CHRISTMAS HAS a particular poignancy for the poverty stricken and in past times social deprivation was epitomised by the workhouse which has earned its place in English social history as the last resort for the poor and destitute.

The conditions that prevailed have been immortalised by Charles Dickens in his novel Oliver Twist, written against the background of the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 which ended supplemental dole for the impoverished and forced husbands, wives and children into separate institutions in the name of utilitarian efficiency.

Until then, each parish was responsible for providing relief to deserving cases but the burden on the rates was becoming heavy and the relatively easy terms on which men without an adequate wage could get financial help from public funds was being regularly abused. The government therefore decided to impose a more rigid procedure and the new legislation decreed that able-bodied men who could find no work had no option but to enter the workhouse, taking their families with them although in some cases, children were boarded out with foster parents.

This was the main principle of the act that also required parishes to be grouped together as unions with a workhouse for each. Bourne Poor Law Union was formed on 25th November 1835 and a Board of Guardians to supervise the system was elected, a total of 44 in number representing 37 constituent parishes, and they lost no time in establishing the new regime that became operative before the end of 1836.

The town already possessed a workhouse that stood in North Street near the junction with Burghley Street which was then called Workhouse Road but this was too small to cater for the new legislation and so a new building was planned at the end of St Peter's Road. It was designed by Bryan Browning, the architect responsible for the Town Hall at Bourne, and built in 1836 at a cost of £5,350 with room for 300 paupers but was rarely full because admission was discouraged by the guardians.

They enforced a strict regime in a bid to persuade the poor to seek employment rather than live in such grim and uncongenial surroundings. In 1841, there were only 84 inmates and 178 in 1851 when the census was taken. In 1881, the workhouse had a total of 123 officers and inmates and the guardians were meeting once a week to perform their duties. The staff included a master and matron, usually a husband and wife team approved by the board, a medical officer, chaplain, schoolmaster, and schoolmistress to assist with the welfare of the inmates who were not generally treated with much sympathy.

Productive work was not encouraged, rules were strict and the official policy of economy left no room for luxuries. An example of the conditions that prevailed can be found in the workhouse accounts which indicate that 5p per head per day was spent on the inmates and that included clothing. Outdoor relief was also provided for the poor in their homes, there being a great resistance to entering the workhouse and some who could not face the stigma took drastic action such a inflicting self harm or even committing suicide. Nevertheless, poverty was so widespread that overcrowding became a problem.

It was a hard life but there were treats for the inmates on special occasions such as Christmas Day and in 1877 they were provided with a dinner of roast beef and plum pudding and entertained by a local group known as the Bourne Amateur Minstrels and even given small presents from underneath a Christmas tree donated by Lord Aveland, a local landowner. In 1923, there were similar luxuries to celebrate the festive season when the various rooms were decorated and the extra food included pork pie for breakfast, roast beef, roast pork, hare, and plum pudding for dinner, plum cake and jam for tea and afterwards the children received presents of toys while there were sweets for the women and tobacco for the men.

These additional luxuries were usually paid for by wealthy townspeople who often dropped in on Christmas Day to see how their money was being spent and to receive the thanks of the inmates. The guardians also ensured that they were appreciative of this charity and one of them, an eleven-year-old boy, no doubt guided by matron, wrote thanking them for providing such a happy Christmas and the lovely toys which Santa Claus had brought them. The letter concluded: "From one of the grateful little boys."

In 1863, the name of the institution was changed from the Bourne Union Workhouse to Waterloo Square in an attempt to remove the stigma attached to the original address, especially among unmarried mothers who often gave birth there. Apart from providing for the poor of the parish, the workhouse also catered for tramps passing through the district and who received lodging and a meal of bread and gruel for perhaps one or two nights in return for some menial work such as chopping wood or sweeping floors. These vagrants had been known to cause trouble, and even to bring lice into the workhouse, and as a result, the Guardians decided in 1868 that everyone should be searched and given a bath before being admitted.

The social disgrace of the workhouse system remained until improvements in social conditions brought about its gradual decline and in 1930, the premises were converted for use as a mental hospital known as the Bourne Public Assistance Institution. It was also referred to as Wellhead House but subsequently became St Peter's Hospital for mentally handicapped women and children. This facility was slowly run down during the late 20th century and patients moved out under the government's policy of care in the community. The buildings stood empty for several years until 1997 when the entire complex was bought by Warners Midlands plc, the printing firm that owns the adjoining premises, for an expansion of their business interests and was demolished without ceremony in 2001 and the site is now occupied by the company’s new press hall and bindery.