The History of the Lewes Workhouse Building
Mathew Homewood
- Regions:
- East Sussex, West Sussex
- Notice Period:
- Emergency (maybe less than one week's notice)
- Type:
- Professional
- Fee:
- Paid: £75, plus travel. Happy to negotiate a lower fee for small groups
- Category:
- History
- Updated:
- 17th May 2024
- Tagged:
- History | Workhouses | Social History | Sussex
This talk reveals the story of the impressive, but long-forgotten Lewes Union Workhouse building. Full of fascinating stories, photographs and plans, the talk takes us from the building’s construction in the 1860s, to its demolition during the 1950s. It looks at life in the workhouse, and will also delve into the often turbulent lives of the seven workhouse masters.
The building ceased to be used as a workhouse in 1902, and the talk will look at its many subsequent uses. These include its time as the Female Inebriates’ Reformatory, which involved various daring escape attempts by some of the inmates.
The talk finishes with a look at the long-overdue demolition of the ‘black spot of Lewes’, and the subsequent plans to put something in its place.
Views: 227 | Enquiries: 1About Mathew Homewood
I am a self-employed genealogist and historian, and have always had a great interest in local history.
In my early thirties I left an office job to study for a degree in history at the University of Sussex, and ended up studying for a further five years, obtaining an MA and an MPhil.
I started up a genealogy business in 2010, and qualified as a member of AGRA (The Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives) shortly afterwards. Researching family histories is rarely dull, and every case I work on is fascinating to me.
My talks are generally both informative and entertaining.
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