What Was Life Really Like In A Victorian Workhouse? | Secrets From The Workhouse | Absolute History

[@deemccarthy8456]

My lovely mum was in a work/poor house in Staffordshire from 1941 when she was 12 until 1944 when she was 15. Even today mum cannot talk about it. Both her parents had died and that's why she was sent there. She was from a very poor family so that was bad enough. Now and again she will speak of what happened and then gets so upset she cannot carry on. I feel so sad for my mum and others that were forced to live in those awful places. I count my blessings every single day.

[@RRodriguez1904]

I’m so sorry for your Mama, she was just a girl. God bless you, sister 🙏🏽♥️🙏🏽

[@deemccarthy8456]

Thank you Rhea. God bless you to🙏

[@Greenestloser]

I'm so very sorry for your mum's pain and suffering.

[@deemccarthy8456]

Thank you Stephanie. Your very kind.🙏

[@stacyyoust]

Is she well enough to try treatments for trauma I wonder?

[@nikkitronic80]

When I was growing up, a common phrase I’d hear from my family was “ you don’t want to end up in the poor house!” I never really grasped exactly what that meant. Now I understand how much of a threat, a scary thing that actually could be.

[@karenreiter533]

Yes, me too. “ The poorhouse is right around the corner” was a common phrase in my home. The poorhouse was the Irish version of the workhouse.

[@Nurse3811]

Yea , same exact thing . Wow , it was a terrible threat - thank goodness we didn’t really understand as children!

[@thestuffhutt_2360]

I heard that before too...

[@annavallone128]

Me too.

[@m.ccheddarbox874]

Wow, I heard it growing up and I'm American. The fear made it across the pond.

[@arielkoubi4277]

I am not from a British decent and have no relatives that went through this system however, this documentary made me cry and realize that as a private citizen in my own community I am not doing enough for those in need. Things are about to change.

[@cheryljoseph2376]

Good for you.God bless.

[@rebeccarpwebb4132]

I feel the same way .help others while we still can. Bless this comment. Thank you .

[@mcanultymichelle]

O how blessed we are even when we struggle to keep afloat.l cried too.this truly changed my life.l pray l can be a blessing to someone one day.no matter the cost.

[@davidcarothers3311]

@@Rebecca-hv2rb Good for you!! Just watch out for the Druggies!! They put Themselves in desperate positions, then con people into giving them money...that they blow on Dope...

[@colsho6795]

As sad as it is this is the answer to homelessness and addiction. It would need to be reformed to the extreme but w place where people have a clean warm place to be where they over come addiction and health issues learn a trade while working at public well vices jobs like cleaning up streets and other not jobs that a person would wish to continue at but a way to pay back the support they receive. Also to have a step up for mentally I’ll where they receive the care they need. Those that can be moved to caring for themselves helped towards that the ones that will need care set up in permanent care humane care over seen by the families and friends. But to say is easy to do never seems to work out.

[@SabbathaBastet]

As an American raised on Dickens and Stevenson, I’ve had an interest in Victorian England and Scotland for decades. I only recently learned that my current city, Louisville, Kentucky, also had a workhouse/poorhouse. I think a lot of Americans don’t realize we had this system too. What a shame. Being poor is a crime today.

[@AramieMarshall]

I am also from Louisville, and didn't know. The heartbreaking cruelty of humans to other humans is so hard to comprehend. Thank you for providing this fact. We need to know our history.

[@mjhunter502]

I live in Louisville and also had no idea. Wow.

[@vivianloney]

We had a poorhouse up in Covington, KY, too.

[@wendypeeters7656]

And Americans still have the same attitude towards poor people. You have no money to people who have no Jobs, you look down on them

[@veronicakelly3245]

Beware if Labour wins the next election as Corbyn is waiting! Corbyns great grandfather (allegedly) was the manager of a Workhouse - and not a good one I believe. So if we do not want the return of Workhouses DO NOT vote Labour at the next election.

[@Tinthia82]

What's sad is that people are still treated like criminals for being poor.

[@duststorm2699]

Does it border on criminal to rack up debt and walk away from your obligations? Someone has to pay the cost, and that is the rest of us.

[@shaunward1891]

​@@duststorm2699ignorance is bliss 🙄

[@shirleyrice7093]

Yes, and the wealthy in Congress still want them shamed and punished for needing help.

[@judith8161]

@@duststorm2699 Dear Lord, not every poor person is poor by their own fault!! Better pray that you'll never find out how brutal life can be even when you don't do anything wrong. Stuff happens, and it's not always in favour of one's plans.

[@kentcyclist]

​@@duststorm2699I suppose you'd like workhouses re opened?

[@Liz-ek3hc]

My great aunt, born 1903, was terrified to the day she died about ending up in the workhouse. Not that she was ever in it, and she eventually had a good job as a forewoman in a shirt factory in Derry, Northern Ireland, but what she saw happening to others in her lifetime remained with her forever. God rest her and all souls who lived through those terrible times.

[@sarahsunshine8455]

I can only imagine the fear that she must’ve felt! Along with everybody else who came from that time period. Thank God she didn’t end up in the same situation as all those other people who did

[@tracey9004]

My nan was the same the local work house ended up our local hospital and she got very upset about having to in their even thou it was no longer the work house

[@laurieb3703]

@@tracey9004 just her knowing the horrors would likely be enough to never want to be there 🥺

[@tommypayne6821]

My grandma too.

[@Deludedcrackhead]

My great grandfather (b.1902) said exactly the same until the day he died in 1990. It was a real threat for those who lived through it.

[@golemsnatch5755]

My great aunt's husband and his sister were sent to the workhouse circa 1870 when their parents died. While they were there the sister was hit across the head by the matron, with a set of heavy keys. She was one of the poor souls who died in these hell holes. She was ten years old.

[@zxy78267]

That's absolutely tragic. 😢

[@BexEvans]

Sadly this treatment of children in the name of discipline was carried on in schools into the 1940/50/60/70/80. It apparently wasn’t until 2000 that belting children was officially banned/illegal in private/paid schools in Scotland. My father told me of his time in the 50s having a big bunch of keys thrown at him for punishment. Or a chalk duster was another weapon of choice 😢

[@jacquelinereid3589]

​@@BexEvans I remember the chalk duster in the mid fifties. Also the 12 inch ruler whacked across the palms of both hands. If it caught you wrong and got your fingers you wouldn't be able to write properly for the rest of the day.

[@alisonbarrett3379]

I'm trying not to cry at this. How awful.

[@MAGAISKLAN]

My Lord.

[@RD-py9sv]

"Poverty regarded as a crime." This sentiment hasn't changed. Same as the idea that it's the fault of said person for being poor. The only real difference is that the poor aren't dissected to repay their so-called debt to society. Mostly.

[@k_j_n1242]

💯

[@erismana2105]

* eye roll

[@joshuajackson4742]

I don’t know where you live but that’s complete bullshit.

[@barbiesherman1366]

Wow yes that country is very very mean to its people and has been doing it for centuries

[@mikebailey9566]

Yes, they do nothing to pay their debt to society. Just bitch that they're not getting enough. We could do with a little more humility and shame. Might do us all a world of good.....

[@monav4062]

I live in America. I came across this video by chance and decided to watch it. I had never even heard of the "Poor House" as being a real place. My siblings and I grew up really poor, but we never were so poor that we went hungry for very long and we always had a roof over our heads. We had to wear clothing that the church would give us and shoes as well. My mom worked at many jobs, ironing, cooking, laundry, etc. My father left us when my sisters and I were small as he was a violent alcoholic, so it's good that he left. But there were times when my mother had very little and she used to say, "At least we aren't in the Poor House"! I never knew what she meant until today when I happened upon this video. Amazing !!! She has now passed on, bless her heart! I will always remember her saying, "At least we're not in the Poor House!"

[@rickjensen2717]

Amazing story - they had very tough early lives but often turned out as wonderful, kind and resilient people.

[@lisaofparvatitherapy3865]

Modern life in america is better than poorhouse london because we have social programs, minimum wage, labor laws and safety standards. A certain political party wants to strip those away and shame the poor into the shadows...we have seen homelessness soar and corporate fascism buy our representatives in the form of huge campaign donation and endless lobbyists offering payment for attending to private elite interests , effectively buying our government! We now have corporations doing whatever they want with no regulations or accountability. Think more train derailments, california forest fires, building collapse , pharmaceutical price gauging and penalties are a slap on the wrist. Its a lawless free for all in the land of the 1%

[@farrahfrench7690]

The British empire made all countries it invaded poor houses! Look around the world. the British Imperialists invaded 117 countries on this earth and how they still interfere with these countries and their people struggles for democracy!

[@briarrose29]

I was brought to tears so many times.

