workhouse

In the UK, a former institution to house and maintain people unable to earn their own living, established under the poor law. Groups of parishes in England combined to build workhouses for the poor, the aged, the disabled, and orphaned children from about 1815 until about 1930.

Sixteenth-century poor laws made parishes responsible for helping the poor within their boundaries. The 19th-century parish poor law unions found workhouses a more cost-effective way. An act of Parliament in 1834 improved supervision of workhouses, where conditions were sometimes harsh, and a new welfare legislation in the early 20th century made them redundant.