General Chat

As always like the cow's tail I'm all behind with my input.

I really enjoyed (if you can say that) last night's episode
and felt Felicity Kendall sincere in her feelings towards
her ancestors hard life and that she was not playing to the
camera.

Emma

Loved it but agree with what everyone has said about celebrities, hope they do more. Talking to my mum about the programme and she told my granddad died in the workhouse hospital although he was not in the workhouse. He died in March 1947 in N Ireland and I'm wonderings if that was before the NH came into being.

HI Linda

I think the NHS in England, Wales and NI came in to being in 1948 but a lot of workhouses had hospitals which provided care for those who could not afford to pay. They were the forerunners for medical care and a lot of Workhouses were converted to NHS Hospitals.

Teresa

Brian Cox was showing anger at the treatment of his ancestor but I wanted to smack Barbara Taylor-B. I though that was attention seeking ham acting if ever I saw it.

When you think of the elderly dying in the workhouse you must always bear in mind the state of their own homes. Often their employers or landlords were not as affluent as you might think and were not able, or didn't feel inclined. to keep their properties in good repair.

Often, of a pair of cottages, only one was habitable and that only barely so.

Mrs Gaskell gives some excellent descriptions of the lamentable living conditions of the poor, one good one being in the novel "North and South". Even to the mid twentieth century, as described by George Orwell in "The Road to Wigan Pier", the poor were still routinely living in unfit properties.

The workhouse infirmary was at least wind and watertight.

Thanks Teresa, sounds like mum is right, a lot of questions been answered