[@kevinfox500]

@@rickjensen2717 when it's the only way you can survive, it's what you do to make it. And you keep fighting to climb back up, for your loved ones. 10/21 to 4/22, my wife and I lived in our truck, at a local truck stop. Lost our home when I lost my leg. Can't work, can't pay for it. Tried, and came up short. My wife kept us going, and wouldn't let me give up. After watching this, what we faced was nothing.

[@flowersforthedead5182]

The love his mother must have felt to name him Friend. That just stabbed my heart to bits for some reason.

[@margretblair5389]

They say it's all in a name.

[@oldgordo61]

Apparently he was a likable man and cared deeply about his family. Amazing that he lived so long. And apparently his own father lived to the age of 103. It's sad about his son Jesse and that the family couldn't afford to give Jesse a proper burial. In my own family it appears that none of them ended in a workhouse but some did end up in an asylum. @@margretblair5389

[@deewesthill1213]

The Quakers used to call themselves "Friends", and also used "Friend" as a given name.

[@MAGAISKLAN]

I named my first born child, my son, Dakota which translates to Friend.

[@jadefire2817]

Now I know why my Grandparents always said, "Turn out that light! Do you want us to end up in the poorhouse!?" It actually sounds worse than being homeless in the open air. We are *SO* incredibly blessed, even spoiled, nowadays. Even those of us with very little money aren't as bad off as the people then.

[@laurieb3703]

Exactly! When I realized I live better than a king did only a couple hundred years ago... 😵‍💫 So grateful for all my blessings!

[@torilovebyrd8418]

I’ve always wondered why people had to be reminded that others have/had it bad in order to be grateful for what they have, and why people think having basic human rights is being spoiled. As if being loved properly in the first place shouldn’t be the standard😒

[@jadefire2817]

@@torilovebyrd8418 It *should* be the standard. But it's not silly to be reminded or to realize that throughout the majority of human history this has *not* been the standard.

[@Nurse3811]

I never thought about it that way-it was worse than being homeless in the open air!

[@pinkpugginz]

@@torilovebyrd8418 100%

[@jacquietremain5743]

My mother Peggy missed out on the workhouse by being placed in an orphanage run by a church. The nuns were so cruel. Peggy was in the orphanage from 9 till 18.she could not leave at the usual 16 as all her mother and step father could offer was a mattress in a celler. It affected her for her whole life. Broken families and poverty ruin generations.

[@adriannespring8598]

Sssooo much.

[@martaschummer1413]

I‘m so sorry. One would think nuns are sweet, caring and loving people. Your poor mother. 💕

[@kellysnider5138]

@@martaschummer1413 I'm afraid the more we learn the more we realize it was just the opposite.

[@JohnSmith-lk8cy]

100% true. Intergeneration trauma plagues the world.

[@kellysnider5138]

@@jaquae22 ? Welcome to finding out everyone has shitty lives and are treated poorly throughout all generations, all races, all nationalities, all cultures. Humans are just horrible creatures in general, we can blame it on anything that fits into our own crappy situation but the truth is, it's just reality for humans, period. We suck.

[@annarushlau9722]

Awwww the one where the old man saved enough for his funeral at the age of 91 so as not to be a burden even in death made me cry.

[@katiebarber407]

now that is very reminiscent of modern society how many people die and then leave their family in debt due to stupid fucking burial expenses and shit

[@AL-bv7jt]

@@katiebarber407 that’s why I plan to leave my body to science.

[@glorygloryholeallelujah]

Same. That one definitely made me ugly cry.

[@seabreeze3906]

It isn’t, it’s the very opposite.

[@babs66]

Yet these days the young think nothing of doing a go fund me for an unexpected death.

[@wendygreidanus8391]

I'm Canadian, born and raised, yet I can remember my mum and her aunts speaking of the Workhouse. We didn't have such a thing in Canada, but my mum's family were Irish immigrants, and were dirt poor. It's amazing how through the generations, the fear inspired by the Victorian Workhouses, reached Canadian shores. The scars inflicted weren't just on those housed within its walls, but on those who knew the stories of others who had been.

[@Beth-iv4lj]

We have Irish ancestors that fled to Canada just like yours. I hope its working out?

[@arleneslimmon1858]

We did have a similar thing in Canada. They were called Reform schools

[@71CANADIAN]

My great grandfather was a workhouse child in Middlesex - 8-16 years old - his father was a horrible parent - his wife passed when my grandfather was 3 - so sad - he was shipped to Canada as a Bernardo child along with his younger siblings at 16 - he joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force 2 years later to help fight in WW1 - his children lived a very similar life to him - so much tragedy - I was determined to break the cycle and make a better life for myself and my children ❤

[@RealElongatedMuskrat]

​@@Beth-iv4ljI too had relatives flee to Canada. I'm descended from those that stayed, as a result Irish born and bred. But I know that I've got relatives that first settled in Vancouver, I assume scattered around the Canadian west coast now. Would love to know if they're okay.

[@wendygreidanus8391]

@@Beth-iv4lj: Maybe we're related! Lol. It's all good! We're doing very well, thanks. It took a couple generations, but each subsequent generation was better off than the one before it. I'm grateful that there were people who risked leaving everything they knew behind them, as they were loaded onto ships, and crossed vast oceans to reach Canadian shores. I often think of the courage that must have taken, and the idealism behind the decision. I think about that when I see new Canadian immigrants, and I'm still just as in awe of them, as I am with those in my family who made the choice to come here. I appreciate you asking, Beth. Cheers.

[@julz3tt3]

I love how Brian Cox is so outspoken and he's rightly horrified at the lack of care and treatment for the poor. Opium and Asylums were all the people living in these horrendous conditions and physical pain were offered. The asylums were more like torture chambers with the boiling baths and hysteria machines. Just awful. I'm glad Charlie made it. He gave his Mother a happy last few years as well.

[@andypac7]

He's a plank.

[@neenaj365]

I agree with his words. Both sides of my family have elements of extreme poverty and workhouse/mental institutions. I found generations living in Glasgow in dire need. I have an ingrained terror of poverty.

[@Raven44453]

People forget these were different times , you cannot judge people of the past by today's standards, one day we will be in the past , I hope future generations judge us with more compassion than we show our forebears

[@neenaj365]

@@Raven44453 lack of compassion is timeless. We are free to judge it and avoid acting the same.

[@Janey-hk7vp]

​@@Raven44453wise words. History is full of injustice. Instead of getting angry, people who can, should try and improve things for today's poor.

[@melly9037]

I can relate to what Patrick said I'm afraid of poverty still, it came from my nan who was terrified of bein poor an being sent to the workhouse she was born in 1907, bless her that fear has travelled down the generations...

[@cherylg.3465]

My Nan was born 1907 also.

[@pommiebears]

When I ran away from my first husband, due to abuse and other horrible things, I ended up in a hostel with my two children. The government had a problem helping me, as I had come home from Australia back to England, so they would only give me very little to live on. My sons needed warm clothes, so I went without food for weeks. A nibble here and there, but my sons were more important. Eventually, I passed out, and the ambulance came. My case was sent immediately to the home office for reconsideration by the nice wardens at the hostel. Eventually, my dad payed for me to return to Australia, so I could get money from my ex husband to help with the boys. England didn’t want to help me. Australia took my husband’s tax and gave me enough to get a home, and start again. I know what poverty is….my own country put me there, even though I’d only been gone for a year, and I’d payed tax since 16 years old. Poverty is horrifying. We’re fine now. My sons are grown men, and own businesses. I’m married to a wonderful husband, who doesn’t abuse me, but loves me. We’re not in poverty anymore. 🙏🏽🌹

[@redshedacres]

This brought me to tears. How incredible for Bert to have formed love and forgiveness in his heart and brain. Extraordinary.

[@TheCrabbyWitch]

My Nana was born in 1945 in London and was abandoned by her mother and she grew up in an orphanage. Definitely not the same as the workhouse, but she has always had difficulty talking about her time in the orphanage and the few times she has spoken on the subject it makes her very emotional and the conditions she described sound very similar to the condition people would face in the workhouse. A very sad and harsh reality. It’s hard for modern day people to fathom the sorts of living conditions there were not even that long ago.

[@cocochocookiedough]

💔

[@blondie9422]

I wish your Nana all the best ❤❤😢

[@adriansandry2783]

15 years after your Nana was born I was put in a London orphanage. Nowhere near as bad as the workhouse my mother was born in and where my grandmother died. However the orphanage was extremely strict and the discipline was military. When we were released and back home in Cornwall we lived in a house with candles for lighting, a bucket for a toilet, a well up the road to collect water from and meals were sometimes bread and water. But things got much better in the 1970s. School meals were our salvation and they also gave all children a free ⅓ pint bottle of milk every day. In the 1960s I remember always going to bed feeling hungry.

