written by Jeremy Sandford, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach. A 1998 ''Radio Times'' readers' poll voted it the "best single television drama" and a ...

'' depicted the living conditions in Newington Lodge.

References

{{coord, 51, 29, 8, N, 0, 5, 3, W, type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures demolished in 1969 Workhouses in London Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Southwark Poor law infirmaries