The Cruel And Unusual Punishments In The Victorian Workhouse | Historic Britain | Absolute History

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  • čas přidán 6. 10. 2022
  • In this episode, Alan uncovers the stories of the Victorian poor who found themselves living in harsh conditions at The Workhouse & Infirmary - now the most complete remaining workhouse in the country.
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Komentáře • 454

  • @janeharris5568
    @janeharris5568 Před rokem +148

    My great grandfather was born in one of the worst workhouses in London-
    His mum left and found work and remarried and we became a solid upper middle class family - thanks to her courage

    • @Glittertrut
      @Glittertrut Před rokem +22

      Even get out alive is a accomplishment, well done to your ancestors

    • @audreymuzingo933
      @audreymuzingo933 Před rokem +19

      I've no doubt that she had courage, but I notice you said she remarried, which must have been some part of how she was able to secure a better future for your great-grandfather and subsequent generations. Makes me wonder if that would be possible if a woman was "ugly", disabled, had a scandalous past, or some other factor that would make her "not marriage material." Even to this day, in nations as rich as the UK or US, the majority of homeless people are women and children.

    • @pat2562
      @pat2562 Před rokem +5

      @@audreymuzingo933 Untrue.

    • @Weeeewriter
      @Weeeewriter Před rokem

      🙏

    • @fabledfantasty7343
      @fabledfantasty7343 Před rokem +9

      @@audreymuzingo933
      Veterans are also among the majority of homeless people in the U.S.

  • @Emcatastrophe
    @Emcatastrophe Před rokem +84

    I love that they are protecting the graffiti from the 80’s. People will be so fascinated by that 100 years from now.

  • @southernbelle1977
    @southernbelle1977 Před rokem +51

    So sad that they were treated like criminals when their only crime was being poor and having no where else to go.

    • @Disneyfan82
      @Disneyfan82 Před rokem +10

      I don't know how society could be that ignorant and cruel toward those living in poverty when it's not their fault that they were not rich.

    • @lizzieandmocha1131
      @lizzieandmocha1131 Před 9 měsíci +3

      People think that this is what we mean when we say that welfare is bad, that this is somehow what we want, but this is nowhere near what we want. Back in the day, before Henry VIII, if you were poor enough to warrant homelessness, you could turn to the church or relatives to help you. As it should be. Instead, after the monasteries and such were dissolved, the government had to come in and take up the slack, using taxes to do so. I don't mind helping someone else, but what I do mind is the government taking 30% of my hard-earned money before I even get paid and then giving it to someone who may need it, or who might just be in a cycle of poverty. I would rather directly give that money to charity, or to someone I knew needed it, so I can truly help them get back on their feet to become self-sufficient, rather than have someone living off of my hard-earned money for the rest of their lives.

    • @annalisavajda252
      @annalisavajda252 Před 2 měsíci

      Economical apartheid and classism. The people in the infirmary were too sick to work still no excuse.

    • @ashurean
      @ashurean Před 2 měsíci

      ​@@lizzieandmocha1131Lot of yapping to say you don't know how welfare works and don't understand that you may find yourself in that situation someday.

  • @audreymuzingo933
    @audreymuzingo933 Před rokem +321

    Don't look at this thinking it was just a different time. There was nothing about the era that NECESSITATED such cruel treatment of the poor. It happened because everyone else let it happen. Some people probably felt sorry for them, maybe a few even knew that it was WRONG, but not enough of those people talked to each other about it, and it took a long time for anyone to do anything about it. Don't look at this and think it couldn't happen again at any time, wherever you live, and don't expect a Charles Dickens type to be as effective at changing hearts and minds as he was in the Victorian Era. Nowadays those who would enjoy having the poor sequestered away, being punished, they won't need to print books to push back against Dickensian appeals to solve the problem; they will just get on screens and type 'FAKE NEWS. There ISN'T a problem!' and seeing each other's complacency with the status quo will strengthen their own, and they'll devote themselves full time to defending the cruelty. What everyone must do is notice the cruelty when it starts, before it becomes the status quo.

    • @SarahGreen523
      @SarahGreen523 Před rokem +46

      If you look at all the homeless people living in tents on the street, when they can, or in back alleys and abandoned parking lots.... how is it different? The way they are ignored, and hustled off, their cardboard houses and tents burned by the city to get rid of them and make them move on.... not much has really changed.

    • @blueneptune825
      @blueneptune825 Před rokem +18

      Yes, you are quite right. In the U.S., as the middle class collapses and the safety nets are at their weakest in many decades, allowing more people to fall to the ground with disorienting speed it behooves us to advocate for the homeless in our communities. Wishing you safety and wellness.☘️

    • @debbylou5729
      @debbylou5729 Před rokem +1

      This is what happens when you trust the government. Your response is full of the desire for government controls. The government did this, not individuals. In fact Australia is a perfect example. Put the ‘convicts on a different continent and get out of the way. News for you……socialism and government interference are the problems. The government put us here by forcing people to stop working and people think the government will fix it? This was on purpose to engage people like you

    • @audreymuzingo933
      @audreymuzingo933 Před rokem +7

      @@debbylou5729 What on earth are you even talking about?? My post said NOTHING about government controls. You're not even making sense. -"The government put us here" (where?!) .... "by forcing people to stop working" --again what are you talking about? The unemployment rate is super low, 3.5%.

    • @angelaalbury986
      @angelaalbury986 Před rokem

      These are slave-holders. They dont care.

