The “Poor Law” Union Workhouse on Thorpe Road which was built in 1837 to accomodate the “poor and sick” under the requirements of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act which made it a requirement of local parishes to provide for and look after those in need.
The Workhouse was informally known as “Thorpe Road House” after World War I but was formally renamed St John’s Close in 1948, when it became shared between the County Council and the National Health Service. Once the County Council had completed building three new residential homes for the elderly, the workhouse buildings were demolished in 1971.
This image was actually a rather sombre frontage of a local postcard sent to Benefield born Catherine Currall who was working at the time as a domestic servant at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.