[@cottoncandy4486]

My grandfather died in an Irish workhouse.Before that they lived in actual ditches. I only found this out this week. I also did my phyc training in a one that was turned into a phyc hospital, actually still had the old workhouse records.

[@triciac1019]

It was like the lesser of two evils. So cool they have those records.

[@busymama8537]

This video opened a window to my family’s past. Now I understand why the worst thing for them was being “sent to the poor house” . How many times did I hear my grandparents say this! For the lower classes this was a very real reality that had a huge impact on them psychologically even if they never entered the doors. Now my question is whether or not any of my ancestors actually did end up there. I think the answer is most likely yes.

[@katiebarber407]

sadly very little has changed

[@Wolfietherrat]

I was told this too “we are going to the Poor House.” It scared the life out of me. That was in the late 60’s. My father said it, he was probley repeating his parents.

[@patricktarango880]

No king

[@fayereeve8154]

A relative of mine was in the poor house The great great grandfather became to wealth My great grandmother married below her social standard her father was outraged he had spent years working hard putting all the children in private school .HE shunned her with anger stating to her she had disappointed him bringing children back into poverty that the family had worked so hard for to keep out off funny thing is my grate grandmother line has a lot of poverty init today her siblings off spring all have a very good middle middle high class living standards my grate grandmother all ways told me to marry for love not money my grandmother how ever say marry a man with money who can make money a comfortable life is wealth with good health no money brings poor health if a man cannot provide expects you to pay live life on your own your have more to carry one person is better than to carry two.

[@kathleenferguson3296]

@@pjgreen1786 That's what I heard. It's not true. You love whom you love.

[@toniremer1594]

My husband and myself took in Charlie Chaplin's great-nephew. Let me tell you all, this man is 84 years young, been through Hell and back, and he's the most kindest, sweetest, generous, compassionate, warmest, down to Earth, smart, and a military vet. I LOVE learning historical events, people, and crimes. It's intriguing. There are many, many things that are taught on here that history classes simply cannot do it justice. I hope that everyone is having a wonderful, relaxing and safe weekend. God bless all of you, and your loved ones.

[@PRH123]

Hi, what do you mean “took in”..? Just curious, thanks

[@Closereveryday]

Seems to me he had other family members out there. Why wouldn't they have taken him in??? Goes to show how money can change a family, not always for the better.

[@Closereveryday]

@@PRH123 it means gave him a place to live.

[@PRH123]

@@Closereveryday right, sure, but why would his great nephew have been in need of a place to live, or homeless, or what…?

[@Closereveryday]

@@PRH123 good question

[@kelvinlambert4249]

My nanna born in 1900 and her younger sister were placed in the workhouses from time to time growing up when things got tough for the family, due to ilness being unable to work or when times were really difficult and there was no work. It was a last resort for the family but at least there was a roof over the children's heads and some food. In early 1970's she lived with my parents and us 3 kids in a 1 bed rented terrace with outside loo. Never once in my life did I hear my Nanna complain about anything.

[@mrjehbaldwin]

I love the pride Alma has that her children never knew the struggle and shame that she felt, but I hate the pain she still feels at what she couldn’t have helped.

[@cathiwim]

Pride is a great motivator. But sometimes there is nothing that can be done.

[@pommiebears]

I remember my grandad putting cardboard in my shoes once lol. I felt a little attacked by Alma. (I’m joking) True though. I had cardboard in my shoe that had a hole in them. We were poor. Things have changed now, thank goodness.

[@elainebrown3739]

There were 9 of us kids & we went barefooted each summer til school started. I was ashamed of my home I had to grow up in. Now I’m 72 & watching video about workhouses & heard testimonials I can see I was well off in comparison.

[@elainebrown3739]

My grandpa lived thru the depression & I saw him putting cardboard in his shoes. He also used baling wire to lace up. He was a survivor!!

[@2000disneyland]

My family has secrets, that my mother died, telling very few of them. One she did tell, was that her grandmother, when she entered menopause, was put in an asylum in England, and never heard from again, which must have been horrible.

[@pommiebears]

I’m going through menopause. I’m on HRT now, thank goodness. I can’t imagine being treated like a mental patient because your biology is running it’s course. In Australia here, it’s still hush hush. I’m English, and it’s spoken about there, as it should be. Here in Australia, I couldn’t find a group or help, outside of my GP. Terrible.

[@nichegoseberazdvatri]

I found out my grandmother had a twin sister who had died of starvation when they were just toddlers. She only confessed this to us on her deathbed. I still think about this everyday. Tell your family. They deserve to know.

[@flannelpillowcase6475]

not really. people who live through trauma deserve to make the choice on whether or not to share said trauma. they shouldn't be forced to relive it just because their family "deserves to know."

[@lauravintson7753]

Yes, because it will affect future generations.

[@Vicus_of_Utrecht]

@@flannelpillowcase6475 buck it the fuck up and share. Some things transcend beyond fee fees

[@MissTrixie29]

She didn't "confess" it because she didn't do anything wrong. She told you because she felt she needed to. She probably felt a lot of guilt for being the one that survived and carried a lot of trauma and feared what you would all think, possibly worrying that you would judge. Yep, you judged.

[@nichegoseberazdvatri]

@@MissTrixie29 it seems like you know a lot about family relationships that you gave such a well thought out speculation. It is wonderful that she confessed this secret. How did you come to conclusion that I judged?

[@carolgibson-wilson4354]

Dickenson did a good job describing poor house, workhouse, debtor's prison, and orphanages . This had the advantage of video which drives the Dickenson words into disgusting reality. Thank you.

[@carolgibson-wilson4354]

That poverty is a crime is the attitude of the top 10% of wealth in the USA and too many of our politicians. Hence things like Ex prez saying he would eliminate SNAP and send canned food to former card users because God forbid they have a steak in their purchases.

[@saralang9677]

Dickenson? Do you mean Dickens? Charles Dickens the author?

[@carolgibson-wilson4354]

@@saralang9677 Yes, Sara. Thanks. At my age somethings escape me. I knew I was wrong but could not recall Dickens.

[@feralcat07]

This is Tory Britishness. This is what they want again. Food banks and no health care for the working class, only the rich can get these benefits. You only have to look at Reese mogg

[@mistydawnoliver6717]

I believe Dickens father was sent to debtors prison where he would visit him sometimes

[@ruthwhall3020]

My aunt on my father's side was terrified when her family arranged for her to move into a old people's home as she believed they where sending her to the poor house ,she died not long after they moved her ,I believe she had literally scared herself to death . I'm afraid that we still belittle people who fall on hard times ,are perception of it won't happen to me is as frail as tissue paper in water .

[@ItsAsparageese]

As someone presently unhoused and involved in social work/public health, it's kind of wild seeing how the anti-impoverished-people prejudices of Victorian people are still echoed in stigmatizing beliefs today. Love what useful empathy lessons this historical insight teaches modern people.

[@Beth-iv4lj]

I hope its better for you now.

[@ItsAsparageese]

@@Beth-iv4lj Aww thanks, it's really kind of you to say that. :) I'm still in the unhoused community -- have been for several years at this point -- but I'm also fortunate to live in a far more privileged and overall manageable way than I used to. (Being vehicle-based, and going back to school/having my student loans to survive on, has made a big difference.) And I'm in a unique position where I have the honor of helping my peers with things like first aid and medical resource navigation, which I love doing. Things are definitely improving for me all the time overall. Thank you so much for your kind wishes! ^_^

[@judithholder2537]

​@@ItsAsparageeseHoney, there are all sorts of outreach group homes. Cannot you find one? Peace & success to you.

[@ItsAsparageese]

@@judithholder2537 I love your optimism, but sadly, programs like that are very few, very limited, and not actually useful or accessible to many people. Shelters tend to impose curfews that don't mesh with shift work schedules, for a broad example (I spend a lot of time helping other people navigate these kinds of resources, so I'm very familiar with common obstacles that prevent people from utilizing housing programs). Personally, I have two dogs (who are exceptionally well cared for, and who have special needs that would almost certainly result in their euthanasia if I had tried to give them up), and of course science is clear about the fact that keeping family units together (including pets) is best for people's mental and physical health -- but good luck finding any sort of shelter or transitional housing program that allows clients to keep their pets. So no, unfortunately there aren't any programs that meet my needs. But I'm really very privileged and overall quite comfortable in my little lifestyle I've carved out for myself (I've been unhoused for long enough to be very good at living in my car now haha) so I'm quite all right, relatively safe, and very happy with the track I'm on in my life 😊 Thank you for the kind wishes!

