Monument record MDO47317 - Christchurch Union Workhouse

Christchurch Union Workhouse was built between 1881 and 1886 to designs by Christopher C Creeke and E H Burton. It consisted of a single-storey front block containing receiving and casual wards, a boardroom and accommodation for aged married couples. Corridors separated this block from the accommodation blocks and to the rear of these were the dining hall and kitchen which were flanked by two workshop yards. The infirmary was to the North, behind the yards. By 1924, it had been extended by the addition of two ward blocks and a maternity block. A nurses' home, designed by E H Burton, was added in 1901 and a second in 1933 to designs by W J Dacombe. An unidentified building on the eastern part of the site may have been for children, but was in use as an infirmary in the early 20th century. In about 1930, the workhouse became a public assistance institution known as Fairmile House Institution. The buildings were in use as part of Christchurch Hospital at the time of a RCHME (Royal Commisson on the Historical Monuments of England) survey in 1992, but had been demolished by 2005.

<1> Morrison, K, 1999, The Workhouse: a study of Poor Law Buildings in England, 113, 143-4, 204 (Monograph). SDO17690.

<2> Historic England, Historic England Archive, BF100461 (Index). SDO14738.

Christchurch Hospital, formerly Christchurch Union Workhouse, later Fairmile House Institution, Christchurch. The file contains the following miniature format film prints: 171/Z/10 - 36, 190/B/00 - 19.

<3> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1407437 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 29 2024 1:28PM