Poverty Collection (page 18)

Board of Guardians, Lexden and Winstree Union, Essex
A group portrait of the Board of Guardians of the Lexden and Winstree Poor Law Union in Essex. The Board oversaw the operation of the union and its workhouse

Dorset Street, Spitalfields, East End of London
A view of Dorset Street, Spitalfields, East End of London - sometimes referred to as The Worst Street in London. Women and children sit or stand on the pavements and the road is strewn with rubbish

Labour yard, Bethnal Green Employment Association
A labour yard operated in the late 1860s by the Bethnal Green Employment Association in East London to provide work for the unemployed

Married Inmates Quarters, Holborn Union Workhouse, Mitcham
Married inmates quarters at what is believed to be the Holborn Union workhouse at Merton Lane, Mitcham, Surrey. This type of accommodation was reserved for couples both of whom were over 60

South Shields Union Cottage Homes, Cleadon, County Durham
Some of the residents at the South Shields Union Cottage Homes, erected in 1909 at Cleadon, County Durham, to house pauper children away from the workhouse

Mile End Road, East End of London
A view of the Mile End Road in the East End of London. A horse-drawn tram and various trade carts can be seen. St Benets Church stands at the centre right of the scene with the Peoples Palace to

Model poorhouse for town parishes in Scotland
An aerial view of a model poorhouse (the Scottish equivalent to the workhouse) for town parishes in Scotland. The design was prepared for the Scottish Board of Supervision in 1847 by architects

The Ghetto Market, East End of London
Part of the Ghetto Market at the junction of Spital Square and Fort Street, Spitalfields, East London - an area once having a concentration of Jewish residents. The grocery shop of D

The Old Labourers Last Job, picture and poem
An old man sits breaking stones while a workhouse looms behind. In the accompanying verse he bemoans his poverty, particularly at the hands of the Tories who have taxed our clothes and bread

Coster with his barrow, London
A coster with his barrow, loaded with fruit, on a London street

House interior, East End of London
The interior of a house in the East End of London. A woman has her hands in a wooden wash tub and further buckets are on the floor nearby

Church Army meal for applicants to a London workhouse
A number of elderly men and women awaiting admission to one of Londons workhouses are provided with a meal by the Church Army

Old women scavenging, East End of London
Two old women scavenging for rotten vegetables amongst market garbage in the East End of London. The scene may have been artificially constructed by superimposing several separate images

Old woman vagrant asleep in park, London
An elderly female tramp or vagrant sleeps at the foot of a tree in one of Londons parks. Her head rests on one of her bags

Lewisham Hospital kitchens, south east London
Uniformed catering staff prepare meals in the kitchens of Lewisham Hospital in south east London. A cook at the right is making up plates of salad. Large metal boxes carry the names of hospital wards

Men sleeping on the Embankment, Central London
A group of men try to make themselves comfortable enough to sleep on a bench on the Embankment in Central London

Transformation from young tramp to soldier
Before-and-after pictures of a young vagrant transformed into an army cadet over a three-month period with the help of former Oxford Liberal MP Frank Gray

Kitchen of a Common Lodging House
Residents eating and socialising in the kitchen of a common lodging house, location unknown. Such establishments provided cheap accommodation by the night for those of limited means

Vagrants asleep on bench on Thames Embankment, London
Two tramps in shabby overcoats, flat caps and muddy shoes, spend the night on a bench on Londons Thames Embankment

London County Council Night Office, Charing Cross Bridge
Applicants waiting outside the London County Councils Night Office at Charing Cross Bridge, Central London. The Office had telephone links to the citys casual wards, as well as to the Salvation Army

Female tramp asleep on steps, London
A female tramp sleeps on steps somewhere in Central London, where many of the citys homeless made their beds under bridges and railway arches. Date: circa 1930

Living Room of a Rowton House, London
The living room of one of Londons Rowton Houses where the residents can be seen relaxing, reading, and playing draughts. Rowton Houses, of which six were erected around London, were large

Frank Gray, Liberal MP
In the late 1920s, former Oxford Liberal MP Frank Gray (1880-1935) disguised himself as a tramp to experience first-hand the life of such individuals

Childrens Ward, Wandsworth & Clapham Union Infirmary
A childrens ward in the Wandsworth & Clapham Union infirmary, St Johns Hill, south west London. The children sleep in metal-framed cots