  • @Petipulpul
    @Petipulpul Před rokem +60

    This was a prison for the poor, how awful! The idea was not to help them , it was to humiliate them and make them feel as bad as possibly for being poor. 😞

    • @kathyinwonderlandl.a.8934
      @kathyinwonderlandl.a.8934 Před rokem +8

      Unfortunately, that attitude is still prevalent and until we’ve all progressed as a species, it will stay this way.

    • @gothicagypsy9116
      @gothicagypsy9116 Před rokem +1

      🤔😠How mean and such inhumane brutaly act against vulnerable young innocent poor children💔🥺

    • @ALittleBitAboutALotChannel
      @ALittleBitAboutALotChannel Před rokem +4

      Actually they considered that if you are poor it's because God punished you and put you in that condition for something you did. So their idea of being poor is associated with God's punishment. Humans really can be awfully stupid and cruel

    • @triciac1019
      @triciac1019 Před rokem

      That is true. They did also give them beds to sleep in and meals even though the food was meager. They did train the children. Many before were living on the streets and didn't know where their next meal would come from. There should have been a better balance.

    • @Petipulpul
      @Petipulpul Před rokem

      @@triciac1019 Yes, probably some of tem got a better situation than they had in the street, but many children and families suffered because they got separated. Why? They didn't need that cruelty.

  • @guymorris6596
    @guymorris6596 Před rokem +110

    " She had a face that could chop wood. "

  • @Weeeewriter
    @Weeeewriter Před rokem +56

    I'm from Canada, so growing up, i never realized that workhouses existed. It makes me angry yet sad, that families were separated and treated like they were nothing. My boyfriend is English, and we share a love of history. When I saw the photos of the children, I just wanted to hug them.

    • @KAdams-dr4pc
      @KAdams-dr4pc Před rokem +2

      The parents of children did not care about what happened to their children. They did not provide nor want to keep their family together.
      They were lazy and wanted someone else to provide housing and food.
      That's why they ended up in the "Work House".

    • @KAdams-dr4pc
      @KAdams-dr4pc Před rokem +3

      @Danny Alexander
      I feel ya and agree.
      No one should have been subjected to the inhumane conditions they had to endure.

    • @Weeeewriter
      @Weeeewriter Před rokem +10

      @@KAdams-dr4pc That's a bit harsh. You can't paint everyone with the same brush.

    • @KAdams-dr4pc
      @KAdams-dr4pc Před rokem +4

      @Danny Alexander
      We all have red blood running through our veins. The color of our skin should not be important.
      No one deserves to be treated badly for that.

    • @KAdams-dr4pc
      @KAdams-dr4pc Před rokem

      @@Weeeewriter
      What exactly is "harsh" ?

  • @BlakeGildaphish76
    @BlakeGildaphish76 Před rokem +30

    Punishing the poor for being poor.
    Some things NEVER change.

  • @OTHERMRBABCOCK
    @OTHERMRBABCOCK Před rokem +60

    God bless Sue for sharing her story with us that have no idea what she went through. Takes true strength to talk about a very hard and emotional time of her life. I hope her life is much better now. I am glad to hear Katrina had a happy life in such a sad and dark place. Very glad she understands its history and accepts it. God bless her as well.

  • @divineinpurple9058
    @divineinpurple9058 Před rokem +6

    There may no longer be workhouses, but we still carry notions of the deserving and undeserving poor.

  • @bridgethannah2933
    @bridgethannah2933 Před rokem +24

    Excellent. One wishes that they could go back in time and help those poor people.

  • @natsomething0
    @natsomething0 Před rokem +30

    I noticed as they scrolled across the menu list the headings were "Breakfast, Dinner, Supper" and remembered my grandmother who lived in Appalachia, born in 1920 of Irish descent, referred to the daily meals in the same way. It seemed to be a very common thing in rural America, with no mention of the word "lunch" whatsoever.
    I think it quite possible the workhouse could become a future reality in the States. The gap between wealthy and poor keeps widening, swallowing up more of the middle class as wages aren't adjusted for inflation and workers see no benefit from the dramatic tax reductions the govt. has granted to corporations. Housing prices are rising, uncontrolled. And conservatives, who view the social safety net as undeserving people getting something for nothing, have even refused to expand Medicaid to help poor children is some of our most impoverished areas of the country. It's dark times here, and the outsized voice of some of the electorate may prevail in driving our society backward. Workhouses may not remain just a memory for long, if democracy cannot be maintained.😞

    • @ulfskinn1458
      @ulfskinn1458 Před rokem +9

      One of the biggest problems in the U.S. and Canada is how hostile the government is to middle-class businesses. Not even Fifty years ago it was common for grocery stores, pharmacies, hardware stores, etc. to be owner-operated. Now it is a rare sight. Ever increasing taxes, liscencing fees, health and saftey regulations, insurance fees, property taxes, and labor laws make it much harder to compete with corporate owned chains. They can plough down old buildings and put up cheap strip malls that conform to every regulation, pay any fee, and have teams of attorneys ready to contest any legal violation. Not to mention frequent tax cuts and bailouts. Notice during the shutdowns how pretty much every chain store was deemed "essential" while family businesses were forced to close? The middle class doesn't have lobbyists.

    • @satsumamoon
      @satsumamoon Před rokem +1

      Three meals a day in plenty. Dinner was at early afternoon and supper after work -about 7-8

    • @jenniferbaum6065
      @jenniferbaum6065 Před rokem +1

      So you’re blaming conservatives? What about the elites who own most of the wealth today are democrats. They own every big corporation practically now and most governments are on the left today. But ya blame conservatives still who are not running America.

