Stradbroke's Past - Places - The Hoxne Union Workhouse, Stradbroke

The building itself has long gone but parts remain. The long low buildings that fronted the road and the entrance to the workhouse are still there, now as private dwellings.

The site of the Workhouse itself is an open space but at the rear there still stands the old Fever Hospital. Today it is divided into two dwellings.

The Workhouse was situated on the eastern outskirts of Stradbroke just off the the Laxfield Road, about 400 yds along on the right hand side of the lane to Wilby.

The map extracts shows quite clearly the cruciform shape of the workhouse and the associated buildings that remain today. (extracts from 1840 Tithe Map and the 1886 Ord.Surv. map)

HOXNE UNION WORKHOUSE

Extracted from White's Directory 1844 - p 449
Submitted by Betty Longbottom

Comprises 24 of the 26 parishes of Hoxne Hundred, & contains 15,800 inhabitants, of whom 257 are in the Norfolk part of Mendham parish.Its area is about 80 sq miles, 50,000 acres.

The Union was formed by the New Poor Law Commissioners in 1836, & its Workhouse, at Stradbroke, was erected during that & the following year, at the cost of about £10,000, & has room for 300 inmates, but has seldom half that number, & had only 120 in 1841, when the census was take, & 86 in Oct 1843.

The average annual expenditure of the 24 parishes, for the support of their poor, during the 3 years preceding the formation of the Union, was £19,930, but during the following year it did not exceed £12,000, including the great expense of migrating many pauper families to the manufacturing districts. The Commissioners, in their report, say this reduction has not been accomplished by causing the aged & infirm to suffer privation, but by carefully investigating the cases of applicants for relief, detecting imposition, & gradually but firmly withdrawing all out door relief from all able bodied paupers. Previous to the formation of the Union, there were usually, in the winter months, upwards of 800 labourers without employment, receiving out door relief in the 24
parishes.

During the first quarter after the opening of the workhouse, in Jan 1836, only 52 able bodied persons accepted temporary relief within its walls. The expenditure of the Union, in 1838, was £7312, & in 1839, £8279.4s.

The Workhouse is a large cruciform brick building, admirably adapted for the most approved system of classification; & within the same enclosure, a Fever Ward has been built, at the cost of £600.

Mr W L B Frever, of Weybridge, is Supt.Registrar & Clerk to the Board of Guardians; to whom Sir E Kerrison is chairman; & the Rev W B Mack, vice chairman. Mr J Sims is the auditor; & the relieving officers & district registrars are Mr Thomas Thurston (Stradbroke) & Mr William
Bloss (Dennington). The Rev J Knevett, of Syleham, is chaplain to the Union; & Mr William Coyte is master, & Mrs Wright, matron of the
Workhouse.

The Main Entrance - Hoxne Union Workhouse (no longer exists)
workhouse main entrance

The magnificent entrance was a threshold that most, if not all, inmates would rather not to have had to cross.

The Fever Hospital
Places Fever Hosp workhouse

The Fever Hospital which was built at a cost (then) of £600. Today it is divided into two private dwellings.

The main workhouse buildings (no longer exist)
workhouse main building

The Hoxne Workhouse was built in one of the "standard" styles designed along what were thought to be the most efficient means of operating such an institution. Whilst the concept was understandable given the times, the life of the inmate was not an easy nor a pleasant one.

CLICK HERE for more information on the history of the workhouse, from Peter Higginbotham's web site www.workhouses.org.uk

The 1881 Census for the Workhouse
The Hoxne Union Workhouse had never been "over occupied" and by 1881 only occupants were the "curator" and his family. The workhouse by that stage had been closed for some 10 years.

Institution: Union House Barlow Green
Census Place: Stradbroke, Suffolk, England
Source: FHL Film 1341449
PRO Ref RG11
Piece 1857
Folio 70
Page 13

Marr Age Sex Birthplace

John KISTRUCK M 67 M Aldham, Suffolk, England
Rel: Head
Occ: Curator Of Union House (Munic)

Maria KISTRUCK M 54 F Copford, Essex, England
Rel: Wife
Occ: Curators Wife

Jane M.M. KISTRUCK U 16 F Hoxne, Suffolk, Eng
Rel: Dau
Occ: Curators Dau

Jarrold F. KISTRUCK 9 M Hoxne, Suffolk, Eng
Rel: Son
Occ: Scholar

Bold Text

Created on 07/29/2005 10:58 AM by MikeReadman
Updated on 08/01/2005 02:09 PM by MikeReadman