Union Workhouse, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire
In 1884, the Burton-upon-Trent Union opened a new workhouse on Belvedere Road at Outwoods. The building was designed by JH Morton of South Shields and built by the Messrs Walker and Slater of Derby

Young men at Salvation Army Training Centre
A group of six young men picking apples in an orchard. The location is a Salvation Army Training Centre preparing them for overseas duties with the organisation

Workhouse, Casual Ward
A workhouse casual ward which the poster on the right suggests is in the vicinity of Reading in Berkshire. The tramps and vagrants who occupied the room slept on hammocks slung between hooks attached

Beggar couple with child in pram
A beggar couple with a child in a pram. The pram has no tyres

Fulham Workhouse, south west London
A view of the Fulham workhouse on Fulham Palace Road, south west London. Designed by Alfred Gilbert, the main building (left) was erected in 1848-9

County Poor Farm, Arcadia, Nova Scotia, Canada
A county poor farm at Arcadia, Nova Scotia in Canada. Poor farms provided accommodation for the able-bodied poor who were given board and lodging in return for their labour on the farm

London County Council welfare staff
Staff in an office at a London County Council welfare establishment interview a homeless man

Boys being winched up a mine shaft at Halifax, Yorkshire
Two boys being winched up from a coal mine at Halifax, Yorkshire. The winch is extremely primitive with no safety features

Boys Perform Gymnastics at Mettray, France
Gymnastic exercises being performed by inmates of the agricultural colony for delinquent boys at Mettray, near Tours, France

Dormitory of a Common Lodging House
The dormitory of a common lodging house where a clean bed for the night and washing facilities could be had for (in 1930) between sixpence and a shilling

Boy pushing coal wagon in mine at Halifax, Yorkshire
A boy with a belt and chain around his waist pushes a heavy coal truck along a low underground passage in a mine at Halifax, Yorkshire

Frank Gray, MP, disguised as a tramp
In the late 1920s, former Oxford Liberal MP Frank Gray (1880-1935) disguised himself as a tramp to experience first-hand the life of such individuals

Edinburgh Charity Workhouse, Port Bristo, Edinburgh
An 1820 view of the Edinburgh Charity Poorhouse in Port Bristo, Edinburgh, Scotland, originally built in 1739-1743 by Samuel Neilson, mason, and William McVey and James Heriot, wrights

Boy dragging coal wagon with belt and chain in mine
A boy with a belt and chain around his waist drags a heavy coal truck along a low underground passage in a mine at Halifax, Yorkshire

Work House, Blackwells Island, New York, USA
The workhouse on Blackwells Island, New York, USA. The workhouse provided a punitive regime for petty offenders who were required to labour during their stay

Hammersmith Workhouse and Infirmary, West London
The new Hammersmith workhouse and infirmary on Du Cane Road, Hammersmith, West London, were opened in 1905 by Princess Henry of Battenberg

Holborn Union Infirmary, Highgate, North London
Aerial view of the Holborn Union Infirmary, Archway Road, Highgate, North London. The infirmary, which was opened in 1879, was designed by Henry Saxon Snell

1834 Poor Law Amendment Act
The opening section of the 1834 parliamentary Poor Law Amendment Act which formed the basis of what became known as the New Poor Law

Aston Union Cottage Homes, Erdington, West Midlands
The entrance to Aston Unions cottage homes, opened in 1899 at Erdington, Birmingham, West Midlands. The homes housed pauper children away from the main workhouse which occupied an adjacent site

Childrens Colony, Mayfield, Sussex
Meadow Sweet, part of the St Mary-in-the-Fields Childrens Colony at Mayfield, Sussex. It was formerly the St John the Baptist Hospice for Children at St Johns Wood, north west London

Union Infirmary, Willesden, north west London
Willesdens workhouse infirmary, erected in 1900-1901 on Acton Lane, Willesden, north west London. It later became the Park Royal Hospital and then the Central Middlesex Hospital

Oxford Incorporation Workhouse, Cowley Road, Oxford
The Oxford Incorporation Workhouse, opened in 1865 on Cowley Road, Oxford. The architect was William Fisher. During the First World War the site was used as a military hospital

Will Crooks, Labour MP
Will Crooks (1852-1921) was a socialist politician who grew up in the Poplar district of East London where his family spent some time in a workhouse

Agnes Jones, workhouse nursing pioneer
Agnes Elizabeth Jones (1832-1868) was trained at Florence Nightingales nursing school at St Thomas Hospital in London. In 1865 she was appointed to superintend an experimental nursing scheme at

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