Inmate Collection

Union Workhouse, Cootehill, County Cavan, Ireland
Female lunatic inmates sit in an airing yard at the Cootehill Union Workhouse, County Cavan, Ireland

Irish gentleman in a whisky bar in Dublin prison, 1821
Irish gentleman in Croftons whisky and beer bar in Dublin prison, 1821. Bankrupt Brian Boru with his friends in the taproom drinking with criminals and debtors. The Tap in Sheriffs Prison

Christmas Day in the Workhouse
Illustration and opening verses of In the Workhouse: Christmas Day - better known as Christmas Day in the Workhouse, written by George R Sims in 1877

Bristol Childrens Cottage Homes, Downend
A view of the childrens cottage homes at Downend, Bristol. A young inmate stands in front of one of the houses. The homes were established in the early 1900s by the Bristol Board of Guardians to

Inkerman Barracks, Woking, Surrey
A view of the entrance to Inkerman Barracks, Woking, Surrey. The buildings were originally opened in 1860 as an invalid prison for convicts not fit enough to be sent to Dartmoor

Girls room, Aylesbury Borstal, Buckinghamshire
A typical inmates room at the Aylesbury girls borstal, Buckinghamshire, established in 1909 as a youth prison for those aged 16 to 21

Leicester Union Cottage Homes, Countesthorpe, Leics
Three small inmates stand in front of a water tower at the Leicester Union cottage homes at Countesthorpe, Leicestershire

Complaint by Workhouse Master at Chipping Norton, Oxfordshir
A formal complaint by Richard Brown, master of the Chipping Norton workhouse, against casual ward inmate Charles King who had refused to perform the work demanded of him. Date: 1904

Medway Union Workhouse Death Notice
Death notice for inmate Emily Winkfield issued by the Medway Union workhouse. Date: 1924

St Marylebone Workhouse Inmates
Aged male inmates of Londons St Marylebone workhouse sit in their airing yard, chatting, reading newspapers and smoking pipes. Date: circa 1905

Kind Edward VII visits the Newmarket Workhouse and talks to a young inmate, who is resting in a cane day-bed and playing his mandolin. Date: 1904

Womens Dining Hall at St Pancras Workhouse, London
Rows of inmate eating dinner in the womens dining hall at the St Pancras Workhouse. Date: 1897

Padded cell, Wakefield Prison, West Yorkshire
A padded cell at Wakefield Prison, West Yorkshire, used to hold mentally disturbed or violent prisoners. Some kind of calendar is scratched on the door. The inmate sits, head in hands

Workhouse dining hall, Oliver Twist film, 1948
A workhouse dining hall interior, from the 1948 film of Oliver Twist, directed by David Lean. The religious mottos reminded the inmates that due gratitude was in order for the care they were receiving

Central London District School, Hanwell
Distant view of the Central London District Schools at Hanwell, also known as the Cuckoo Schools. The schools were opened in 1856 to house pauper children away from the workhouse

UK Prisoner in a Straitjacket Date: 1920s

Wardress and suffragette inmate, Holloway Prison
A suffragette in Holloway Prison, dressed in prison uniform is given her orders by a stern looking wardress to take a bucket of dirty water to clean her cell

Prison reformer John Howard visiting a prison
An engraving of Francis Wheatleys 1787 painting of John Howard Visiting and Relieving the Miseries of a Prison. Howard (third from right) (1726-1790)

Lambeth Union Workhouse, Renfrew Road, London
In 1871-3, a new Lambeth workhouse was built at Renfrew Road to a design by Thomas W Aldwinckle. In 1896, the future star of the silent screen Charles Chaplin (then aged seven)

Industrial Farm Colony, Duxhurst, Surrey
Inmates at the Industrial Farm Colony for Female Inebriates, Duxhurst, Surrey. Founded in 1895 by Lady Henry Somerset, the colony provided care for women alcoholics

Arnos Court Reformatory for Girls, Bristol
Inmates and staff at Arnos Court Reformatory for Roman Catholic Girls in Bristol, opened in 1856. It was later known as St Josephs Reformatory, then in 1933 became St Josephs Approved School

Holborn Union Workhouse Farm and Gas Works, Mitcham
The workhouse farm located near the Holborn Union workhouse, Mitcham, Surrey. Pigs feed from troughs while workhouse inmates stand nearby. A gasometer is visible at the left

Holborn Union Workhouse, Mitcham, Surrey
The dining hall at the Holborn Union workhouse in Mitcham, Surrey. The uniformed inmates sit at benches in segregated sections - the men can be seen at the rear of the hall

Whitechapel Workhouse Infirmary, womens ward
An old womens ward in the Whitechapel Workhouse Infirmary on Charles Street (later Bakers Row, now Vallance Road), East London