[@Delicate_Disaster]

Those programs aren't as great as you would think. It's nearly impossible to get in, and once you're in, it's not a great environment. I'm homeless too, and I'd rather be honeless than in a group home where I'd have to sell my car to get in and have to follow a long list of impractical rules and risk losing go my belongings every time I leave my house. ​@@judithholder2537

[@brittlemons1]

I love stumbling across history videos. I can’t believe this isn’t something that is taught in our history class. It’s crazy that this went on for such a long period of time as well.

[@mericaphuckyeah8772]

I agree.

[@karlabritfeld7104]

Children are still working in factories under horrible conditions. Malaysia, China, Vietnam, etc

[@abijahdixon2771]

And imigrants and sex and drug trafficked people here in the US as well...anywhere it's done is so wrong.

[@ChildrensRightsFirst947]

There are some pretty awful places to work here in Texas. Some of the factories and warehouses have tyrannical managers and they won't turn on the air conditioner in the summer. I worked in one place where a young woman passed out several times from the heat. If you add up all the other struggles like incarceration over petty things and not having adequate transportation or health care/mental care it can be a pretty miserable life. I knew a woman who couldn't pay for a ticket so wound up in jail for several days. For at least some people in poverty life is just as bad as the work houses.

[@kbpeters4246]

In the UK, in many of our Year 6 primary schools (aged 10 to 11), we are teaching our students the Victorian workhouse and Victorian Industrial Revolution. We are reading as a class the book Street Child by B Doherty.

[@karenjarrett8904]

Seems the Victorians looked upon the poor and or destitute as less than human. The same as an unwed mother, to condemn the women as if they became pregnant by themselves. Then heap shame on the child for being born. They were sadly lacking in compassion. This was a most interesting look into the Poor Houses. My heart went out to all the people who were looking for familial history.

[@yucol5661]

Very much. Lots of stories and books about the brutality of classism

[@chrisbrown8640]

Very true....the hypocracy of those times was stunning , and reflected in the words of a certain Judge when he sentanced a poacher to be transported to Tasmania. " You have had the temerity to adress the Bench without permission....and you have stated impudently and slanderously, that the upper ranks of society care little for the wants and privations of the poor. I deny this positively upon a very extensive knowledge of subjects of this nature ! Indeed, there is not a calamity nor distress incident to the needy and the poor that is not most deeply felt by the rich and well to do ( either of body or mind ). It is they who humbly endeavour to mitigate or relieve such things in this Our Happy Land which for its benevolence, charity and boundless humanity, has been the the admiration of the rest of the world ! But I am not here to determine matters of social justice....I am here to decide the law ! By your crime you have forfeited these inexpressible benefits of your country..... I hope that your fate will serve as a warning to others tempted to violate the Laws of Property... You shall not see your friends and relations in this world again ! "

[@tiffanywebb477]

How is that different than today?

[@janedoe5048]

It seems we can now trace where psycho/socio pathology came from, both genetically and environmentally. Then maybe we can start to try to understand how they managed to cling to power, cross oceans and continue to subjugate humans.

[@Jas111ld]

Sad thing is that we still have people thinking that way

[@OkieTeacher918]

So much tragedy, trauma, and despair. But in the sadness, stories of small victories. Hannah (Chaplin’s mother), rescued from an asylum, lived in luxury with her son during her last 7 years. Carter Friend was able to fight to the age of 91 and be buried with dignity by family. Patrick did get to see his sons, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. Little bits of sunshine for these innocent people trying to make it through life against a hateful society and stigma.

[@missysbloglife]

That's what the documentary says.

[@FarewellAphrodite]

Wow 🥺🙏🏼♥️

[@lavinialadlass9432]

I’m glad for them. They deserve those moments of happiness and much more.

[@terrigaines1812]

Friend Carter.

[@coffeechatsandwalks3976]

It's so beautiful to see people so affected and with the ability to feel (empathy) for people from long ago who they neither knew or met

[@wendygreidanus8391]

I couldn't agree more. I think that's what affected me the most---the empathy that these people felt for their ancestors. I found it quite touching.

[@Beth-iv4lj]

There's the modern day equivalent of their ancestors in every town, and city. Not enough has changed.

[@Beth-iv4lj]

@@wendygreidanus8391 their ancestors equivalent are just walking around. My ancestors one side used to work in a laundry, a horrible hot laundry. Hole of a place all told. I remember putting it together when I was the nineties, I was using this cheap dry clean place to do my fellas shirts because he worked in a post office, Women pressing, washing, sewing, too hot. Industrial scale washing and drying They were from far far away and looked different, but they were literally as close as you could get to my modern day ancestors . I was too skint then to leave a tip but I was younger and still funny. Hadn't had that laughter, system processed away from me yet. So I used to call them 'cuz' and make the ladies laugh. I still miss that laundry place. They need to find their ancestors these rich people and help them to find completion I think myself. Peace

[@wendygreidanus8391]

@@Beth-iv4lj Thanks for recounting the story of your own ancestors. In remembering the past, we prepare for the future. Cheers, Beth.

[@Beth-iv4lj]

@@wendygreidanus8391 the other side of my family is the landed gentry. She was a pretty laundryess. Love survives.

[@shonamcwilliam2842]

Living on the stairs while your child and grandchildren lived in a room feet from you is the one that sticks with me.

[@314159vedic]

This was heart breaking to watch. My 3x great grandfather was born in a workhouse in Cornwall in 1834. The family story that was told was that his mother and father were in love and wanted to get married but one (or both) of their families wouldn't allow it. My 4x great grandmother was then sent to a workhouse to have the baby. After she had the baby she registered the birth with the local church and listed my 4x great grandfather as the father. At some point someone from his family went to the church and had the pastor cross out his name. Her baby was taken from her at some point. He was sent out and fostered with a lady. Two years later she was back in the workhouse and had a second son that she named the same name she gave the first son. That fact has always sort of bothered me. But I understand it now. Her child had been taken away from her and she was trying to replace him. Her first child eventually immigrated to Canada. His father eventually claimed him. The next clue I have about her is she witnessed a marriage when she was about 42. I have no other information on her. I cannot imagine that her life was okay.

[@charliesmith_]

🎯 🙏

[@sterntaler64]

Thank you for sharing this story. It's pure horror if a loved child gets taken away 😔 I hope your 3x great grandfather had a good, happy life.

[@jackieludlow]

So sad bless the family

[@labitcoineragt3596]

This episode was so heartbreaking but I loved the journey of their ancestors into the hearts of their descendants so long after. Brian Cox’s story was specially beautiful. He got to know that his great grandpa got this meet his mother when she was a little girl. That’s precious and such a reward for Patrick! ❤️

[@KayPrescesky]

I didnt give a shit about the people's ancestry. I just wanted to know the faccts so I could get back to writing. I'm sorry. I'm like that.. I hate shows that shove human interest and romance where it clearly doesn't belong. Case in point, Chicago fire/med/pd all do that and it's fucking irritating. We all know the characters are going to fuck. We don't need to know about it. I want to see the action and a fictionalized "how does this work", not a rom com that happens to be set in a firehouse, a hospital, or a police station!

[@Michelle_92]

Friend´s story really struck a cord with me. It´s put a real human face to the statistics. What a marvelous person he must´ve been.

[@jacquelinekalich7463]

I had a sweet, elderly friend in Aberdeen, who always horrified me by spitting at the wall of what used to be a place for unmarried, pregnant women. Only there. I think there was more to the story, but she never told me anything of the horrors behind those big walls. Only later, did I understand why.

[@sarahab892]

Did she tell you her story?

[@ZFern9390]

Why?

[@erinkinsella91]

​@@ZFern9390the whole video basically explains why

[@ZFern9390]

@user-yu6pe7ik8r ah

[@izstrkv]

these kinds of family secrets are so heartbreaking. i recently learned that my grandma's dad lost both his parents during the mexican civil war at the age of 6 and spent the rest of his childhood alone on the streets with no one to care for him. i can't even imagine the horror his everyday reality must have been. how he mustered the strength to find himself a steady job despite being an illiterate orphan with no training, marry, have children, and dedicate his life to providing them with the best life he possibly could is beyond me. he somehow even learned how to read and write in his 50s (he obviously had zero opportunity for education as a child). my mother and grandmother always talk about him and how generous and kindhearted he was and the fact he was that way after the trauma he'd faced is astonishing. i had no idea about the horrors of his early life until i was trying to make a family tree, when my grandma told me the truth about his childhood and that no one knows anything about his parents or anyone that came before. he only told his family the truth in his old age, and would not elaborate further as i'm sure he suffered enormously during his time on the streets and didn't want to relive the trauma of whatever awful things happened to him during that time.

