Ripon Workhouse

The old Workhouse in Ripon is now a fascinating museum.

The museum is currently housed in the Gatehouse building. In this building is the former Male Vagrants section and Receiving Ward where there are 14 cells where these unfortunates were locked in for the night. The museum provides a harsh touch of reality and an insight into what poverty once meant to the poor.

The rest of the site buildings are currently offices of the council, but have recently been purchased by the museum. In late 2017 it is hoped to expand the museum and restore the old buildings to their original state. It is well worth a visit, and promises to be even more interesting when the rest of the site is added to the museum.

The Ripon workhouse was noted for its better than average standard of education for its children. Todays first extra shows the small classroom - note the Dunces' caps!
The second extra is the row of fourteen cells where vagrants were allowed to stay for up to two nights if they satisfied certain eligibility criteria. Vagrants were generally of 'poor character and mind' and were only granted this right under lock and key. The 15th cell was, in fact, the mortuary. Very often 'inmates' of the workhouse only ever left in a wooden box.

The museum website is here.