    • @thetruthandnothingbutthetr6484
      @thetruthandnothingbutthetr6484 Před rokem +1

      Should’ve stayed in Ireland

  • @mrwonderful2142
    @mrwonderful2142 Před rokem +10

    This is what Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum want for everyone

  • @statinskill
    @statinskill Před rokem +25

    In Germany workhouses where called Arbeitshaus. Arbeit ("arr-bite") means work. They were the same deal as in Britain. Conceptually similar were the youth facilities operated by the German Protestant and Catholic Churches. Young children were often arrested of the streets until the 1970's and put into these houses under pretexts such as "immoral conduct" or truancy. There they were hideously abused and sexually molested by the clergy and the nuns, in addition to being severely worked in church run industrial laundry businesses or digging up rich soils in wetlands (Torfstechen).

    • @angelaalbury986
      @angelaalbury986 Před rokem

      We know how loving and kind the germans are

    • @statinskill
      @statinskill Před rokem +5

      @@angelaalbury986 Of course we are kind and loving and you are our offshoots, Anglo-Saxon. Fun fact, the first large scale concentration camps were operated by the British. During the war against the Boers of South Africa (the descendants of white Dutch settlers). The British ground glass to a fine dust and mixed it into the food they gave to women and children in their camps. And then they watched them bleed to death internally.

    • @nihinietzsche
      @nihinietzsche Před rokem +2

      @@statinskill Never heard of this uplifting story. Where can I learn more?

    • @LemonHillSoccer
      @LemonHillSoccer Před rokem

      In america now young children roaming the streets at mid night, commit crimes and shoot each other. They need to be sent to these work houses.

    • @hogwashmcturnip8930
      @hogwashmcturnip8930 Před rokem

      @@angelaalbury986 Angelas AllBushit. What a stupid remark. Get some bandages for your knuckles, they will stop them grazing as they drag along the ground.

  • @BlueAlien1313
    @BlueAlien1313 Před rokem +4

    I love these series and I love how raw and honest they are. Reminded me of the movie "Angela's Ashes'. I would to see these history series in a movie form on the big screen. Keep them coming!

  • @chatita9527
    @chatita9527 Před rokem +26

    Very interesting yet very depressing to watch ...

  • @maplecozy
    @maplecozy Před rokem +26

    Criminalizing poverty. It's the same today.

  • @fghjk3456
    @fghjk3456 Před rokem +25

    I am shocked. I had to take breaks to be able to watch this. Horrible how these people were treated. And the grazy thing is that poor people are still seen that way in some of the western nations, even in europe!

    • @FC-ku4ez
      @FC-ku4ez Před rokem +3

      Very true.

    • @KAdams-dr4pc
      @KAdams-dr4pc Před rokem +3

      Some people are just lazy. Some people want everyone else to support them.

    • @hejla4524
      @hejla4524 Před rokem +6

      How do you think the poor were treated before workhouses were introduced? And how do you think the poor get on outside Europe?

    • @christineparis5607
      @christineparis5607 Před rokem +7

      @@KAdams-dr4pc
      That's an easy assumption, but I honestly don't know hardly anyone who is really lazy (except for teens and kids who are tired from growing fast, I don't consider that lazy!). 90% of the population works more than one job...

    • @FC-ku4ez
      @FC-ku4ez Před rokem +10

      @@KAdams-dr4pc Obviously not the ones breaking stones, cooking, and doing laundry all day. I'd look at the people exploiting the WORKING class, which are called that for a very good reason.

  • @ginger7344
    @ginger7344 Před rokem +7

    The mother country is spectacular indeed. I’d give anything to be on this crew.

  • @liezelbickle9430
    @liezelbickle9430 Před rokem +5

    Thank you for sharing the stories with me.

  • @jamessmith7691
    @jamessmith7691 Před rokem +3

    Great story, thanks for posting it.

  • @cathymorrison4953
    @cathymorrison4953 Před rokem +11

    Sounds Like Residencial Schools🤬🇨🇦🤬

  • @rangreen6387
    @rangreen6387 Před rokem +4

    Giving a man hope enlarges his possibilities!

  • @hogwashmcturnip8930
    @hogwashmcturnip8930 Před rokem +31

    The idea that you could not leave the workhouse is simply wrong. Despite the horrendous conditions, it was not a prison. You could leave any time you liked; you just could not return to that particular workhouse for a set time. Children were different, but even then, families or guardians could take them out. They were even 'sold' to mill owners etc. Of course it was called indentured, but it was slave labour whatever name they gave it. This guide seems to have got the workhouse rule book mixed-up with a prison one.
    There is another BBC series on the Workhouse which completely contradicts what is said here ! Typical beeb!
    I am reading 'The Five' about the victims of the Ripper, and there is Plenty about workhouses in there. Most of these ladies (3 of whom were Not prostitutes) were in and out of them regularly.

    • @elainew2230
      @elainew2230 Před rokem +22

      Even if they could legally leave the workhouse, practically it was probably pretty close to impossible to leave. Like the homeless of today.... they would have lacked shoes, clothing, and good enough health to work at a job... even if they were able to secure one... somehow, from the workhouse. Just because they weren't legally confined doesn't mean they could leave

    • @hogwashmcturnip8930
      @hogwashmcturnip8930 Před rokem

      @@elainew2230 Yet many of them did. Some of them were in and out like fiddlers elbows.Many of the ripper Victims had been in and out. If they could not leave how come they ended up dead in the streets of |Whitechapel? Charlie Chaplin started as a child in a Workhouse. Stop trying twist history that you clearly know little about, to fit some film or whatever you have seen. There are dozens of documentaries here that will tell you the Facts.