[@MissyL12789]

My gt x 3 grandmother was born and spent her childhood in a workhouse in the 1860s. Its so heartbreaking to hear how dire conditions were and ot quite frankly makes me so angry that we seem to have forgotten that this is what life was like for so many.

[@michelletecklenburg5950]

My grandmother was brought to South Africa from Scotland in the early 1900's. Love to follow up on this history of the "orphan's" who were "exported" to South Africa. Loved this documentary. Real history ♥️

[@brookelynnwu8016]

This is human trafficking & by no means is it confined to England or South Africa.

[@klarag7059]

@@brookelynnwu8016 that’s exactly what it is. Children were used and abused in the most heinous ways, many never heard from again. Bernardo’s was documented in the movie Sunshine And Oranges. It’s gut wrenching, I’m sure worse happened than what they disclosed publicly.

[@Irishluck97]

Hearing stories like these, really makes you appreciate the life you have. Yes, I have dealt with many hardships, pain, loss and heartache. But nothing like what the people who lived in the workhouses dealt with. It was a living hell for them.

[@redmi9834]

I think that for most of them death was blessing

[@asherael]

got a lot of people who want to go right back to this system

[@sabine4759]

Deena Hewson Yes , you are so right. At the moment I 'm feeling rather depressed and lonely but nevertheless I appreciate having an appartement , enough food and being healthy! People should be grateful nowadays , those poor human beings in former times.What were they going through,? I barely can 't imagine it!

[@pommiebears]

People these days don’t have the gumption to survive something so horrifying. Hurt feelings are enough these days to cause uproar. It’s embarrassing how petty we’ve become.

[@asherael]

@@pommiebears Many people try to be kinder to one another. The thing that baffles me are the people who get completely bent out of shape and have snowflake meltdowns over some people trying to be considerate. That's who I wouldn't want to have to rely on in an emergency

[@deeanna8448]

This is horrible. The trauma so many people experienced is heartbreaking

[@jeanettebird2739]

Literally heartbreaking what these people endured during this time . They were stripped of their dignity. Workhouses were hell holes 💔

[@thecraftycyborg9024]

I’ve been doing some archiving for my aunt and her elderly MIL, cataloging old slides and photos from the 50s onward. Which is how I uncovered that my uncles grandfather was born in a workhouse, then sent to an orphanage that’s best described as “the model for Oliver Twist”. It’s just so crazy to realize how RECENT some of this stuff happened!!

[@cindyp9857]

The fact they're called "inmates" breaks me heart.

[@ElizabethMcDermott-cy4cv]

Better than " service users"

[@ElizabethMcDermott-cy4cv]

@user-yu6pe7ik8r Nah. They call kids residents in modern equivalents but they are still inmates. I did my time and nothings changed just got much worse Just more honest then!

[@katbagley3214]

Yes, occupants or residents would have been more humane. But, being poor back then was a crime so perhaps that's why they referred to them as inmates.

[@tinkabell1400]

It's kind of like a message from our great grandparents to never give up our ancestors are truly inspirational People I am in awe of them and am going to try my best never to complain again

[@travismickelson9011]

History always repeats itself. We are headed back to this exact economic evil.

[@pickledragonrebel]

Exactly

[@barbaracrain2975]

WAS THINKING THE SAME THING!! THERE ARE GETTING MORE AND MORE HOMELESS WOTLD WIDE!!! SOMETHING IS UP!!!!

[@MdnightWnd]

I was thinking the exact same thing. It's so scary

[@mauriceosullivan6832]

@@barbaracrain2975 if Rees mogg had his way ,,it would be back already.

[@spanglelime]

I think Mark Twain said it better: “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.”

[@katygallardo2227]

It’s sad to hear that a lot of them only entered the workhouse because they needed healthcare. And even more devastating when you realize that here in America, people in poverty will commit crimes on purpose to get into prison… for the healthcare. 😢

[@angelawidner1453]

Healthcare costs money, who do you suggest pay for it?

[@judithholder2537]

& DJT wants to cancel the health insurance of 21 mil American human beings

[@judithholder2537]

​@@angelawidner1453Pooled resource - SAME AS ALL INSURANCE! Better than paying for people who insist on rebuilding on flooding areas.

[@victoriasavaski975]

This story of the Victorian Work House has left me in tears!!! I've never heard of so much cruelty toward extremely poor people, after all poverty is a condition not a crime. I live in California , in my way to work to San Francisco year after year I've seen homeless people in the worst conditions and frankly not too much has been done for them. Poverty hasn't change its face, and people are still stigmatized. The family histories of these people are very sad, so much misstreatment, separating men from women , mothers from their children, beating them, starving them, putting them down, ignoring their feelings, dreams and hopes.. How unjust to condemn women for being single mothers but the men that contribute to those pregnancies could walk on the street with their heads up high!. In any time and place women had suffered more than than men and and so much is expected from us. Is painful that one lady could never see her little sister and she had no money to pay her fair. The English government at the time were evil forcing poor people and children to emmigrate to Australia. Those children were practically kidnapped from her mom. And later the government says sorry? How about some financial compensation to the survivors of their horrible acts? Thanks for sharing these families stories, English history, and the policies and the punishment for being poor. Blessings to all the survivors and the ones that are dead RIP, ♥🎋♥🎋♥🎋

[@laurenrenee2610]

👏

[@robertroeder9539]

Drives me nuts when people think the men had it so much better than the women. Men had to live up to strict moral and societal standards too. Their reputation could be just as damaged along with their ability to find employment. The video shows how poor men especially who were abused by the system got to become cannon fodder in the seemingly endless colonial wars and finally WWI. They also got to work in jobs like coal mines, construction, railroads, etc etc where they could be killed or mangled or lose an arm or legs. The ones who had it better were the wealthy. Working class men AND women had very tough lives.

[@briarrose29]

My heart broke so many times over

[@saragrant9749]

Indeed. History paints Queer Victoria as this amazing individual who saw great innovation, many social and economic changes and the growth of the nation happen. On the other side of the coin is history like THIS- which undoes anything great her or her government could have ever accomplished. No one can tell me she didn’t know this was going on. For all the great that happened, this is what history should remember her and those members of parliament for.

[@loladelsalla3195]

Why tf would there be financial compensation. Everyone trying so hard to get free money. Past is the past

[@duckpondmama385]

Pointing out that the poor today aren't much better off than this. It's not in the DNA it's in the system.

[@Palletknifepaint]

Heart-wrenching -as a person with a chronic illness I almost feel lucky

[@kim.epurdy1644]

my Grandad was orphaned and ended up on the Mars Ship Scotland, where he was with many other boys, they taught them trades, but it would have been rough going for sure, eventually he became a soldier fighting in WW1, watching this documentary made me realize that our world is still treating many around the world the same way as then, I call that beyond tragic

[@BBefore-mn1jz]

we should be ashamed of ourselves and that’s why nothing will ever change humans always repeat history we just put a modern twist on things

[@sleepers123]

Isn't it funny how the problem is called 'poverty' when in fact the actual problem is 'greed'. Or maybe we should call poverty a symptom of greed.

[@sleepers123]

What's also funny: having kids was needed to get by when you do reach old age but they also made you poorer....life really sucked.

[@maggiemojica1057]

So true

[@ElizabethMcDermott-cy4cv]

Time turned people who escaped this into the masters and mistresses. It's systemic. It's hard to say no to getting money for being told you are better than someone and being their master. Time corrupts. Start asking questions about how people are being treated. Many became a comfortable version of their historic enemies

[@kimberlymodrow1821]

​@ElizabethMcDermott-cy4cv my thoughts exactly! This could be a fancy old time drama movie made about a lot of issues in the US present day. This is horrific. We will never heal as a planet until people call these things(these ideas and the people who agree with them) exactly what they are. These 2 things can't be true at the same time: I am so worried about your parents treatment of you and the condition in which you are raised, you deserve better(which gives the assumption you care?) But also: To remedy this abuse I will just multiply it intentionally by ripping you from every human you've likely ever knows and then I'll teach you to be grateful for it. The answer is warmth, not heat but too many people are programmed to choose friction.

[@ElizabethMcDermott-cy4cv]

@@kimberlymodrow1821 I literally do not know what you are talking about. It's the system that was awful to me. My parents were kindly happy people. They were just a bit skint It's systems who rip people away from literally everyone they know and then tend to separate families miles from one another Perhaps you misread someone else's comments???? I wasn't horribly abused as a kid Try doted on with a large family same as my children. They write what they like in order to bring people into systems sometimes It's not you tube nobody cabn type back Historical information about your own families history is available if you go to a records office and look it up. Poverty isn't abuse. Its Poverty and we've reached a Historical peak where systems can cause it. Call it abuse qnd throw people miles away from home. We're repeating the powers mistresses had.

