{"id":1620,"date":"2011-01-05T17:14:48","date_gmt":"2011-01-05T17:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/history.onclick.co.uk\/wordpress\/?page_id=1620"},"modified":"2011-01-06T22:08:49","modified_gmt":"2011-01-06T22:08:49","slug":"the-workhouse-or-poorhouse","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mardenhistory.org.uk\/home\/?page_id=1620","title":{"rendered":"The Workhouse"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Post card showing the Workhouse<\/p><\/div>\n

The Marden Workhouse, or Poorhouse as it was also known, is shown here on a postcard, looking up into the village, in what is now Albion Road but was then known as America Street or Earl Street. It is the prominent building on the right with the large chimney. The adjoining cottages were called the Parish Cottages and were part of the Poorhouse, they housed staff and some families.<\/p>\n

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We know little of the building itself other than it was erected at a cost of \u00a3529.2s, which was borrowed from Mr Stephen Walter on a bond bearing the date 20th Feb 1790 at 4% per annum. However records of the work of the Poorhouse do remain.<\/p>\n

We know from the Marden Vestry book that by 19 September 1836 the building & outbuildings were unoccupied, and the garden & its \u00bd acre were exceedingly good land. Church wardens Philip Le Geyt, Stephen Hayes & Wiiliam Jude and overseers James Day & Richard Southon consented to the Guardians of the Poor of the Workhouse selling the premises. However by 16 February 1838 Stephen Walter, mason & Daniel French, carpenter produced a plan for altering the workhouse. In 1841 \u00a3100 was to be raised by the churchwardens & overseers “to contribute or defray the expenses of poor persons having settlements in this parish & being willing to emigrate, to be paid out of the rates raised for the relief of the poor”. Again in 26 February 1848 there was another meeting about emigration funds. However despite these efforts it appears that the Workhouse continued to be used.<\/p>\n

Among the bills paid by the Vestry were the following:<\/p>\n