Workhouse runs - Uckfield - Site of Union Workhouse

My 3 previous posts visited the parish workhouses of Uckfield, Framfield and Buxted. In the 1830s, these were superseded by a single, Union workhouse at Uckfield located in Ridgewood around the place where Wares Road and Highview Lane meet.

Uckfield Union Workhouse

The Union Workhouse

Uckfield Poor Law Union was formed from about a dozen parishes on 25th March 1835. A new Uckfield Union workhouse, 3 stories tall and designed to accommodate 350 inmates, was built in 1838-9.  Ron Martin's article "Casual Wards at Uckfield Union Workhouse" in Hindsight Volume 2 tells us that facilities included: male and female accommodation, dining room kitchen, offices and board room, nursery, wash-house, disinfectant house and workshops. The presence of a school mistress in the 1881 census suggests a classroom.

Site of the Union Workhouse. Pleasant houses and colourful gardens.

It has since been demolished and pleasant-looking houses with colourful gardens now fill the site. The area between the workhouse and New Road comprised fields in which the inmates would have been expected to grow vegetables in the same stubborn clay that Wares Pottery used to make their tiles and pots.

Looking at the old censuses, plenty of local names jump off the page.  One name, in particular catches my attention.

1841 - Charlotte Langridge, F, age 10, born Sussex

There are Langridges from the Dane Hill part of my family tree. Could Charlotte be connected somehow? How did she end up in the workhouse?

The 1851 census shows that she is still at the union workhouse and that other Langridges have arrived. namely 68-year old William Langridge and his wife. William was born in the parish of Newick and married Fletching girl, Martha Thorp in  September 1807. He worked as a farm labourer and they raised a family in Fletching before ending their days in the Uckfield Union workhouse.

Charlotte Maria's record on the Weald website shows that she was William and Martha's grandchild. Their first child, Jane, was born in 1807, not long after they married. She had three illegitimate children with different men. The first two, Philip and John, were born and died in the Fletching workhouse. The third, Charlotte Maria survived and must have been transferred to the Union workhouse in Uckfield before she was 10 years old.

So are we related? A bit of burrowing on the Weald website gave me the answer. Going back six generations from Charlotte Maria, I find myself in the England of 11th September 1675. The civil war had ended 24 years previously and King Charles II is on the throne. In London, the reconstruction of St. Paul's Cathedral has just started. In the rather more modest surroundings of St Andrew & St Mary Church, Fletching, John Langridge (born 1655 in Horsted Keynes) married Anne Hysted (born 1655). They had six children. The second youngest, William (born 1862) was Charlotte Marie's ancestor. The youngest, George (born 1863) was mine. So we are related. I am assuming that Charlotte ended up in the workhouse because she was illegitimate. There is illegitimacy in my Langridge line too - but my ancestor was lucky, she and the father of her children moved in together and later married and, as far as I know, no one ended up in the workhouse.

The Casual Wards block

Highview Lane, which led down to the workhouse's casual wards.

The Hindsight article goes on to explain that, about 60 years after the Union workhouse was built, the casual wards block (vagrants lodge) was added. This long, low building had a central corridor with individual cells for the overnight occupants.  Male and female accommodation were separate.  There were 7 cells for men. Each had an adjacent stone-breaking cell. Cells had hooks for hammocks and high windows.  The 2 women's cells were similar but with no stone-breaking cell.

The last run

The last of my workhouse runs took me to the site of the Uckfield Union workhouse. by finding out a little about the inmates I found a distant relation whose family, like mine on the Langridge side, were agricultural labourers. I saw how small differences in a family's fortunes and maybe a bit of luck enabled my ancestors to scratch along OK while she ended up in a workhouse, a significant distance from her home village. Coming up to date, so far I have been one of the lucky ones but I am all too aware that this could change with a fall in share prices and a couple of other quirks of fate, which is why I have been running in aid of Shelter.

https://raiseyourrun.shelter.org.uk/fundraising/wendy-tagg-in-aid-of-shelter

References

http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Uckfield/

Ron Martin (1996) "Casual Wards at Uckfield Union Workhouse" Hindsight Volume 2

Uckfield Union Workhouse censuses https://www.theweald.org/P2.asp?PId=Uc.Whouse

Charlotte Maria Langridge https://www.theweald.org/N10.asp?NId=120011699

William Langridge https://www.theweald.org/N10.asp?NId=120010832

Martha Langridge https://www.theweald.org/N10.asp?NId=120011220

Joseph Langridge (my ancestor) https://www.theweald.org/N10.asp?NId=120011069

Plantagenet Somerset Fry (1990), The Kings and Queens of England and Scotland, pg 140

Workhouse Runs - Buxted

 Buxted is an attractive village surrounded by farmland. However, not everyone would have been able to work and the parish had 25 workhouse places. 

