Babington House: The Old Belper Workhouse
Information About the Workhouse
Belper Poor Law Union formally came into existence on 5th May 1837. Its operation was overseen by an elected Board of Guardians, 47 in number, representing its 32 constituent parishes.
The new Board of Guardians held its inaugural meeting in May 1837 at the Lion Inn, Bridge Street. The priority of erecting new workhouse was agreed upon, with the capacity of the three existing parish workhouses in the Union being inadequate. A report in November 1837 by one of the Union's medical officers highlighted the poor state of medical provision at the time. One of the sick poor, "aged 78, has lain upon a squab in a stockinger's room for the last four months — he was supposed to have had a paralytic stroke, but his case has turned out to be a fracture of the neck of the thigh bone."
The architects appointed to design the workhouse were the prolific partnership of George Gilbert Scott and William Bonython Moffatt who were also responsible for the workhouse at Chesterfield. Because of changes in the site, and in the architects' design, there were several delays in starting construction. There were also problems during the building work, including the bankruptcy of the building contractors. The building was eventually completed in September 1840 on a 2.5 acre site at Babington Meadow which had been purchased for £750 from local landowner George Benson Strutt.
The building was constructed from local Derbyshire stone at a cost of £8,700 and was intended to accommodate up to 300 inmates. The location and layout of the workhouse can be seen on the 1913 map below.
There was, however, considerable disruption and dislike of the new workhouses in England, and there was a spate of attacks and fires around the country. In Belper, the workhouse was damaged by a suspicious fire in October 1841. The large crowd who gathered to watch not only refused to put it out, but threatened those who did.
Today the Workhouse is used as a Hospital, and is to be found on the outskirts of Belper, on the A6 Derby Road.
Index of Records
Census Records: Workhouse Inmates and Staff
Births and Deaths
Admissions & Discharges
- Records from 1840-1843 (PDF file)
Links to Workhouse Pages
