TALES FROM THE WORKHOUSE

The tragic case of Ann Roslin

Conditions in the workhouse were at times extremely harsh and it is often difficult to imagine how the poor survived in those difficult times. Their lives were certainly regarded cheaply by those in power with many tragedies as a result and one of the more moving incidents occurred in the winter of 1858.

On Saturday 20th November that year, Ann Roslin, a girl of 20, left the workhouse only fourteen days after giving birth to a child. The stigma of birth out of wedlock was a heavy burden in those days and in most cases the man involved either disappeared or refused to accept responsibility while those who did had no money to provide for them.

We have no record of the baby which most probably died at birth but the girl started walking the eight miles to Castle Bytham where it is believed that she had family and friends. When she reached Witham-on-the-Hill four miles away, she was too feeble to go any further and was obliged to stay all night in the village where she was given lodging by villagers who next morning took her by cart to Castle Bytham where she died a lingering death eight days later. “Is it not lamentable that a girl under such circumstances should be allowed to leave the union before a proper and decent time has elapsed?” asked the Stamford Mercury when reporting the girl’s death on December 3rd.

The case aroused a great deal of public indignation and there was much criticism of the Board of Guardians and their governor who issued a statement the following week trying to excuse their conduct by allowing a young woman leave their care so soon after giving birth. Their statement, subsequently published by the Grantham Journal on 11th December 1858, read:

“The newspaper’s comments relative to the unfortunate woman Roslin who quitted the Bourne Union so soon after her confinement are evidently intended to convey censures upon the Poor Law or its officers. It is not generally understood that the guardians and their officers are not empowered to detain even adult persons having any infectious disease and desirous to quit the workhouse, though by quitting it such persons may be likely to damage their own health or to endanger the health of others. All paupers leaving the workhouse under similar circumstances of this poor girl’s I invariably admonish for their impropriety and warn them of their danger. In this case I earnestly told her of the probable consequences in the presence of Mr Thomas Hall, the Registrar, who also gave her the same advice as myself, There may be a little defect in the law in such cases but I am of the opinion if anyone is censurable it was her mother who, according to a previous arrangement, fetched her daughter from the workhouse twelve days after her confinement.”

When the complaints were considered at a special meeting on December 2nd, the guardians had also discussed the possibility of appointing a nurse to care for sick inmates, a suggestion which was eventually turned down. Their report said: “In consequence of the sick list being so light, the guardians decided unanimously that a nurse was unnecessary as Mrs Holland, the matron, has always satisfactorily paid the required attention to the sick but in urgent cases where the matron was not in a position to provide, then the guardians will hire efficient persons temporarily.”

The workhouse was built with room for 300 paupers although long stays were discouraged by the strict regime enforced and there is no record of a capacity ever being reached. This report also enables us gauge the number of people living in the workhouse at that time because it states: “In the house at the commencement of the week 78, admitted 20, discharged two, remaining 96. Corresponding number last year 103, being 7 less.”

Despite the criticism of the poor standard of health care at the union it was to be another twelve years before additional help was eventually sought to assist the sick and an advertisement which eventually appeared in the Stamford Mercury on Friday 3rd June 1870 under the heading “Bourne Union – Nurse wanted” gives an idea of the working conditions of the time:

The Guardians of the Poor at the Bourne Union will, at their meeting to be held on the 16th day of June, proceed to the election of a nurse for the sick wards in the workhouse and to assist the matron in the general duties of the house. The salary will be £20 per annum with board, rations and washing. Candidates must be single women, between the ages of 30 and 45 years, and accustomed to nursing the sick, and must be able to read well. All information as to the duties etc can be obtained on application to the Master and Matron of the workhouse. Candidates are required to be in attendance at the boardroom on the day of election between eleven o’clock in the forenoon and to produce testimonials to their character and competency but no travelling expenses will be allowed. The person elected will be required to enter upon her duties on the 25th June instant. - J L Bell, Clerk, Bourne, 1st June 1870.

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