[@candaceleonard0114]

It’s a blessing to be able to trace your ancestry back so far. It’s the one thing that makes me and other descendants of Africans forced into slavery feel so lost. Nothing known about where we came from. These are some hard stories to learn but better to know your family than not. I have learned plenty listening to this documentary. Thanks. 💜

[@judithholder2537]

Candace pls forgive me for saying the obvious-- any oral histories? What states were the ancestors in? Have you done 23 + me? I was married 32 yrs to a distinctive-looking Af-Am. I was an international f/a. I was always on the lookout for a type of looks. Began seeing the look & it turns out they were all Nigerian. He really should do a 23 & me test!

[@candaceleonard0114]

@ Absolutely. My grandmother’s were awesome at our history and my cousins have done the ancestry thing. It does help. 💜

[@givemeabreak100]

Precisely and the ill gotten gains from slavery were used by the British government to fund these horrid institutions

[@RobSoRandom]

This is why I don't mind my taxes going to welfare. Yeah I know some ppl will scam the system, but if I can help even 1 family that needs it. I'm happy. When you know what politicians do with our money. You will be a fool to be against food stamps. The kickbacks, private jets, golf trips, sending their kids to top-notch private schools.

[@annamiaugenau5393]

Tracing Benefits fraud also costs a multitude of what it costs to pay for people who might not "deserve" it.

[@RobSoRandom]

@@annamiaugenau5393 politician spend a multitude on nothing. Every year. Research what they spent on other. Wayy more than food stamp fraud lol

[@kiki29073]

Even though I have some conservative values these aren't any of them.Humans weren't created or born to live this way. We should be able find a piece of land, build a home from the land and grow and raise food from the land. They are meant to use medicine from the land to help. Humans took this away by greed so I greatly believe all humans have the right to shelter, basic utilities including phone and internet because of society today, nutritious food, and decent healthcare. And healthcare should not make people wait weeks or months for an appointment or house upon hours the day of the appointment. They should be treated as well as the most elite patient.

[@efreshwater5]

This is exactly why you should be against government welfare and for non-profit charity. You just described what politicians do with taxes.

[@buckodonnghaile4309]

@@efreshwater5 spot on

[@traceykays433]

Mind-blowing how well they kept records of everyone.

[@teddyboef2821]

The Elite are control freaks

[@jaelynn7575]

They kept very good records. My grandma came over in 1947 with $30 in her pocket to marry my grandfather. She then spent the rest of her life writing to various agencies in Europe to trace her ancestry. She found records going back hundreds of years.

[@ginacassares6801]

I'm looking now for my history

[@sheilaboston7051]

In certain instances, many of those sent to Australia/Canada had their name or date of birth changed. These children had not been willingly given up, maybe only left at an orphanage while the husband looked for work, and when the parents went back they were often told that the child had died, or been adopted. Meanwhile, those child immigrants had been told their parents were dead. Much heartbreak all around.

[@JohnSmith-lk8cy]

My the 1970' and 80's nan used to always say - "You'll have me in the workhouse' as a joke when I asked for anything. I always wondered what she meant. I am amazed to learn they were operational until the 1940's! The fear of poverty has driven me to this very day. Cox is right about poverty being in the DNA.

[@rowanzip2094]

So true. My father used to say the same thing over and over when I was growing up.

[@mandynuttall6627]

My Mum used to say the same! I'm also amazed these places were still around until the 1940's.

[@patriciamichelleisaac2562]

Poverty and riches are in the dna. They choose to continue one blue blood line the rest of the dna are poor

[@marywilkinson5518]

My grandma spoke about 'ending up in the poor house' as a dire warning. I remember the tone she used which left no doubt that it would be the worst thing that could happen. She was (like I am), from a working class background. The workhouse would have been a genuine possibility for them back then if they'd had the misfortune to become ill and lose their jobs. The old workhouse near us is now an expensive private home. I wouldn't want to live there.

[@rita4missions]

I am amazed at the neat and precise handwriting of people's history written on those books so that now people can trace back their loved ones.

[@taniagreen1870]

I have heard from studying criminal justice that children were put in the same prison as adults so I am sure many of the children were abused physically and mentally and sexually but it has went on for years even in these days children still have to deal with abuse but years ago I imagine it was worse struggling for food and a warm place to sleep

[@killa46464]

This is history . Very interesting documentary , and well done. Thank you . Sadly in some places in the world poverty is still a crippling reality for millions of people .

[@53evi]

Like in Hungary...We have no poorhouses yet...😑😑

[@maureendevries1904]

It still continues.

[@MissTrixie29]

Poverty happens in every country. The only difference is the percent of people it affects and how the country handles it.

[@karlabritfeld7104]

Yes even in the usa

[@LG-nn4tr]

Like America?!..

[@highlandsuncovered]

This is exactly the type of documentary I love, I don't have a lot of interest in the kings, queens and lords of the past. I find everyday Joe bloggs from the past much more fascinating, the stories of the working class of the past to me are where the best stories are.

[@jennaolbermann7663]

Such a cruel system. I cannot understand how poverty is seen as something worth punishment instead of trying to make things better so people are in a better situation.

[@catamongthepigeons6576]

Fascinating, thank you, and , thank you to the people willing to expose their family history.

[@ChicaChikita1]

Treating poverty as a crime that's sick 😫

[@LadyAngela678]

Why?

[@laurastuart3814]

@user-yu6pe7ik8r So what should they have done? What are Americans doing about the homeless?

[@yaxofossiad]

I am American but I read Jennifer Worth's books many years ago. One is about the workhouses and throughout the other books many patients also live and work there. I was honestly so struck by it all and just how behind America is with the working poor. When my dad passed, if not for his brother we would have had to get a loan to have him cremated. This video was so interesting and well done

[@stichclark3980]

If you can't afford it the state does pay for burial in the US

[@nancysmith2874]

@@stichclark3980 are you sure

[@sarahs7253]

@@nancysmith2874 i know. i thought theu were cremated and put in a little box. I watched a documentary or something about so many people who are nameless or homeless or too poor and they were burnt and put in some sort of a filing system. I seen that someone took all the bòxes and did a mass burial. Sorry so vague it's been awhile..

[@user-fn8bq7ef7t]

@@stichclark3980 it depends on the county. Where I’m at there’s a potter’s field so to speak for the homeless, John / Jane Does/ super poor families that can’t afford burial plots. The county cremates them and inters their remains in this small plot of land. It’s not a nice place compared to other cemeteries. It’s very much a place to get rid of bodies rather than remember people and their lives.

[@SoulDevoured]

@@nancysmith2874 yes they do it's just hard to get any form of welfare in America. By design. It's often hard just to get info. By design. But yes the state will financially assist you. You don't get to choose burial or cremation, you get what's most economical for your area. Most developed countries have some form of welfare for burial because all developed countries want human remains properly disposed of.

[@colleenlally-ross7105]

My abandoned as a child Grandfather ended up at Westpoint and being a college professor but never ever felt sorry for himself! Kind and thoughtful all his life he always said his parents gave him everything he needed to be successful; A strong mind and a strong body. I'm so lucky to have known him 💓

[@triciac1019]

What an exceptional man and his parents were exceptional!

[@owenthomas5876]

my grandmother was in the workhouses but i never really inderstood what that meant. she would only drink out of a china cup (proper teacup) as she said a mug reminded her of the workhouse. she used to say this little rhyme that went something like "christmas day in the workhouse and the white washed walls were black". she lived such a frugal life that my dad and his brothers never had much except for simple food. her biggest fear was any of her children (or extended family for that matter) to have "a paupers grave".

[@southernelle8707]

Watching this in the US in 2023 has made me realize that because of America's short history, we never learned the lessons shown here in order to have a form of universal healthcare the way other countries formed from the atrocities of the past. And now because of our decentralized mess of a healthcare system that puts a lot of families into poverty, it's harder for people to realize that caring for the populace and its health should be a function of government. Without the shared atrocities of mass portions of the populace, the empathy is lacking because it's harder to pinpoint the effect of poverty on human health.

[@lillianliber1798]

When Barbara Taylor Bradford's relative became pregnant she was working as a domestic servant in a home. I wonder if she had been abused as so many domestics were by the men of the house and then turned out when they found out she was expecting.

[@mattiec3320]

Her presumed grandfather was infact the Marquess of Ripon, whom her grandmother worked for, and he fathered no children with his wife.

[@adriannespring8598]

Yuuuup. Or she was a sex worker on the side for extra $$.

[@adriannespring8598]

@@mattiec3320 Quite possibly he didn't sleep with her but exercised his tastes elsewhere.

[@joanbroad3528]

3 times!

