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WHAT A WORKOUSE (AS THIS BUILDING ORIGINALLY WAS) USED TO BE: |
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Overview
Built in 1852 Bawnboy Workhouse remains almost intact, with many original fixtures and fittings still in place. It is a big rambling complex of buildings covering several acres. Workhouses were built by the Poor Law Unions, committees of mainly local grandees and clergy and paid for by local; taxation. Although Bawnboy was built just after the famine, it is typical of the workhouses of the period. It stands on a hill overlooking the main Ballyconnell road just as it enters the village.
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Front of the Workhouse
This building (there are two more similar buildings behind it) is about 40 meters long. Upstairs are two rooms, down stairs are 4. They were used to house inmates. The workhouse system was bleak, families were separated by age and sex. Hard work and poor diet was part of the regime. A harsh Victorian moral climate prevailed.
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Fireplace
They didn't go over board with the heating, each block had only one fire place. |
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Doorway
Many of the buildings are remain intact with original fitting still in place. The door is missing here but the window above it is still there. The workhouse is subject to mild vandalism, in places whole sections of roofing are missing slates but the complex of 6 buildings is relatively intact. It may well be the best preserved Victorian workhouse in Ireland.
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