workhouse

The workhouse was a major feature in the lives of the poor, whether or not they were ever inmates themselves. This webinar can help you to explore records in The National Archives, showing what life was like inside the workhouse, and how it was viewed by those outside.

Paul Carter is The National Archives' principal specialist in modern domestic records. He has a particular interest in poor law records.

A 'webinar' is an online seminar. This webinar took place on 11 June 2014.

In all but the most specialist accounts of Victorian histories the poor are often represented through generalisations, graphs or summed up in 'averaging' paragraphs. More detailed work might look at the experiences of individual poor people through pulling together accounts from contemporary newspapers, the letters of the wealthy, or poor law officials and government inspectors who write about the poor. Few historians have looked at accounts of poor people's lives written by the poor themselves. There are good reasons for this: many poor people were unable to write and many letters undoubtedly do not survive; and the letters that survive are scattered across a great many archives, usually unlisted in large collections. This talk will concentrate on a collection of such pauper letters, statements and petitions which demonstrate the concerns, thoughts and feeling of the poor themselves.

Paul Carter is the principal domestic records specialist in the Advice and records knowledge department at The National Archives. His research and publication interests include early labour movements and popular politics.

In Testimony #5, Rick Mathes interviews an original Mafia member who transformed his life from Crime to Christ. We take you back to 1991 in this throwback, and hope you are touched by the saving power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.