We have known for some time that before the setting-up of the Union Workhouse in the 1830s, the parish of Alcester ran its own poor-house and that it was situated at the site called ‘The Rookery’ in Stratford Road. What was not known was the date it started or any details concerning it. However, we have recently been introduced to ‘The State of the Poor’, a government enquiry of 1797, conducted by Sir Frederick Morton Eden: in volume 3 he deals with Alcester and then the rest of Warwickshire.

Under ‘Alcester’, Sir Frederick tells us that ‘the average number of Poor in the house, during the last 5 years was 25’. The workhouse was established in 1774 and the inmates consisted ‘chiefly of infirm old people and very young children. They are principally employed in carding and spinning; but their earnings are too inconsiderable to make any alteration in the general expence of the house’ He goes on to note the extremely good diet; hot-meat dinners three times a week, with good small beer; on the other days cold meat, if any left, with bread and cheese; broth for breakfast and bread and cheese for supper, except on meat days.

Morton prefaced his comments on the workhouse with the statement that the poor were relieved at their own houses, as long as they could be satisfied with 1s.6d per week. Before 1774 there were 13 sixpenny levies, which raised about £530 but by 1796 the assessments had been reduced to 9 levies. ‘This appears to be a very heavy expence for outpoor in a parish whose population from the best account I can get does not exceed 1000 inhabitants’

Morton was a little out with the population numbers, for in 1785 the total was 1120 and in 1801 it was 1685. The population when Sir Frederick came was rising rapidly, possibly due to the flourishing needlemaking industry

Spring 1986 Index

© Alcester & District Local History Society 1986