Derry Workhouse

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Coordinates: 54°59′42″N7°18′22″W / 54.995°N 7.306°W / 54.995; -7.306 Derry Workhouse was a workhouse in Derry, Northern Ireland. Located in the Waterside area of the city, the workhouse operated from 1840 to 1948.

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

Workhouse place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment

In England and Wales, a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment. The earliest known use of the term workhouse is from 1631, in an account by the mayor of Abingdon reporting that "wee haue erected wthn our borough a workehouse to sett poore people to worke".

Derry city in Northern Ireland

Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name Daire meaning "oak grove". In 1613, the city was granted a Royal Charter by King James I and gained the "London" prefix to reflect the funding of its construction by the London guilds. While the city is more usually known colloquially as Derry, Londonderry is also commonly used and remains the legal name.

History

As a result of the Irish Poor Law Act of 1838, a workhouse with a capacity for 800 people opened in the city on 10 November 1840 and was the first operational workhouse in Ulster. During the Irish Famine (1845-1849), the number of people who were poverty-stricken drastically increased and, like many other workhouses in Ireland at the time, the workhouse experienced severe overcrowding. With the introduction of the National Assistance Act 1948 and the welfare state, the workhouse closed in 1948. [1]

The Irish Poor Law Act of 1838 was an Act of Parliament which created the system of poor relief in Ireland. The legislation was largely influenced by the English Poor Law Act of 1834.

Ulster province in Ireland

Ulster is a province in the north of the island of Ireland. It is made up of nine counties, six of which are in Northern Ireland and three of which are in the Republic of Ireland. It is the second largest and second most populous of Ireland's four provinces, with Belfast being its biggest city. Unlike the other provinces, Ulster has a high percentage of Protestants, making up almost half of its population. English is the main language and Ulster English the main dialect. A minority also speak Irish, and there are Gaeltacht in southern Londonderry, the Gaeltacht Quarter of Belfast and in Donegal, where 25% of the total Gaeltacht population of Ireland is located. Lough Neagh, in the east, is the largest lake in the British Isles, while Lough Erne in the west is one of its largest lake networks. The main mountain ranges are the Mournes, Sperrins, Croaghgorms and Derryveagh Mountains.

National Assistance Act 1948 social care-related UK parliament act of 1948

The National Assistance Act 1948 is an Act of Parliament passed in the United Kingdom by the Labour government of Clement Attlee. It formally abolished the Poor Law system that had existed since the reign of Elizabeth I, and established a social safety net for those who did not pay National insurance contributions and were therefore left uncovered by the National Insurance Act 1946 and the National Insurance Act 1946. It also provided help to elderly Britons who required supplementary benefits to make a subsistence living, and obliged local authorities to provide suitable accommodation for those who through infirmity, age, or any other reason were in need of care and attention not otherwise available. The legislation also empowered local authorities to grant financial aid to organizations of volunteers concerned with the provision of recreational facilities or meals.

The buildings housed the Waterside hospital until 1991, then were redeveloped as private housing, with the main dormitory area used as a library and museum. [2] [3] During the redevelopment, numerous human remains were found. These remains, believed to be of people who died in the mid-nineteenth century, were later interred in the local Ballyoan cemetery. [1]

The museum opened in 1997. In 2014, the Derry City Council decided to close the museum citing health and safety issues, and decreasing visitor numbers. The council planned to turn the space into apartments. [4]

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County Londonderry Place in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

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References

  1. 1 2 Durnin, Patsy (11 May 2014). "Derry Workhouse: 'Thirteen Steps' to another world". Derry Journal. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  2. ↑ "Workhouse Museum to close in April". Derry Journal. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  3. ↑ Higginbotham, Peter (2003). "The Workhouse in Londonderry, Co. Londonderry". workhouses.org.uk. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  4. ↑ Kevin Mullan (21 May 2016). "Flats planned for the haunted old Waterside Workhouse". Londonderrysentinel.co.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
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