Norwich Mercury article revealed harsh workhouse conditions 200 years ago

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 14 Nov, 08:01 · Archive

A Norwich Mercury article from around 1826 described appalling conditions at Norwich workhouse, where 600 people were crowded into poorly ventilated rooms without basic sanitation or cutlery.

An article in the Norwich Mercury approximately 200 years ago described severe conditions at Norwich workhouse. The account stated that from 1826 and for some years previous, 'the workhouse was in every part of it a scene of filth, wretchedness and indecency which baffles all description, without regulations of any kind'.

The article painted a picture of 600 people indiscriminately housed together regardless of age or marital status. Paupers reportedly had no cutlery and ate meals by hand. Rooms were seldom ventilated, and beds swarmed with vermin. There was no regular order to mealtimes, with people breakfasting, dining and supping without pattern for weeks, months or years.

Living conditions across more than 20 workhouses in Norfolk were similarly tough. Facilities consisted of communal water taps with no sewage disposal, creating threats of epidemic disease including typhoid, cholera and plague. The first recorded Norwich Poor House stood on what is now Duke Street, where the Duke of Norfolk and the Howards lived in contrast until 1711. From 1764 to 1785, parishes were grouped into local incorporations and houses of industry were built for the poor, though no statutory rights were provided to the unemployed.

How it is being reported

• Looking back at the tough life in the workhousesIt was an article in the Norwich Mercury 200 years ago which painted a grim picture of life for men and women forced to live at the city workhouse.Eastern Daily Press · 14 Nov, 07:35
• Looking back at the tough life in the workhousesIt was an article in the Norwich Mercury 200 years ago which painted a grim picture of life for men and women forced to live at the city workhouse.Norwich Evening News · 14 Nov, 07:35

In this story: Norwich · Norwich Mercury · Duke of Norfolk · Norfolk · Doris Humphreys

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