Life at the Workhouse....

On 23rd August the group visited Southwell Workhouse.  This wasn't in our original plans but we wanted to find out more about this important local building which is the best preserved workhouse in the country. In Victorian times people were put in the Workhouse if they were poor and couldn't find work.  They were given lots of work to do because it was thought that they were lazy.


Workhouse staff and volunteers bought the past to life for us through costumes and stories.  It helped us understand why people had to come here and to imagine what life was like for them.  It made us think about how important nature was to people then, because if they couldn't work on the land during Winter then the Workhouse might be the next stop.

You can find out more about the Workhouse at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/workhouse-southwell