[@margaretcastell9429]

Indeed, Lilian, the man of the house was often the downfall of young female staff. Mostly done because his wife didn't want sex to not have another child. Then sack the maid for her promiscuous behaviour. Who is going to believe her? I'm remembering the maid in Downton Abbey who became pregnant with the child of a visiting guest. He was killed in the war. She had been driven to prostitution and then came the parents of the "hero" trying to buy the child. Horrible father. She had no choice really but to let her son go. So sad. When I did the family tree of my mother whose ancestors were country agricultural people, I was amazed at how many of them were in and out of the workhouse as they aged. Their children seemingly had no space for him and he was unable to work. I only wish my mother was alive to know about her ancestors. I was able to go back to the 1400s thanks to records kept. It really changed my life knowing about all my people. A number emigrated to Australia and thrived. This was a wonderful and moving film that had me in tears several times.

[@cindycaricos3379]

"Are there no prisons?" asked Scrooge. "Plenty of prisons," said the gentleman, laying down the pen again. "And the Union workhouses?" demanded Scrooge. "Are they still in operation?" "They are. Still," returned the gentleman, "I wish I could say they were not." "The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?" said Scrooge. "Both very busy, sir." "Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course," said Scrooge. "I am very glad to hear it." "Under the impression that they scarcely furnish Christian cheer of mind or body to the multitude," returned the gentleman, "a few of us are endeavouring to raise a fund to buy the Poor some meat and drink, and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. What shall I put you down for?" "Nothing!" Scrooge replied. "You wish to be anonymous?" "I wish to be left alone," said Scrooge. "Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don't make merry myself at Christmas, and I can't afford to make idle people merry. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned--they cost enough; and those who are badly off must go there." "Many can't go there; and many would rather die." "If they would rather die," said Scrooge, "they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population. Besides--excuse me--I don't know that." "But you might know it," observed the gentleman. "It's not my business," Scrooge returned. "It's enough for a man to understand his own business, and not to interfere with other people's. Mine occupies me constantly. Good afternoon, gentlemen!" - Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol

[@markelmslie6832]

A real masterpiece by Dickens, I can't understand how they could have denigrated it by turning it into that musical 'Scrooge'!

[@flannelpillowcase6475]

really gives the story a different feeling knowing what nightmares workhouses really were back then

[@babylonisfallen5142]

My favorite movie.

[@keirangrant1607]

Mr.Cox, the system still sucks. You just managed to get out of the bottom. I'm happy that your family was able to make it. They gave us a great actor

[@brendarigotti843]

Awww..I totally understand why Brian was so emotional after learning about his ancestors. My father's mother died in Dublin of tuberculosis after the war, My Dad was the oldest of 6 kids. He loved my grandmother & never forgave his father for leaving her, himself & his siblings because she was a German protestant my Dad's father was an Irish Catholic. Thankfully my Dad's sister, Lily O'Connor wrote a book on their struggles growing up poor, facing adversity & hardship daily but I was so proud of her perseverance & devotion to her children until she died. 🌷

[@bosslaydee2647]

😮

[@mattmc5069]

Even in America it was common to make statements about not wanting to end up in the workhouse. It makes me wonder if our country really understood that hell or if it was just a phrase we adopted. My great grandpa came over in the boat from Dublin Ireland in the late 1800s so I could have some ancestors that went through this to. I'm told I have a slight accent which I find interesting lol

[@jacqueline8559]

It was a terrible thing to end up in Australia as a child from UK. I lived in Australia and saw the Museums showing in great detail how these Children were treated with immense cruelty.Boys were forced to work the land, many with regular beatings and little food. Unpaid slaves. Girls were also forced to toil on Farms as unpaid labour, or cleaning houses and treated deplorably Babies and young children were placed in homes, cared for by drunk matrons. Many died of neglect, even babies in their cots, unfed , unwashed and given no mental , physical or emotional stimulation and care. I ended up walking around, looking at the little faces in photographs ( all drawn and emaciated ) in tears. Obviously there were some who were lucky and with good families

[@traceymatzen4837]

These high class folks looking into their ancestors lives will never understand the hardship that comes with living in poverty then or today. Even in modern times those who live in poverty, those who are homeless are looked down on and ostracized from society. Some states in the USA have even criminalized being homeless and feeding them. It's disgusting how so called "civilized" society treat those who cannot fend for themselves

[@Gwen-joyful-light]

Instead of jealousy or resentment I'm hoping their ancestors are so happy that their descendants have come up in the world and are in a better position in society.

[@alicelong3613]

Many choose homelessness as a lifestyle and expect the taxpayer to provide luxury homes for them, they're very entitled. I worked with them in LA. go do research before you comment

[@traceymatzen4837]

Alice long, Luxurious homes ? Not sure what reality you inhabit but it sounds privileged to me as does your blanket statement on the homeless. Each case is unique onto itself and luxurious homes are NOT freely provided where I live as you seem to think. I not only work with the homeless but have experienced it myself as a child and later as an adult. I would say I am qualified to have an opinion on the matter. I agree that some do chose the lifestyle but all too many do not and have fallen on hard times through no fault of their own. These folks are entitled to help in a civilized society. Seems to me you are resentful of having to pay taxes, that in part go towards helping those less fortunate than ourselves.perhaps your anger would be better served elsewhere and you might want to give more thought to where most of our tax dollars actually go. For example, are you aware of how much our goverment spends on foreign aide ? Should we not as a country first take care of our citizens ?

[@buddywriggles]

@@alicelong3613 "I worked with them in LA" "Do your research" If I meet 3 people of your race who are cunts and then start telling everyone your race are cunts and to do their research... This is your logic here.

[@mzlww]

@@alicelong3613no one is choosing to be homeless if you don’t believe me go ahead and try it sometime oh and good luck finding a place to sleep

[@marysmith7792]

This is incredibly sad. The Royals should have been appalled and used some of their wealth to help these people. Instead of prancing around in their finery.

[@teresarenee3829]

the royal families are satanic...they couldn't care less.

[@redrustyhill2]

The people should hold the royalty accountable instead of bowing down and ass kissing.

[@Tidybitz]

@@redrustyhill2 ... I think you should do more research.

[@maggiemoonpie2168]

@@Tidybitz the queen paid for her wedding dress and cake with rations and coupons. Well whoop di do. She was evil, celebrating her druid history with sacrifices during solstices. Her jubilee was an occult ritual, as was most events. She had princess Diana killed. She hid her son, giving him asylum within the castle when he was supposed to be extradited for questioning regarding accusations of sex with a fourteen year old, and that's just one. She was given a Freemasons funeral and buried in a lead lined coffin for goodness sakes- that's because she's RH- bloodline, a direct descendant of vampiric serial killers Vlad the impaler and lady Elizabeth Bathory. She was into so many vile practices that I daresay she wasn't even human

[@triciac1019]

There is evidence that Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband tried to help those in poverty. Healthy environments were important to him also. All of the Royals have helped with it. You need to research better.

[@wilkaii]

Watching this as an Australian is wild... To see how people were forcibly moved here and have become part of our culture and history, just mindblowing. Makes me want to look further into my Great Great Grandmother, who came over to Australia from Scotland.

[@chatterjeelinda4]

My great great grandfather and his brother Maitland were in the workhouse as children. Maitland was 13. At 15, Maitland died. His older sister, Mary gave the name Maitland to her next child as a middle name. Their other sister, Alice went to NSW Australia.

[@givemeabreak100]

What about the aborigines?

[@TheDeldaisy]

I dont think it's fair Barbara should judge her grandmother for having illegitimate children. She was in service at that house as a young woman. Time off was very short and sometimes not allowed at all. It wasn't unusual for the young servants to be raped by their employers.

[@goodnightmyprince6734]

Ikr

[@charlotteinnocent8752]

It boggles the mind that people once thought THIS was how to deal with poverty, may their souls rot in hell forever for the suffering they caused! Pay people a living wage for their work is how to be just. They simply didn't pay people their worth and then made it the fault of those they were unjust to to being with!

[@charlotteinnocent8752]

And taking people's babies away from them... hell would be too kind for them!

[@theseeker4642]

I hope those none British, that blame all the British for their own ill treatment watch this series & see just how tough the poor & impoverished, lower classes lived & were thought of as scum in Britain itself. Worked to death from children, deported to foreign lands to work, then went to war to escape the conditions. Only the wealthy were thought worthy of life !

[@terywetherlow7970]

I am appalled that i have seen no thought given to women who were pregnant as a result of rape.

[@cordeliachase601]

@@terywetherlow7970 Because society has never given a freaking shit about women. Ever.

[@Closereveryday]

It goes to show how greed can destroy. God takes all vengeance at the end. Riches here must have been worth the eternity of hell.