    • @triciac1019
      @triciac1019 Před rokem +1

      @@elainew2230 in another documentary, they were able to leave and did. The kids did get an education and trained in jobs they could do when they got out of there. Yes it was definitely a first choice to be there and it certainly was not all that happy.

    • @glendaeden2501
      @glendaeden2501 Před rokem

      I think one would have to do much more research to fully understand the workhouse system but the bottom line is it was a place to be avoided at all costs and did nothing to address the problems of the poor. The book quoted called The Five is the only publication I have ever heard of that claims any of the victims were not in the sex trade and I find the claim totally disingenuous. There were few jobs a woman could get that provided any type of security ie. domestic service, etc. and once One became addicted to drink prospects were even less. These women were already known as being in the trade at various points in their life and using drink as so many poor did, to be able to cope with the dire conditions they were forced to live in. Just like today, the profession made it easy for a perfect stranger to find easy targets. It has been said that practically anyone who has British antecedents, will find someone in the family tree who practiced the trade. Just like now, women do what they have to do to take care of themselves and their families. It does NOT diminish their worth to recognize what they really had to do as “The Five” ignoring this aspect is implying.

    • @hogwashmcturnip8930
      @hogwashmcturnip8930 Před rokem +2

      ​@@glendaeden2501 I am sorry, but I would have to disagree. The book quite clearly illustrates that women, and in particular These women Did have other ways of making money.
      The claim that Every person descended from a Brit will have a prostitute in their tree is bizarre, and frankly completely ludicrous. Care to provide evidence/references/sources for such outlandish assertions?
      I notice that referring to 'The Five' you write Heard, not Read. So are we to assume you are judging a work by a noted historian on some review that you Heard without even seeing the book?
      In fact, your entire comment seems to be founded on supposition, prejudice and hearsay. 'One would have to have researched Workhouses' suggests that you have Not . yet you still feel qualified to comment. I think we can make our own judgements as to how much you have added to the discussion.

  • @AL-fl4jk
    @AL-fl4jk Před rokem +2

    Okay but I’m so so impressed with the prosthetic eyes from that period

  • @janeharris5568
    @janeharris5568 Před rokem +7

    I slept in a drawer when I came home from the hospital in 1960

    • @prodogtwodogman3857
      @prodogtwodogman3857 Před rokem +1

      We didn’t own a drawer or dresser,sounds lovely.

    • @janeharris5568
      @janeharris5568 Před rokem

      @@prodogtwodogman3857 this was in a small travel trailer…my poor mum had no electricity until they moved to a new site. In those days junior civil engineers lived on the job site in trailers with their families.

  • @AnnaAnna-uc2ff
    @AnnaAnna-uc2ff Před rokem +4

    Thank you.

  • @Mr29roses
    @Mr29roses Před 4 měsíci

    Hello from Ontario Canada. My Great Grandfather was born in the Kensington Infirmary in 1891. He was an "illegitimate child" and was sent to work on the farm here at 13!! Between 1869 and 1939, 100,000 English children were sent to work on the farms in Canada. It was a brutal time for them when they were told a better life in Canada awaited them, only to be treated like slaves and very much despised by the vast majority of the population. Suffuce it to say, their service on the farm was nothing short of child slave labour. Its a harsh fact that my Great Grandfather lived abject poor from birth into his at least his 18th year.

  • @latanyafrancois6108
    @latanyafrancois6108 Před 5 měsíci

    😮 definitely 💯 Deep down I sure love knowing about this cause times was different than nowadays I was born in the the 1980s keep sharing more more details

  • @Lifeinbelize
    @Lifeinbelize Před rokem +1

    Interesting. Thank you

  • @FinarfinNoldorin
    @FinarfinNoldorin Před 9 měsíci +1

    One of my great grandfathers was an overseer at a workhouse, and the thought of it makes my blood run cold. I have to wonder what kind of man he was.

  • @ntcssj
    @ntcssj Před rokem +3

    It's ironic that the political art in the house is being preserved there, when the whole point was for people to have affordable/free homes. The housing crisis has gotten even worse than it was in the 80s and it's a shame how many millions of homes worldwide stand empty because they're out of price range when there could be enough homes to house everyone who needs housing.

    • @kathleennorton7913
      @kathleennorton7913 Před rokem +1

      Free is not necessarily good. Low income, maybe. Or requiring some form of work, possibly decent work provided, to those who can work.

  • @MiyshoiCollins
    @MiyshoiCollins Před rokem +2

    This sad all that hard work & not even enough food.

    • @hogwashmcturnip8930
      @hogwashmcturnip8930 Před rokem +1

      Brexit Britain! The Tories promised to get back the 'Good Old Days' and they did! THEIR Good Old Days!

  • @mashedpotatoe6275
    @mashedpotatoe6275 Před rokem +22

    The fact the back to backs are better than a lot of 1000+/month apartments Ive seen is atrocious

    • @elainew2230
      @elainew2230 Před rokem +9

      Those back to backs would be ok if you didn't have to put 10 kids in them.

    • @janinewetzler5037
      @janinewetzler5037 Před rokem +1

      @@elainew2230 I've watched documentaries from the late 1960s when people were still living in these back to backs and the state of them, no bathrooms or toilets still. running water in the kitchen, still used coal for heat, although they had gas stoves a lot by then.

  • @maryannhope8276
    @maryannhope8276 Před rokem +4

    Thank you for sharing. Blessings and prayers sent to All

  • @judeinLA.
    @judeinLA. Před rokem +3

    I wish that I could’ve been involved with doc film production. History shouldn’t repeat itself

  • @derwolf3006
    @derwolf3006 Před rokem +6

    The goddamn bullet hole in the spraypainting is so amazing!

