In the Workhouse, Christmas Day by George R. Sims ( 1847 – 1922 ) It is Christmas Day in the workhouse,And the cold, bare walls are brightWith garlands of green and holly,Ad the place is a pleasant sight; For with clean-washed hands and faces,In a long and hungry lineThe paupers sit at the table,For this is the hour they dine. And the guardians and their ladies,Although the wind is east,Have come in their furs and wrappers,To watch their charges feast; To smile and be condescending,Put pudding on pauper plates.To be…
Day: December 2, 2022
Christmas in the Workhouse
Christmas in the Workhouse Written by Pam Preedy. ‘Please Sir, I want some more.’ Who amongst us doesn’t recognise these words when Oliver Twist, an orphan, drew the short straw to ask for more food? Although this story by Charles Dickens was not set at Christmas, it illustrates one of the horrors of the workhouse – hunger. Poverty had always been a problem. It was generally believed that poverty was the fault of the poor because they were lazy and feckless. With the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII,…