Information for record number MWA3397:
Hospital of St Lukes, Rugby

Summary A workhouse that was built during the Imperial period. The workhouse buildings were later used as the Hospital of St Luke. It is situated on Temple Street, Rugby.
What Is It?  
Type: Workhouse, Hospital, School
Period: Imperial - Industrial (1751 AD - 1913 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Rugby
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 51 74
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 The Rugby workhouse was sold in 1818 because it was too small and a House of Industry for 130 paupers built at a cost of £1000. The building is now St. Luke's Hospital.
2 The 'Union workhouse' served a population of 28,000 and had a maximum of 195 inmates and an average of 90.
3 The building, of red brick, is in normal use as a Hospital.
4 The workhouse, at the south side of Lower Hillmorton Road in Rugby, opened on 24th June, 1819. The sleeping quarters were fitted out with 50 iron bedsteads each with deal bottoms, straw bolsters, a blanket and two sheets. As the workhouse was intended to accommodate up to 120 inmates, a certain amount of bed-sharing was to be expected, particularly amongst children. Male inmates were given the task of making hemp sacks, while females did spinning. The Union gradually expanded and by 1821 comprised 21 parishes. Rugby Poor Law Union was formed on 29th March 1836. The new union took over the existing Rugby workhouse, for which it paid a rent of £160 a year to the ten original Gilbert Union parishes who still owned the site. This continued until 1849 when the union bought the site for £4,000. The main building was set back from the Road. At the east of the entrance was a large block dating from 1896 which contained "casual" wards where vagrants were provided with a night's accommodation in return for work, usually stone-breaking. The building at the west of the entrance had a much more elegant design and contained the Union offices on the ground floor and Guardians' board room on the first floor. The board room also doubled as a chapel for the workhouse. The building was extended several times over the years as the number of Guardians increased. To the rear of the main block was a large courtyard subdivided by walls to create exercise yards for the different classes of inmates (male/female, infirm/able-bodied etc.). Females were placed at the west of the workhouse and men at the east. To the rear of the yard was the original workhouse infirmary. In 1866, following pressure from the Poor Law Board, this was improved and a full-time nurse was appointed. Further extensions were made in 1873 and 1895. In December, 1906, a new 66-bed hospital block was opened at the south of the workhouse. As well as a male and female ward on each floor, it contained operating theatres on the ground floor, and seven nurses' rooms in an attic space. Washing and toilet facilities were placed in sanitary towers on the north side. After the opening of the new building, the old infirmary was then used to House the kitchens and dining hall on the ground floor, with infirm wards above, and a children's ward on the women's side to the west. The workhouse laundry occupied a large block at the west of the main yards. The workhouse had its own school which between 1872 and 1892 contained around 30 children. The school closed in 1894, with a "Children's Caretaker" replacing the teacher. In around 1912, the Union set up three children's homes — the McClure and Townsend homes were in Charles Street, and the Mitchison home in Cromwell Road.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: White's Directory of Warwickshire
Author/originator: Rugby Local Hist Soc
Date: 1979
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: History, Directory and Gazetteer of Warwickshire
Author/originator: White F
Date: 1874
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Internet Data
Title: The Workhouse - The Story of the Workhouse
Author/originator: Peter Higgingbottom
Date: 2014
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Site Visit
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: Kilburn C
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 3397
   
Images:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source SMR Card Sites and Monuments Record Card. The Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record began to be developed during the 1970s. The details of individual archaeological sites and findspots were written on record cards. These record cards were used until the 1990s, when their details were entered on to a computerised system. The record cards are still kept at the office of the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
period Imperial 1751 AD to 1914 AD (end of the 18th century AD to the beginning of the 20th century AD)

This period comes after the Post Medieval period and before the modern period and starts with beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. It includes the second part of the Hannoverian period (1714 – 1836) and the Victorian period (1837 – 1901). The Imperial period ends with the start of the First World War in 1914.
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monument YARD * A paved area, generally found at the back of a house. back
monument TOILET * A small room or building containing a lavatory and, in more recent times, washing facilities. back
monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SCHOOL * An establishment in which people, usually children, are taught. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. back
monument WORKHOUSE * A 19th century establishment for the provision of work for the unemployed poor of a parish; later an institution administered by Guardians of the Poor, in which paupers are lodged and the able-bodied set to work. back
monument HOSPITAL BLOCK * A specialist unit within a hospital complex. It may be a separate building or sometimes linked by a corridor or covered walkway to a main building. back
monument FLOOR * A layer of stone, brick or boards, etc, on which people tread. Use broader site type where known. back
monument KITCHEN * A building or room where food is prepared and cooked. back
monument TOWER * A tall building, either round, square or polygonal in plan, used for a variety of purposes, including defence, as a landmark, for the hanging of bells, industrial functions, etc. Use more specific type where known. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument INDUSTRIAL * This is the top term for the class. See INDUSTRIAL Class List for narrow terms. back
monument COURTYARD * An uncovered area, surrounded or partially surrounded by buildings. back
monument WELL * A shaft or pit dug in the ground over a supply of spring-water. back
monument OPERATING THEATRE * A room where surgical operations are performed. Originally in the form of a room with a raised table surrounded by tiered seating from where students could watch an operation or disection be performed. back
monument HOSPITAL * An establishment providing medical or surgical treatment for the ill or wounded. Use narrower term where possible. back
monument CHAPEL * A freestanding building, or a room or recess serving as a place of Christian worship in a church or other building. Use more specific type where known. back
monument INFIRMARY * A building used for the care of the sick. Only to be used where part of a complex, eg. a workhouse. In such cases use with appropriate monument type. back
monument OFFICE * A building or room where business, administrative or professional activities are conducted. Use specific type where known. back
monument LAUNDRY * A room or building where clothing and other fabrics are washed, mangled, steamed and ironed. back
monument WALL * An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones or similar materials, laid in courses. Use specific type where known. back
monument TEMPLE * Use for places of worship. For later landscape features use, eg. GARDEN TEMPLE. back
monument EXERCISE YARD * A courtyard in a prison or workhouse for the inmates to take exercise. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record