  • @davidtrishhope9841
    @davidtrishhope9841 Před rokem +1

    Watching from New Zealand

    • @katherinea.williams3044
      @katherinea.williams3044 Před rokem

      Cool, I think NZ is as far away one can get from where I am.
      And I obviously love Flight of the Conchords.
      Love & Light from Miami Shores🦚
      Stay safe mate🌎✌🏼
      Peace & Prayers for the people of Ukraine🇺🇦

  • @NOONE-cd4gu
    @NOONE-cd4gu Před rokem +7

    Every documentary i watched about English Workhouses said that people could leave at any time and return only after a couple of weeks

  • @katr8756
    @katr8756 Před rokem +16

    As bad as it was, I guess one could have been doomed to be out in the elements, without a roof over their head, or a bite to eat. So, there's two,sides,to the same coin.

    • @glennyoverbeek
      @glennyoverbeek Před rokem

      What would you choose?
      Homeless or the workhouse.

    • @katr8756
      @katr8756 Před rokem +8

      @@glennyoverbeek As hard a choice as that would be, I'd try homeless for awhile, untill I was so wet, cold, weak and starved, that I would have to take the workhouse. It was a decision between a rock and a hard place. People did survive at the workhouse. Where as, out in the elements, without food, it was a sure path to death. In other words, pick your poison.

    • @glennyoverbeek
      @glennyoverbeek Před rokem +6

      @@katr8756 I agree with you.
      And people where less educated back then so they didn't know better.
      I feel sorry for those poor souls.

    • @elainew2230
      @elainew2230 Před rokem +8

      I think we forget about all the BS that went into getting a job then, outside of your skills or education. You had to have a letter of recommendation from your previous employer and/or letters from other people of a higher class than yourself. We all know how easily a job can go south, no matter how hard you might try.... and you wouldn't have those letters. Back then, this kind of situation might very well land you in a workhouse.

    • @glennyoverbeek
      @glennyoverbeek Před rokem +2

      @@elainew2230 oke that's something i didn't know.

  • @TruBluYahoo
    @TruBluYahoo Před 9 měsíci

    I noticed a few asked: 'Paupers' is a contraction of "poor persons".

  • @user-vy3zy2hs8d
    @user-vy3zy2hs8d Před rokem +2

    We may not criminalize poverty but society still thinks the homeless are responsible for their situation.

  • @InsomniOwl_
    @InsomniOwl_ Před 9 měsíci

    Alan? The same chap from Gordon Ramsay's Restaurant Nightmares or whatever? Nice to see you Alan! 💙

  • @glennda1939
    @glennda1939 Před rokem

    Wow how horrendous 😢!

  • @catlover5998
    @catlover5998 Před rokem +2

    As kid I thought the work house had to be as bad or worse than how the mental hospital used to be. Because of the line out a Christmas Carol where srouge refused to give money to the poor saying send them to the work house. Then the guys collecting money said that poor would rather die.
    For the people that knew that they could be sent to the mental hospital before the hole systems of the way they treated changed in the late 80s and early 90s here in the USA people would rather die than go to the nut house.
    It used to be said if you of sound mind just forced in there by society or family members you would go insane just from being in there.

  • @satsumamoon
    @satsumamoon Před rokem +4

    interesting how we think life for the poor and unfortunate have progressed but these days people dont have the luxury of a workhouse. there is only the streets and under bridges if you dont get a coveted room for the night in a homeless shelter. The only downsides of the workhouse are they imprisoned people and made them do pointless labour - take those away and I wonder how many people today would prefer it to living out on the street.

    • @willy4170
      @willy4170 Před rokem +2

      Now there are homeless shelters, social housing, food stamps, unemployment benefits, pension systems for the elder and the invalid, minimum wages and health and safety standards even for the most unqualified manual laborers.
      Even if there is still a lot to do in that regard, saying that there wasn’t any progress would be a great disservices to history.
      Without counting that even the poor of today can enjoy luxuries that the rich of the victorian era could not even dream off, like for example without electricity and gas there houses would always be really cold, dark and humid, full of sooth, bad smells, and moisture stains, with the only practical sources of lighting being tallow candles, that produced a very dim and unstable light, other than a lot of smoke and animal stink.
      And without mentioning also you could be rich as much you wanted, but your diet was always still very limited to the few seasonal products available at the time.

    • @kathleennorton7913
      @kathleennorton7913 Před rokem +2

      I do think the idea isn't horrible, if done humanely and reasonably. Real and productive work should also be done, possibly learning trades.

    • @janinewetzler5037
      @janinewetzler5037 Před rokem

      @@willy4170 In Ontario, Canada, where I am, our Welfare system has been gutted internally. Back before the 1990s you could survive on welfare, but now, you can't pay rent and everyhing else with the maximum. Rents in Toronto now start over $700.00 for a room for a month...your check for a single person on welfare is only $734.00/month in total.

  • @Music_is_Breathing
    @Music_is_Breathing Před rokem

    WOW!!!! And how horrible!!!

  • @v.a.993
    @v.a.993 Před 7 měsíci

    I get that in the present-day the notion of the workhouse is horrid, but were you faced with the choice of living on the streets back in the 1800s or early 1900s the workhouse was a comparative blessing.

  • @catiapb1
    @catiapb1 Před rokem +14

    A perfect portrait of slavery ...

  • @brittlemons1
    @brittlemons1 Před rokem +1

    I wonder if this is where hitler got his idea for concentration camps from because this is absolutely horrible.

  • @fetus2280
    @fetus2280 Před rokem +16

    Compared to some Apartments ive seen in my country and elsewhere ... This blokes home is really Nice ! This host needs to see how Real folk have to live, if he thinks this is crap ... well ive got a few places he would enjoy seeing .

