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The Westminster Unions industrial school for pauper children
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The Westminster Unions industrial school for pauper children
The Westminster Unions industrial school for pauper children, opened in 1851 on St James Road, Wandsworth. From 1904, it was used as a workhouse by the Wandsworth Union, then later became St James Hospital. Date: early 1900s
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Media ID 23398760
© Mary Evans/Peter Higginbotham Collection
1851 Jamess Opened Pauper Unions Wandsworth Westminster Workhouse Workhouses
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EDITORS COMMENTS
This evocative photograph captures the imposing facade of The Westminster Union's Industrial School for Pauper Children, located on St. James Road in Wandsworth, West London. Established in 1851, this institution was initially designed to provide education, training, and shelter for destitute children. The children, often orphaned or abandoned, were separated from their families and lived in this institution under strict regulations. They were expected to learn a trade or a skill to prepare them for a life of self-sufficiency once they left. By the early 1900s, the building had taken on a new role as a workhouse for the Wandsworth Union. The workhouse system, a relic of the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, aimed to provide relief to the poor by forcing them to work in exchange for shelter and food. The children in the industrial school were now part of this system, expected to work long hours in the institution's workshops or in local factories. The building's grandeur and the children's uniformity in the photograph belie the harsh realities of their daily lives. The high walls and barred windows served to keep the children within the institution's confines, while the large chimneys hint at the industrial nature of the work they were expected to perform. This image offers a glimpse into a bygone era of social welfare, one that has since been largely replaced by modern systems focused on the welfare and well-being of children in care. The Westminster Union's Industrial School for Pauper Children stands as a testament to the complex history of childcare and social welfare in England during the early 20th century.
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