Description:This plan shows some of the doors, windows and fireplaces of Chell workhouse. Workhouses date back to the 17th century and were set up as places that provided work, often in return for food and lodging, for the poor. An amendment to the Poor Law Act in 1834 saw many new workhouses built across the country, designed to act as a deterrent to those who may have seen the workhouse and parish relief as an easy ride. Conditions were harsh and many of those forced into workhouses were the elderly, unmarried mothers, orphans and those with special needs.
Diagrams (clockwise from top left):
- Front door of the main block
- Boardroom door
- Workhouse master's door
- Side door, main block
- Main gate pillar
- Main block fireplace
- Workhouse master's fireplace
- Boardroom fireplace
- Boardroom ceiling
- Chapel window
This diagram was created in 1982 during the Stoke-on-Trent Historic Building Survey and is reproduced by kind permission of HMSO.