[@ksmax6310]

What happened to Charlie Chaplin's mother is terrible I feel so bad for what happened to her, an asylum would have been horrific and she was sent there because she had beaten! What a reason! I am sure plenty others had similar horrific tales 😢😢

[@irame5701]

She actually got mad at some point and been in and out of mental hospitals: her brains could not deal with her life condition.

[@babs66]

Actually she had VD

[@tamtv4603]

I wish someone would create a documentary on the " debtors prisons" . and " work farms " .I have heard that the latter was a place for unwed mothers years ago.

[@adriannespring8598]

THIS!!! Solid thought!!!!

[@adriannespring8598]

@@IntuitionCompass SSSOOO MUCH!! Right there!! Definitely a brutal thought.

[@triciac1019]

Sadly it was the unwed moms and their kids who suffered and not the unwed dads.

[@janbarstow]

This touches me but prior to care houses, the poor or homeless were 'kidnapped' -- rounded up from the streets by gang-like profiteers and sold into indentured servitude or slavery -- that's where the word 'kidnapped' comes from. Life is harsh and history shows that. Early workhouses reflected those times. Institutions cropped up to stave off burgeoning crime and the fast-growing problem of child-gangs, especially in urban areas. They called it moral terpitude. Parents sometimes brought their children to work houses to prevent their being kidnapped or falling into gangs. Remember the street-life of Oliver Twist? Eventually the institutions' purpose and methods changed. My hat is off to those who worked so hard to improve conditions for themselves and those around them.

[@sojourner6046]

Here in America, I can only imagine that there are those in our society and government who salivate at the thought of these work houses becoming the norm again.

[@elmienliebenberg9145]

You can see the pain on each of these people's faces as the learn how horrible the world was to their ancestors...their families. Its hard to believe how horrible it was back then. But in 100 or a 1000 years from now...what will they say about our society? Are we truly better? Less cruel? Did we learn?

[@netizencapet]

At least within our national boundaries, yes! much improvement was realized by the advent of social democracy and left-side reformist political power in the 1940s through the 1970s. Some of those reforms are still with us but many are being wittled, wittled away. Regarding crimes and depravities exerted on those outside our borders, we are equal or worse than before. Yet the only time in civilizational history that so high a percentage of national populations were given the work hours, sanitation, nutrition, education, purchasing power, variety of opportunity, and life expectancy that one might consider moderately "dignified" was the mid to late 20th century, with many effects lingering to present but diminishing. And I'm speaking only of industrialized nations or mid-to-high income nations. Tribal prehistory in certain key instances was more generous in many respects than much of civilizational life. The future hangs gravely in the balance and as always is a questiom of politics and organization, as we have more than enough technology at our disposal to solve our wealth and environmemtal problems.

[@thoughtful_criticiser]

When I started working in the ambulance service over 40 years ago, there was a Geriatric Hospital in a converted workhouse. The place was enormous, 96 bed wards with nearly 40 in total. It was extremely traumatic for the patients and ourselves when we had to transport people to be admitted. As soon as they saw where they were going they would start to scream, shout and fight to get away. I often thought it was cruel to use the former workhouse that way. It wasn't the only former workhouse used as a hospital. Other examples in Liverpool were Alder Hey Hospital and Mill Road Maternity Hospital. There were others but I don't know them. The Geriatric Hospital was demolished and is now a housing estate. That's a shame as it had the best NHS restaurant in the country, with waitress service, A La Carte and preset menus. It was brilliant.

[@cocoaorange1]

That is sad. I hope you were not hurt too bad.

[@GS-dc4dt]

I’m two years late in commenting; Newton Abbot Workhouse in Devon was converted into a geriatric hospital, the majority of its early patients absolutely knew where they were going and they were petrified!

[@joeselsbury543]

All while the poor are "living" like this, the wealthy class are trying to find new ways in which they can spend aka waste their immense wealth. I heard of one account where a railroad tycoon, I think his name was Billings, ended up spending 50,000 pound on dinner at a restaurant which today would amount to 1 and half million dollars. All the while people are dying from starvation and abject poverty. Its just infuriating to think about.

[@buckodonnghaile4309]

You should sell the device you typed this on and give the proceeds to thee poor.

[@krissyk9767]

Yes it always saddens me that those with extreme wealth don't give more to those who are poor. They just don't seem to care about the struggles of others. I always think if I won lotto - like a big amount like $100 million - I honestly would try to use most of it to help people. I mean once I bought myself a house why would I need more? Just to waste on expensive jewellery or cars? You could live a really nice comfortable life without needing to work and have everything with say 5 million. But why would you need more after that? Just to waste on useless stuff when you could actually make a real difference in others lives.

[@adriansandry2783]

The workhouses were a great kindness to the poor and destitute. Without them the poor, ill & outcasts from society had almost no hope at all. My mother was born in an workhouse and my grandmother died in one. Life was very tough in those days and rules were severe.

[@johnwright9372]

One of my female ancestors died in a Staffordshire Workhouse. My mother would respond to wasted food or damaged clothing with: "you'll have us in the Workhouse!" The scars ran deep, but memories are short and there are still people in Britain today who are callous enough to demonise the poor. They call themselves Tories.

[@clayhackman9432]

It's not even that their memories are short, they just don't care. If they'd have been born in these eras they'd have seen the way people were treated in workhouses and viewed it as a good thing- tories often seem to think the poor deserve to be punished, deserve to be where they are.

[@ElizabethMcDermott-cy4cv]

They call themselves helpers. I'm afraid it expanded

[@keeley-jasminemaxinecavend9780]

@@clayhackman9432 Quite so. I'm sure that if Jacob Rees-Mogg had his way, he would reinstate workhouses in a heartbeat.

[@Waffles84]

😢😢😢How tragic history holds such devastating secrets of the times. The stories are gut wrenching and very emotional but we need to continue to learn from such terrible situations and strive for a better way of life and understanding so it never happens again.

[@jenniferhcsmith-5586]

Definitely

[@PRH123]

What do we do exactly now so it never happens again..? It does go on now, and we don’t do anything about it….

[@amelia_k1082]

So interesting how it gets recorded or alluded to as Mary having an "extramarital affair" but never mentions the possibility of a child being the result of a "rape," as though that could never happen to a woman in the early 1900's. Give me a break. The poor women could have likely said she was raped and yet, somehow, it'd still be her fault. So glad things have evolved since those times.

[@MargaretHillsdeZ]

Thinking about Brian Cox's great grandfather, one cannot help but wonder if prejudice against the Irish may have been a factor in labelling him so harshly.

[@pommiebears]

I think his reaction terrified the woman who was telling him about his great grandfather lol. His outburst was a little frightening 😮

[@mammawlee]

Oh yes l'm sure that was a factor.

[@lizarrohillario7057]

when im really depressed or thinking my life is in the crapper i will watch stuff like this and feel so grateful. i know thats selfish. all those poor children who didnt ask to be born into such strife and sadness. not sure why im sharing this.

[@alisong8643]

You're not the only one who does that.

[@kristagrym]

I am reading the stories of your parents/grandparents, I am so sorry they had to go through that, I send you all my love and strength

[@genekelly8467]

Always recall Dickens' words ("A Christmas Carol"): (Scrooge): "are there no workhouses, no jails?" (Kind Gentleman): "yes, but many would rather die than go to them"; (Scrooge)" then they should die now and reduce the surplus population"

[@maureendevries1904]

Hear, hear

[@j-life8502]

Good job reading through the the comments before you made the same comment , made long before yours lol.

[@ianfhancock1541]

I was born in the Willsden workhouse infirmary off of Acton Lane, which later changed its name to Twyford Lodge "to protect those born in the institution from stigma in later life" as its website says.

[@redmi9834]

I worked as a nurse in a former poor law workhouse in Liverpool. There was still a bell on the wall that rang to call them for their scant food. There were others in Liverpool as in many of our cities and towns.

[@elizabethhampton4795]

I would like an episode or more on the "Magdalene laundries", or, more commonly "Magdalene asylums,". Ireland, from the 1800's until 1984 (that's the last I know of. They were a terror to Irish woman for decades.

[@chromeangel4967]

Actually last one closed in 1996. They found a mass grave so authorities stepped in. Horrible places.

[@jackiemcquade204]

Thats disgusting, after all that time they just found it?? Thats only 26 yrs ago!

[@frankG335]

And we're on a fast train to that right now.

[@karendinan3175]

Yes the last one only closed down in the 1990s. Horrific places.

[@jaynamartino1328]

I watched a biography on them. They were actually open till 1996 it’s nuts.

[@vintagebeliever5023]

Loving son who rescued his mother ❣

[@brandywineblue]

That's sick that they separated families. It left women and children vulnerable and encouraged men to forget their families. Now they are doing the same things to people with jobs and people entering hospitals.

[@cruisepaige]

This series is incredibly moving.