One of the fields to the South East of the village once contained Workhouse Farm.  The idea was that inmates would provide some of their own food, reducing running costs. In 1841 the Workhouse Farm was home to eight people, in three groups:

Group 1:

• Thomas Berrick, M, Head, age 79, born Sussex
• Frances Berrick, F, [Wife], age 61, born Sussex
• Charles Berrick, M, [Grand-son], age 16, born Sussex
• Edward Berrick, M, [Grand-son], age 8, born Sussex

Group 2:

• William Durrant, M, Head, age 40 to 44, born Sussex
• Sarah Durrant, F, [Mother], age 80 to 84, born Sussex

Group 3:

• Hannah Seymer, F, Head, age 50 to 54, born Sussex
• Thomas Turner, M, age 75 to 79, born Sussex; occupation: servant

I think that the numbers are much lower than expected because, in 1841, the authorities were probably already moving inmates to the Uckfield Union workhouse. The 8 people left were mostly very young or old like Thomas Berrick, aged 79, his wife and two grandsons. Were they breaking up families, leaving just the youngest and oldest at the farm? There are a few people with the same surname in the Union workhouse:

• John Berrick, M, age 13, born Sussex
• Ann Durrant, F, age 50 to 54, born Sussex, possibly the same Anne Durrant that was there 10 years later
• Maria Turner, F, age 25 to 29, born Sussex

By 1851, the farm was no longer a workhouse.  Those who could not support themselves ended up in Uckfield's Union workhouse.

Buxted's Almshouses

However, a generous act improved the lot of some Buxted people. The Post Office Directory of 1874 tells us:

The Buxted almshouses, containing four tenements, two for single people and two for married couples, were built by Lady Catherine J. V. Harcourt, A.D. 1864.

Plaque showing Lady Harcourt's initials and A.D. 1864

Lady Harcourt who, with her husband, had inherited Buxted House from her father, The 3rd Lord Liverpool.

Ironically, this was the same Lord Liverpool (1784-1851) who,  according to Farrant (2001) "ordered the removal of all but one of the houses in 'Buxted Street', so as to enlarge the park and leave in isolation the church and the house immediately to the West of it."  The survey of 1798 tells us that there were 10 tenants.  According to Taylor (1986) "Lord Liverpool then refused to carry out any repairs to the properties and they gradually fell into decay. The occupants were forced to leave, the houses were demolished and by 1836 there was nothing left to be seen of the old village."

There would have been a cottage between me and the church and more to its right.

In modern times, there are too many people who can relate to these bygone villagers who were living in tumbledown accommodation, which is why I am running to raise money for Shelter.

https://raiseyourrun.shelter.org.uk/fundraising/wendy-tagg-in-aid-of-shelter

References

The workhouse - http://www.workhouses.org.uk/parishes/

1841 census - workhouse farm - https://www.theweald.org/P2.asp?PId=Bu.WorkHF

Buxted Almshouses - https://www.theweald.org/P2.asp?PId=Bu.AlmsHo

Census for Uckfield Union Workhouse - https://www.theweald.org/P2.asp?PId=Uc.Whouse

Catherine Julia (Jenkinson) Harcourt (1811 - 1877) https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Jenkinson-541

John Farrant (2001) Sussex Depicted, pg 186

Rupert Taylor (1986) The East Sussex Village Book, pg 34

Workhouse Runs - Framfield workhouse

It was the perfect moment for a run. The sun was rising and beginning to burn off the mist lying in the valleys.  I headed East from home and quickly found myself running along Sandy Lane, with pretty cottages dotted between rolling fields. 

Framfield's former workhouse, now delightful homes.