    • @KAdams-dr4pc
      @KAdams-dr4pc Před rokem

      Ok ... fetus.
      You must live in shit.
      You are obviously living in a situation you put yourself in.
      😂🤣
      Do something with your life.

    • @bridgethannah2933
      @bridgethannah2933 Před rokem +10

      The problem was IMHO that having 10 kids was not the greatest idea. Therefore the house, which would have been ok for most, wasn’t.

    • @gregwillis7767
      @gregwillis7767 Před rokem +7

      Agreed. I worked with a man born in 1951, whose first pair of shoes were given to him by the Army. His best friend as a boy lived in the dump. Literally, the boy's family lived in the county dump. The Service was a way out of poverty then. You really never know who you're talking too.

    • @onespiceybbw
      @onespiceybbw Před rokem +2

      @@gregwillis7767 - It still is, for some people.

    • @juniper617
      @juniper617 Před rokem +1

      @@bridgethannah2933 Birth control was virtually nonexistent. I suppose he could have kept it in his trousers, but there you are.

  • @louise-yo7kz
    @louise-yo7kz Před rokem +3

    The history of man's cruelty to man! My God. It just breaks your heart.

  • @pawtleopard
    @pawtleopard Před rokem +10

    Her frown in the thumbnail is so heartbreaking and relatable. I know we have "fair wages" and have to deal with nothing like this today, but I also feel the absolute sadness inside. Can't even smile for pictures

    • @Celisar1
      @Celisar1 Před rokem +5

      Taking a photo was a very lengthy process for which you had to remain completely still. Therefore no one smiled on old photos! It was impossible due to the technical process.

    • @pawtleopard
      @pawtleopard Před rokem +3

      @@Celisar1 yes of course, but the fact she is frowning and you can see into her eyes she seems like she's screaming

    • @gothboschincarnate3931
      @gothboschincarnate3931 Před rokem +3

      what are you talking about? fair wages?

    • @Celisar1
      @Celisar1 Před rokem +2

      @@pawtleopard I am afraid that was her resting face. Just as no one could hold a smile that long no one could frown that long.

  • @thegrimreaper1991
    @thegrimreaper1991 Před 9 měsíci

    As a teacher I would find it difficult teaching in such an oppressive environment

  • @MiyshoiCollins
    @MiyshoiCollins Před rokem +1

    God Bless him

  • @beccapeck5102
    @beccapeck5102 Před rokem +13

    Society still views poverty as a crime the poor brought on themselves.
    This is a huge dividing line in US politics. One side doesn't want to help the poor one lack. While the other side does. I am sure the underlying attitude for not helping is the view they brought poverty on themselves. That attitude is the real crime.

    • @ladymonacoofthebluepacific2571
      @ladymonacoofthebluepacific2571 Před rokem +3

      They often do bring it on themselves when they gamble away or purchase drugs with the rent money, or get themselves fired from a job not showing up because of a hangover

    • @beccapeck5102
      @beccapeck5102 Před rokem +7

      @@ladymonacoofthebluepacific2571 that's the misinformation.
      When I was young, we were poor. Yet, we didn't have any of those issues in our home. My father was disabled and women weren't paid well even though my Mother is a retired nurse.
      Ditto
      Myself in my 20s
      My hubs in his 20s
      Our son now
      Miriad other friends & fam
      The idea that all poor people bring it on themselves is a fallacy. It may be true sometimes but not for the majority.
      Minimum wage is still $7.35. I guarantee you anybody that makes $7.35 is doing the best they can to live. If we do the math, their money wasn't taken from drugs, drink, or gambling. It ended up in corporate profits.
      I've heard for 2 years that "nobody wants to work", "restaurants can't find workers, people would rather stay home."
      What is the truth? Restaurants often only pay $2.34 an hour requiring the worker to make up the remainder in tips. AND those tips must be shared with kitchen, hostess, and bus staff. What? Hello? I wouldn't want that job either.
      When businesses were shut down, people found jobs as a delivery driver or at the grocery store for $12-$15 an hour.
      When things opened up again, did people go back to their crappy little food service job? NO!

    • @citizensnips3850
      @citizensnips3850 Před rokem +3

      @@beccapeck5102 I think you meant "One side doesn't want to help the poor, while the other side pretends it does". In no way, shape or form does either side care about the poor, it's just that one side has gotten really good at pretending it does.

    • @beccapeck5102
      @beccapeck5102 Před rokem

      @@citizensnips3850 what evidence do you have the Dems don't want to pull people out of poverty? Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare were developed with the sole purpose to provide assistance to people that were literally starving during the great depression. The initial Infrastructure from the 1930s created jobs and built our roads and bridges.
      What about now? Infrastructure creates jobs, repairs our crumbling roads and bridges. The inflation reduction act was designed to help. The ACA was supposed to provide insurance for everybody. The Rs torpedoed that bit with red states suing to not have to provide insurance to everybody.
      Please provide your evidence.

    • @beccapeck5102
      @beccapeck5102 Před rokem

      @@citizensnips3850 you mean just like the Rs pretend to be Christian?

  • @1stp4ward
    @1stp4ward Před 11 měsíci

    Interesting albeit sad history. What stood out to me was that the workhouse was really a last resort that unfortunate people sought out but they were all packed full. That's a lot of destitute people in that era.

  • @sheilapalmer1138
    @sheilapalmer1138 Před rokem +2

    And the Queens & kings lived happily ever after ,in luxury ✨️ 💜 😍 💕 💖 💛 ✨️ 💜
    Shame on the royals for allowing that to happen.