Suffragette in prison Votes for Women
A suffragette is seated inside a prison cell. Note the graffiti on the walls. The rhyme, addressed to the inmate reads, While you remain a suffragetteA velentine you ll never getWhat man would ever

St Josephs Home for Boys, Hinton Martell, Dorset
Youngest inmate stands next to a bicycle at the St Josephs Home for Boys, Hinton Martell, near Wimborne, Dorset. Date: circa 1909

National Childrens Home, Harpenden - Dispensary
A nurse provides medical attention to an inmate of the National Childrens Home (NCH), Harpenden. The room contains medical equipment, an adjustable chair and jars of chemical solutions

Aylesbury Inebriate Reformatory - Inmate in Cell
Uniformed inmate of Aylesbury Inebriate Reformatory seated in her cell. Date: 1908

Parkhurst Prison, Isle of Wight - Uniforms
Staff and inmate uniforms at the juvenile penitentiary established in 1838 at Parkhurst, Isle of Wight. The prison aimed to provide boys with discipline

Suffragette Lunatic Asylum. Inmate of Lunatic Asylum tells mannish suffragette in tweed suit, spats and hat, What! You, a militant suffragette! Pooh

Inmate carrying a plate of food and a cooking pot
On a Fleischlose. An inmate carrying a plate of food and a cooking pot. Robert Walker

Pauper Lunatic Certificate
A 1926 Pauper Lunatic Certificate certifying that workhouse inmate Ada Wheelhouse was feeble-minded and fit to remain in the workhouse, categorised as a lunatic

Church Farm School, East Barnet, Hertfordshire
A inmate feeding a pig at the East Barnet Farm School, established in 1863 as a boys industrial school. Date: 1917

Girl from St Olaves Home, Exeter
Annie - an inmate of St Olaves Home For Girls, Bartholomew Street, Exeter, Devon. The home was opened in 1894 by the Waifs and Strays Society. Date: 1920s

Former Kitchener Home Boy in Canada
A former inmate of the Kitchener Memorial Home For Boys, 122 Hillfield Avenue, Hornsey, after his emigration to Canada. The home, operated by the Waifs and Strays Society, could house 50 boys

Merxplas (or Merksplas) Labour Colony, Belgium
A new inmate arrives in the director principals carriage at the labour colony and beggars depot at Merxplas (or Merksplas), Belgium. Date: 1904

Illness Notice, Malmesbury Workhouse, Wiltshire
A notice sent by Mr C.M. Gane, master of the Malmesbury Union workhouse, to a friend or relative of inmate Hezekiah Coster informing them that Coster was very ill. Date: 1896

Suffragette inmates, Holloway Prison
A group of suffragettes, wearing prison uniform of quaint Dutch style caps and aprons at Holloway Prison, sort through a basket of old shoes, trying to find a pair to fit

Gymnastics display, Market Weighton Reformatory, Yorkshire
A gymnastics display by inmates of the Yorkshire Roman Catholic Reformatory for Boys at Market Weighton, East Yorkshire, opened in 1856

Prisoner of war camp, Catterick, Yorkshire
A group of six inmates pose amongst flower beds at a World War One prisoner of war camp at Catterick, North Yorkshire

Inmates of the Chelsea workhouse, London
Elderly male inmates relax in a garden of the Chelsea workhouse, London. Some are smoking pipes, some are reading newspapers, others are feeding birds

Entrance to Wigmore Schools, West Midlands
The entrance and receiving block at the Walsall and West Bromwich District School on Pennyhill Lane, Wigmore. A woman in uniform and a boy stand on either side of the archway

Boiler Room, Wigmore Schools, West Midlands
The boiler room at the Walsall and West Bromwich District School on Pennyhill Lane, Wigmore. The schools engineer and four young helpers stand alongside massive lumps of coal

Band and parade at Mettray Colony, France
A band and parade of inmates at the agricultural colony for delinquent boys at Mettray, near Tours, France. In the 1840s, the colony pioneered the cottage homes system where boys lived in small

Hammocks in dormitory, Mettray Colony, France
View of a dormitory at the agricultural colony for delinquent boys at Mettray, near Tours, France, with a few boys asleep in their hammocks

Kitchens, Lambeth Schools, West Norwood, London
Staff and inmate helpers in the kitchens at the Lambeth Schools for workhouse children on Elder Road, West Norwood, South London. Kitchen fittings include a large cooking range and two coppers

Four young inmates, Wigmore Schools, West Midlands
Four young inmates (two boys and two girls) at the Walsall and West Bromwich District School on Pennyhill Lane, Wigmore. The boys are in band uniform and hold a trumpet or cornet

General view of Mettray Colony, France
General view of the church and houses at the agricultural colony for delinquent boys at Mettray, near Tours, France. In the 1840s

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