Information for record number MWA7035:
Site of Southam Union Workhouse

Summary The site of Southam Union Workhouse which was used to house the poor during the Imperial period. It is marked on the Ordnance Survey map of 1885 and was situated 400m north west of the church.
What Is It?  
Type: Workhouse
Period: Imperial - Industrial (1751 AD - 1913 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Southam
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 41 62
(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 Workhouse marked on 1885 map.
2 Southam Poor Law Union was formed on 30th April 1836. The Southam Board of Guardians held their first meeting on 2nd May 1836 and appointed a committee to instigate the setting up of a new Workhouse. On the 9th of May, the committee recommended that the new building be erected on the site of the former House of Industry which was situated to the north-west of Southam on the south side of Welsh Road. On May 31st, the Clerk was instructed to advertise for plans for a Workhouse for 180-200 persons. On the 4th July, plans submitted by John Plowman were adopted subject to approval by the Poor Law Commissioners who duly authorised an expenditure of £3,600. The new Workhouse, erected in 1837, was a plain red-brick building building. Its plan followed the popular cruciform or "square" design with accommodation wings emanating from a central hub dividing the site into separate yards for the different classes of inmate (old/young, male/female). After 1912, the Workhouse became officially known as the Southam Poor Law Institution. In 1923, the Rural District Council accepted a tender of £1,240 from FG Watson of Southam for converting the building into dwellings. Southam Primary School now stands on the site.
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Internet Data
Title: The Workhouse - The Story of the Workhouse
Author/originator: Peter Higgingbottom
Date: 2014
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Map
Title: 2500 1885
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1885
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
back to top

Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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.
more -> 		back
monument YARD * A paved area, generally found at the back of a house. 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 BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. 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 DWELLING * Places of residence. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. 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 SQUARE * An open space or area, usually square in plan, in a town or city, enclosed by residential and/or commercial buildings, frequently containing a garden or laid out with trees. back
monument PRIMARY SCHOOL * A school which combines the functions of both Infant and Junior Schools, teaching children up to the age of eleven. Use specific type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record