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Shipmeadow Parish Workhouse (House of Industry)
Shipmeadow was opened in 1766 and is between Bungay and Beccles.
The house was built on 44 acres of farmland, bought from Thomas FARR in 1764 for
£784. The first governor was Matthew SPILLING, with his wife Rhoda. They had a joint salary of
£30 per annum. They retired in 1803 after 37 years of service.
The house opened on 26 Oct 1766, when 31 paupers moved in, and by the end of November, there were 150 "residents".
350 paupers could be housed. There were 29 rooms for married couples.
The building was H-shaped, and contained apart from dormitories, a schoolroom, a
committee room, a laundry, a kitchen, a granary, a linen house, an infirmary, and away from the main house, there was a "pest house" for those with infectious
diseases such as smallpox.
A ten foot high wall surrounded the house.
Submitted by Andy Kerridge
Shipmeadow Parish Workhouse building was later used as Wangford Union
Workhouse - Suffolk
Page updated
August 06, 2007
by Rossbret
Copyright © Rossbret 1999-2005. All rights reserved.
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Shipmeadow