Charles Dickens famously presented workhouse life as being one of unremitting horror in his novel Oliver Twist. However, were all poorhouses so bleak or was Dickens trying to highlight the fact that some were run by corrupt despots?
David Swidenbank, from Porthcawl, Wales has discovered a workhouse master and matron in his paternal family history. His findings show us that some workhouse staff were progressive, humane and loved by the inmates.
“I made my discovery while researching the life of my great great aunt, Mary Elizabeth Swidenbank,” David explains. “She was born in Tredegar, south Wales, in 1865.
“Mary began her career working as assistant matron at the Barton Regis Union Workhouse in Bristol. During her time there she helped to organise a New Year’s Eve party for the workhouse children, which was recorded in an old newspaper article.”
Mary helped organise a New Year's Eve party for the workhouse children
In 1894, Mary married Claude Gane who was the accountant son of the master of Chippenham Union in Wiltshire.
“Claude and Mary became the master and matron of Malmesbury Union, Wiltshire, in 1902,” David says, “and four years later the couple assumed the same positions at Axbridge Union in Somerset.”
David spent many fruitful hours in archive offices, discovering more about workhouse life. “The board of guardians, who appointed the master and matron, preferred them to be a married couple with no children. Pay was low in Victorian times, which often influenced the quality of the candidates who applied.
The workhouse guardians preferred the master and matron to be a married couple
“At Axbridge Union, able-bodied inmates rose at 5.45am and worked from 7am until 6pm with a short break for dinner at midday. A typical diet for men consisted of eight ounces of bread and one and a half pints of gruel for breakfast; soup or meat and vegetables for lunch; then bread and cheese for supper. The food was of poor quality, and often tainted as well.
“I read the master’s punishment books for Axbridge Union, which was a moving experience. During Claude and Mary’s time it was a thin volume; however, their predecessors’ punishment book was well used.
“Between June and September 1882, the cane was administered 12 times. The cause of these punishments included telling lies, stealing food and spilling salt.”
Between June and September 1882, the cane was administered 12 times
Documents relating to inmates’ complaints revealed that there were few during the Ganes’ tenure. Claude put forward any request to the guardians, no matter how unreasonable. “One inmate complained that he was not offered bacon and egg for breakfast, and another asked to be discharged but only if his wife and children stayed behind.”
It was a demanding life for the master and matron, especially in larger workhouses. A Royal Commission in 1909 reported that it was an “impossible task”.
In 1917, Mary was discovered to have cancer, and the board of guardians proposed that she be paid £25 to “ease her suffering and speed her recovery”. Sadly, she succumbed to the disease and died in 1918 aged 53.
Mary’s obituary in the Western Mercury mentioned the “genuine sorrow” evoked by her death, adding that “sick inmates found in her the best friend in life’s pathway, and the children loved her for her freshness and real love. Officially she was matron, but she was an affectionate and ever-thoughtful mother.”
Six months after Mary’s death, Claude was made to reapply for his job. He was awarded the post with Elizabeth Childe, a nurse whom he married in 1919, and they managed Axbridge Union until it closed in the 1930s.
David is deeply proud of his relatives’ service, especially that of his great great aunt. “Mary gave hope to people at the bottom of society. She was a professional and enlightened woman.”