  • @danidesip2432
    @danidesip2432 Před rokem +2

    As compared to leaving on the streets.

    • @danidesip2432
      @danidesip2432 Před rokem

      Compared to today's shelters. What time is worst or better.

  • @joyceshiver6622
    @joyceshiver6622 Před rokem +3

    Workhouses in the 70s?!?! Excuse me??

  • @lizzieandmocha1131
    @lizzieandmocha1131 Před 9 měsíci

    36:25 How did we get to the point where we feel ashamed for living good, somewhat easy lives? How did a good, wholesome life become something to be ashamed of? It's terrible what people went through there, and nobody should have to have that kind of social stigma, but we should never have to apologize for living easier lives than some other people.

  • @FarewellAphrodite
    @FarewellAphrodite Před rokem

    I’m love Charles Dickens 😢

  • @honorladone8682
    @honorladone8682 Před rokem +2

    2022 happy Halloween. Boy those victorians were something else. No one likes gruel.

  • @priestessmikokikyo77
    @priestessmikokikyo77 Před 7 měsíci

    I cant believe the poor in England during those times were criminalized just for being poor! that is absolutely savage to think about. the poor children their mothers and fathers. i get they were very desperate but they were practically living hand to mouth back then, they possibly needed just the bare nesseities. heaartbreaking for those families... RIP.

  • @MiyshoiCollins
    @MiyshoiCollins Před rokem

    The building look like factories.

  • @bakenumber4
    @bakenumber4 Před rokem +2

    Growing up as an upper middle class blonde hair blue eye child my siblings and I thought "poor houses" was something our parent's made up to keep us children for asking for a raise in our allowance four times a year but obviously there truly was a place called"the poorhouse"and I'm sorry so many people had to suffer such an awful existence while living there especially the children.

  • @CarterKey6
    @CarterKey6 Před rokem +7

    Wasn’t the intent to get people not feel like they could live off the state(taxpayers)

  • @chrisskinner6291
    @chrisskinner6291 Před rokem +1

    The secret society work house that is running on empty once again in his story.

  • @strangehappenings8682
    @strangehappenings8682 Před 6 měsíci

    Lol courage implies you did something of your own free will

  • @superior2u
    @superior2u Před rokem

    Some would have been gassed within hours of arriving!

  • @stephanietorres5679
    @stephanietorres5679 Před rokem +1

    Thank you for sharing this awful part of British history. The u.s was just as guilty of this.

  • @guymorris6596
    @guymorris6596 Před rokem +10

    My mother's maiden name is Herring so these workhouse guardians might be some of my ancestors.

    • @KAdams-dr4pc
      @KAdams-dr4pc Před rokem +2

      And your point is ?

    • @christineparis5607
      @christineparis5607 Před rokem +8

      @@KAdams-dr4pc
      Her point is that she found it interesting that it might reflect some family history! Does she have to run her comment by you first to see if you approve?? Are you one of those awful arbiters of behavior like some gnarly old karen?

    • @KAdams-dr4pc
      @KAdams-dr4pc Před rokem

      @@christineparis5607
      Yeah ... she should run it by me first.

    • @christineparis5607
      @christineparis5607 Před rokem +3

      @@KAdams-dr4pc 😳😂😀

    • @KAdams-dr4pc
      @KAdams-dr4pc Před rokem

      @@christineparis5607
      🤗

  • @calamityjenn
    @calamityjenn Před 7 měsíci

    You wouldn't shut the flipping drawer with the baby in it! They probably propped it with the chair in the background.

  • @maxitektor5633
    @maxitektor5633 Před rokem +2

    I guess why, hosts in this film, are laughing all the time, discussing Victorian social hell

  • @dinarusso3320
    @dinarusso3320 Před rokem

    I can't finish watching this, people who stole food because of starvation. Too depressing

  • @Camrographer
    @Camrographer Před rokem +3

    We are able to judge the behaviors of peoples from a bygone era. However, is it correct to do so? Were people from that period capable to being more humane or was this the best they were capable of? This is the true test to determine if society was unjust.

  • @angelaalbury986
    @angelaalbury986 Před rokem +2

    Remember, the Germans got the concentration camp idea from the British in Africa.

    • @imgreylady
      @imgreylady Před rokem

      Seriously?

    • @AL-fl4jk
      @AL-fl4jk Před rokem

      Oh well that forgives it then thank you Angela 🤦‍♂️🙄

    • @jaghond448
      @jaghond448 Před 10 měsíci

      They took ideas from lots of different places. Notably Jim Crow in America.

  • @moniquesilverans3842
    @moniquesilverans3842 Před rokem

    Ne pas parler pendant les repas est une règle de savoir vivre qui n'est pas sans raison car si on avale en parlant cela risque de ne pas descendre dans l'estomac mais bien dans les poumons. Il n'empêche ne pas parler pendant qu'on mange est une règle absolue de savoir vivre

  • @Panzergruppe22
    @Panzergruppe22 Před rokem +1

    I'd say that kind of place was gulag / concentration camp on the "protagonist" side of europe...

  • @moniquesilverans3842
    @moniquesilverans3842 Před rokem

    Je suis allée en pension pendant 9 ans à partir de 1956, c'était sévère mais cela ne m'a pas déplu et j'aurais certainement préféré aller dans une de ces maisons de travail que de rester dans certains taudis de l'époque ou même rester dans la rue. La nourriture n'était pas bonne dans ces maisons de travail mais au moins les enfants recevaient des cours, cours qu'ils n'auraient pas suivis si ils étaient restés avec leurs parents sans nourriture, sans toit et sans possibilité d'étudier. Il faut donc relativiser et admettre que si tout n'était pas parfait rien n'obligeait les adultes d'y aller. La vie était dure dans les maisons du travail mais elle était parfois bien plus dure et dégradante à l'extérieur.