Turning left, I pass Brett's cottages. Just under 200 years ago these cottages were a workhouse. From the 1700s, work houses accommodated those unable to support themselves. In 1841, the 11 inmates ranged from sixtysomething farm labourer, Gabriel Gladman, to 3-year old Harriet Towner:

• James Waller, M, Head, age 30 to 34, born Sussex; occupation Relieving Officer
• Mary Waller, F, [Wife], age 40 to 44, born Sussex
• William Waller, M, [Son], age 8, born Sussex
• Gabriel Gladman, M, age 60 to 64, born Sussex; occupation: farm labourer
• James Banks, M, age 17, born Sussex
• Henry Jones, M, age 17, born Sussex
• John Potter, M, age 7, born Sussex
• Philly Tomsett, F, age 30 to 34, born Sussex
• Margaret Hartfield, F, age 10, born Sussex
• Louisa Hobbs, F, age 10, born Sussex
• Jane Day, F, age 7, born Sussex
• Caroline Towner, F, age 5, born Sussex
• Harriet Towner, F, age 3, born Sussex
• Iona Wicks, F, age 5, born Sussex

The Old Warden's Cottage

Presumably the Relieving Officer and his family lived in the part of the building now known as The Old Warden's Cottage.

There doesn't seem to be that many people in the workhouse. I suspect that most of Framfield's "paupers" had already be sent to the big Union Workhouse in Uckfield's.  As I scanned down the 1941 list of inmates for this establishment, two names leapt out at me.

• Mary Towner, F, age 25 to 29, born Sussex
• William Towner, M, age 1, born Sussex

Was Mary the mother of little Caroline and Harriet? If so it seems to be extraordinarily cruel to split the little children from their mum. Their father was already gone - had he died? deserted the family? Unable to support them?  Whichever it was, it seems very harsh to split the family further.

Framfield's old workhouse is South East of the railway between Uckfield and Buxted.

Sadly, people are still being pushed out of their home towns and villages by circumstances beyond their control, which is why I am running to raise money for Shelter. 

https://raiseyourrun.shelter.org.uk/fundraising/wendy-tagg-in-aid-of-shelter 

References

Census information from 1841 - Framfield Workhouse https://www.theweald.org/P2.asp?PId=Fr.WHouse 

Census information - Uckfield Union Workhouse https://www.theweald.org/P2.asp?PId=Uc.Whouse

Workhouse Runs - Uckfield Almshouses and poor house

I am part of a group from work raising money for Shelter so I am running to places near Uckfield with historical associations with homelessness. Going back to medieval  times, churches and monasteries were responsible for supporting the poor. After the dissolution of the monasteries, individual parishes such as Buxted (which included Uckfield) and Framfield were responsible for people who could not support themselves.. 

Uckfield - Alm houses (now gone) and the Old Workhouse

Today I ran down the High Street from Browns Lane, passing the spot where Uckfield's alms houses once stood.  The first edition of Hindsight (1995) describes the alms houses. as "two groups of cottages on the East side of the London Road" and has a map showing where they once stood.   The smaller group was to the immediate south of Browns Lane and the other was a little to the south of  the bus stop now stands. This area is now thick with trees and, last week, a fox slipped into the undergrowth as I ran by.

According to the 1831 census. the small group was occupied by 15 people  and the larger by 34.  It seems incredible that so many people were crammed into two rather small buildings.

Uckfield - Old Workhouse (Poor House)

From the 1700s “paupers” deemed able to work were sent to workhouses. In 2021, the old workhouse, now known as Bell Farm, looks idyllic nestled behind a typical Sussex hedge. However, in 1831 35 poor people and the Beadle were living in what was then called the Poor House. The building is from the 17th Century.

Edward Summer's Hindsight article explains that the almshouses and old workhouse were disposed of by Samual Perigoe, the "Overseer of Parish Property and Churchwarden ... to assist in the financing of the Uckfield Union Workhouse."  "The larger group of almshouses were sold in 1839 for £355.

Sadly poverty and homelessness have not been left in the past, which is why I am running to raise money for Shelter.

Donate to Wendy's runs raising money in aid of Shelter

References

Edwards N, Summer 1995, The Uckfield Almshouses, Hindsight, Uckfield and District Preservation Society.

Higginbothem, P, http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Uckfield/

Transcribed by PBN publications (1988) 1831 census, Uckfield, Sussex.