Sussex Workhouses

Sussex Workhouses

Arundel
Battle
Brighton
Chailey
Chichester
Cuckfield
East Grinstead
East Preston
Eastbourne
Firle
Hailsham
Hastings
Horsham
Lewes
Midhurst
Newhaven
Petworth
Rye
Steyning
Thakeham
Ticehurst
Uckfield
Westbourne
Westhampnett

Sussex Workhouses

The Poor Law Unions classified as being within Sussex include Arundel, Battle, Brighton, Chailey, Chichester, Cuckfield, Eastbourne, West Firle, East Grinstead, Hailsham, Hastings, Horsham, Lewes, Midhurst, Newhaven, Petworth, East Preston, Rye, Steyning, Sutton, Thakenham, Ticehurst, Uckfield, Westbourne and Westhampnett

Records

The East Sussex Record Office
The Maltings
Castle Precinct
Lewes
East Sussex
BN7 1YT
Tel: (01273) 482349

West Sussex Record Office
County Hall
Chichester
West Sussex PO19 1RN
Tel: 01243 753600

From Census Statistical Volume 1901
County of Sussex in PP 1902 Vol CXXI Cd 1,290
Submitted by Alan Longbottom

Summary of Results.
Workhouses.
Pauper inmates of Workhouse establishments in the Registration County number 4,465 persons of all ages, 2,715 Males and 1,750 Females. These represent approximately 0.7% of the general population, the % showing a fractional increase since 1891.
At advanced ages the proportion is far higher; at 55 years and upwards the % is 3% and at 65 years and upwards is 4.9%.

Prisons
Prisoners in Local and Convict Prisons in the Registration County number 279, against 157 in 1891. Of these 230 are Males and 49 Females.

The Blind, Deaf and Dumb
The number of persons returned as Blind is 578, and of these 33 suffer from some other Infirmity also.

Deaf and Dumb persons including 29 returned simply as Dumb, number 316, and of these 11 suffer from some other Infirmity also.

Lunatics
Lunatics number 1,674, including 22 afflicted with some other Infirmity also; and the Imbecile and Feeble-minded 934, including 12 otherwise afflicted. The total of these classes is 2,608 as
against 1,777 in 1891.

In comparing these figures, however, attention must be paid to the fact that the eading to the Infirmities Column of the Census Schedule was not uniform at the two Censuses.

In 1891 the words adopted were "Lunatic, Imbecile or Idiot" and this expression might have led to more frequent concealment of cases of mental derangement than the form of words adopted at the recent Census, when Occupiers were instructed to describe the afflicted person either under the title of Lunatic or under that of Imbecile, feeble minded.

For these reasons a calculation of the increase per-cent on the population would be misleading. It may be noted that, of the 2,608 persons returned as mentally deranged, 1,945 were the inmates of institutions, including 1,611 in Public and Private Lunatic Asylums, 333 in Workhouses, and 1 in another Institution, the remaining 663 were residing with relatives or in unlicensed houses.

Of the 333 mentally deranged persons enumerated in Workhouses, 84 were returned as Lunatics and 249 as Imbecile, or Feeble-minded;
and of the 663 not enumerated in Institutions, 41 were returned as Lunatics and 622 as Imbecile or Feeble-minded.

From PP 1867/68 Vol XXXI pp 1-301
Twenty Second Report of the Commissioners in Lunacy to the Lord Chancellor

p 255 J - Workhouses, List of those visited in 1867
With Name of the Workhouse and numbers of
insane, idiotic, and imbecile inmates, Male/Female/Tot

Sussex

	MALE	FEMALE	TOTAL
Arundel	0	1	1
Battle	3	5	8
Brighton	8	12	20
Chichester	1	1	2
Hastings	4	3	7
Horsham	3	19	22
East Preston	3	3	6
Rye	3	4	7
Steyning	6	4	10
Ticehurst	4	4	8
Westbourne	4	3	7
Westhampnett	6	5	11

Page updated August 06, 2007