  • @1treehill149
    @1treehill149 Před rokem +1

    Tartarian architecture once upon a reset

  • @mariekatherine5238
    @mariekatherine5238 Před 2 měsíci

    The congregate homeless shelters in NYC aren’t much better than the workhouses. No wonder most people turn down the shelters.

  • @FloutchBW
    @FloutchBW Před 9 měsíci +1

    Make no mistake, the rich have lost nothing of their cruelty. If you keep voting and giving power to those who are friends with the global corporations and who pretend to be humanists, anti-racist, etc, we will go back to these times before we even realize what happened to us.

  • @nical396
    @nical396 Před 6 měsíci

    “Petty theft” is still theft

  • @joanneneudorf3825
    @joanneneudorf3825 Před rokem

    It's crazy I thought Prince Albert made it better or is this is what he thought better

  • @ladymonacoofthebluepacific2571

    Were workhouse residents better off than the homeless living on the streets today?

    • @hejla4524
      @hejla4524 Před rokem +3

      Good question. They say here they got some form of education and obviously food and I think health care of dubious quality.

    • @KAdams-dr4pc
      @KAdams-dr4pc Před rokem

      The people in the Work Houses had to actually work. Today's homeless are lazy, drug addicts, and thieves.

    • @rachelk4805
      @rachelk4805 Před rokem +4

      I don't think suffering is a competition and two very different experiences of life can completely suck for different reasons. I think all we know is they didn't have a great solution and we haven't implemented good solutions now.

    • @blueneptune825
      @blueneptune825 Před rokem +2

      It's like trying to decide if being shot in the left knee is better, or the right knee . Either way acts to devastate and you never are the same again.✌🏼☘️

    • @thepaganapostate3208
      @thepaganapostate3208 Před rokem +1

      I don't know. AT least the homeless can go to soup kitchens and sometimes be give real food. Or coupons and vouchers for free/buy one get one free type options. Then they'd actually be getting real food.

  • @DaveC2729
    @DaveC2729 Před rokem +5

    Having a place for the poor to go where they would be guaranteed work to do, a way to earn their keep, a way to catch them just before rock bottom and give them a chance to pick themselves up without just giving them a handout and making them a burden, is not a bad idea. It's really too bad that places like this added so much raw evil and stupidity to the idea that it would be almost impossible to get people to agree to it anymore.

    • @fumanpoo4725
      @fumanpoo4725 Před rokem +1

      Yes, Mr. Trump.

    • @DaveC2729
      @DaveC2729 Před rokem

      @@fumanpoo4725 It's obvious you expect that to hurt me for some reason, but I just don't get it.

    • @user-if8sj1pq6j
      @user-if8sj1pq6j Před 11 měsíci

      ​@@DaveC2729That's because you are dense.

  • @wakinawakena
    @wakinawakena Před rokem +1

    its civilised slavery even today

  • @rachelk4805
    @rachelk4805 Před rokem +5

    I don't understand why British people have such a long history of living at work.

  • @marthacarrier3027
    @marthacarrier3027 Před rokem

    1970's 😶

  • @kathleennorton7913
    @kathleennorton7913 Před rokem

    Way, way too many ads.

  • @tinak.356
    @tinak.356 Před rokem +1

    Why useless tasks?

    • @hogwashmcturnip8930
      @hogwashmcturnip8930 Před rokem +2

      Because it was a punishment. Just like now, being poor was seen as a crime. Something you inflicted upon yourself, through laziness, bad living, or just poor choices. Workhouses weren't designed to Help people, they were designed to frighten them. Control. While you have everyone living like rats, yet terrified to complain in case they ended up in the Workhouse, you have the perfect situation to enable you to build your fancy houses and spend money like water. There will always be some half starved wretch to make you some more! Who needs slavery, when you have a good percentage of your compatriates costing you less?

    • @jaghond448
      @jaghond448 Před 10 měsíci

      They weren't necessarily "useless" because the jobs did bring in a small amount of money, but were still chosen to make a person do everything they could to leave and not come back

    • @christodoula
      @christodoula Před 9 měsíci

      @@jaghond448 7:29 is where the guide describes how men were sometimes asked to run "the crank" which the guide called "a meaningless task".

    • @jaghond448
      @jaghond448 Před 9 měsíci

      @@christodoula I must have missed that part. Either way, the tasks were meant to deter people from coming back. Horrible stuff.

  • @Banditt42
    @Banditt42 Před rokem +6

    I hate this trend of spending 5 minutes telling you what is coming up in the show. Just get on with it.

  • @jeremybeau8334
    @jeremybeau8334 Před 8 měsíci

    The most evil empire in the history of mankind.

  • @joek5882
    @joek5882 Před rokem +1

    Coming from a city that is overrun with homelessness and crime this doesn't seem like such a bad idea. The alternative is that the streets are filthy, insane are a danger to the public and themselves and most of them choose to live this way. Before one sheds too many tears ask yourself, honestly, if the alternative we currently live with is any better. I certainly don't think so. 🤷‍♂️

  • @justice2255
    @justice2255 Před 11 měsíci

    A very shameful history.

  • @julianwaugh8221
    @julianwaugh8221 Před rokem +1

    Remember that this was going on after slavery was abolished

  • @honeyvitagliano3227
    @honeyvitagliano3227 Před rokem

    💚🙏🏻