Article For May 2010 Newsletter

At the end of March we welcomed back Ian Waller to our society who gave us an enthralling talk entitled ‘Bread, Gruel and Suet Dumplings – Life in the Workhouse’. Ian always researches his subject thoroughly and he gave us a detailed history of the Workhouse or ‘split’ from the early days. The State of the Union Workhouse System was inaugurated in 1723 with the Workhouse Act and by 1834 this had developed into the Poor Law which stated how Workhouses should be run, their size and the number of residents. In 1871 ‘widow relief’ systems were introduced and by 1913 workhouses were retitled as ‘Poor Law Institutions’. By 1948 most of the workhouses had been closed and turned into hospitals or the buildings sold off and some even developed into luxury flats!

The talk was illustrated by some wonderful slides of the workhouses. With 300 inmates and 30-50 staff, these became huge organisations. Ian concluded his talk with statistics of the working of the institutions, dress code, sleeping arrangements, catering, punishments and work organisation. It was a fascinating insight into our Victorian past.

In April we had our AGM and the second half of the meeting was a social where members were invited to reminisce about their childhood holiday memories. It was a most enjoyable evening helped by a glass of wine and cake!

Meeting are held at 8pm on the last Tuesday of the month in the Village Hall. All visitors are very welcome.

Next Meetings: May 25^th - The Castles of South Bedfordshire

June 29^th - The Leighton Buzzard Railway – The early days

July 4^th - Outing to the Leighton Buzzard Railway.