Originally Posted by
Shabbychic
You wonder why I remembered your post? Do you actually even know what a workhouse, or as they were called in Scotland, a poorhouse, was?
Well I used to work in what had previously been a poorhouse, and had access to many of the original records, and trust me, it was not a nice comfy place to live. The conditions and rules these poor souls, who were classed as paupers, had to live and work in, were atrocious. Many, many "inmates" (as they were called) died there, and were not even given a proper funeral. The were buried in a small field at the back of the institution, in paupers graves, with no markers or anything, and are still there to this day, in two grassed over, walled off areas. No proper figures were kept of how many.
Families were split up, and lived in designated dorms. The women were only allowed to keep any children under 2 with them. The men spent their days doing things like breaking up rocks, for their keep, not for extra pocket money, because they didn't get any, and they were actually punished for any hammers they broke while carrying out their tasks.
I remember reading about a young woman, in the "Punishment Book", who attempted to run away, but she was reported to the police, brought back, and charged with theft. Do you know what she stole? The petticoat she was wearing. It had been supplied to her by the home and was classed as their property.
So don't tell me how wonderful a workhouse or poorhouse would be for those in poverty at the moment. It's a decent government that is needed. One who works for the people, makes sure they have decent wages and homes to live in, and not just to line their own pockets, or those of their cronies.
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