This sign is on the upper floor of the Southwell Workhouse
in Nottinghamshire. The building is run by the National Trust, and is the most
complete workhouse in the country.
Most of the building has been restored to how it would have looked
to its inmates when it opened in 1824, but the upper floor has been left as it
was found when the Trust took over in the late 1990s. The dismal sign caught my
eye – there is something of a cry for help in it. It seems to scream despair,
even though it probably dates from more recent times when the room was used as
offices rather than a dormitory for paupers.
The workhouse later became an infirmary and a home for the
elderly. The building was in use until the 1980s, as a hostel for the homeless and
a home for single mothers.
Go if you can - it's worth a visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/workhouse-southwell/
