The Workhouse
In 1738 the trustees of Middleton’s charity bought the old Bull Inn from Jane Stanbridge which was then rented and made use of by the Churchwardens and overseers as a workhouse for the Poor. The idle poor were set to work and the unemployed was discouraged from moving about to seek work. The parish of their settlement had a duty to maintain them. At the Lewes Sessions in 1715 the settlement of Thomas Mitchell, pauper, was fixed at Cuckfield. The old poor laws treated the paupers almost as criminals to encourage independence. Extracts from the Sussex Weekly Advertiser show:
Jan19, 1789. John Morris for running away and leaving his family chargeable to the Parish of Cuckfield was adjudged a rogue and vagabond: recommitted for one week and ordered to be privately whipped.
April 16,1790. Abraham C was sentenced to 7 years transportation for stealing 1 bushel of wheat in the chaff, from the barn of John Coppard of Cuckfield. He was 22 years old, of previously good character, had a wife and one child and another daily expected.
A new Poor Law was enacted in 1834 and Guardians were created to administer it. Under this law all who were in need were obliged to reside in parish workhouses. Local poverty and unemployment, made worse by changes in farming practices, meant there was overcrowding in the workhouses. The churchwardens and overseers gave up the old parish workhouse on 29 September 1845. Later uses for the old workhouse were as a county court and as headquarters of the Volunteers.
Cuckfield was a union town responsible by law for providing a workhouse in the area. This was known as the Cuckfield Union and included an infirmary. Places within the union were Albourne, Ardingly, Balcombe, Bolney, Clayton, Cuckfield Urban and Cuckfield Rural, Haywards Heath, Horsted Keynes, Hurstpierpoint, Keymer, Lindfield, Newtimber, Pyecombe, Slaugham and Twineham. They had a combined population of 23,326 in 1891.
The new Union Workhouse was opened in September 1845 in Ardingly Road on the northern outskirts of Cuckfield. It cost ?7,500. It comprised the main building, which was designed to accommodate 450, an infirmary and a chapel. The able bodied poor of the workhouse were expected to help earn their keep by working at a nearby cornmill or by breaking up stones for the roads from a quarry at nearby Whitemans Green. Staffing originally consisted of the master, nurse and salaried chaplain. All vagrants admitted overnight were required, willing or unwilling, to have the obligatory bathe in the bath houses behind the porter’s lodge before being given a meal and bed for the night. The next morning they were required to undertake some task in or around the house to pay for their bed and breakfast. Many were then leaving to look for another workhouse for the next night. Resident paupers over the age of seventy were excused manual work and were allowed out of the workhouse between 8 til 11 in the morning and 2 til 4 in the afternoon. It was quite common in the 1880s for there to be two or three hundred in the “casual” wards and 40 to 50 requiring admission overnight.In 1891 there were 186 inmates and officers at the Workhouse.
It became the Cuckfield Poor Law Institution at the end of the first world war and then in 1930 became the West Hylands Institution as it was built on the western part of the Highlands Estate. The main work of the Institution was the care of acute and chronic sick, the elderly ambulant infirm, mentally subnormal and “casuals”.
At the outbreak of the Second World War the Cuckfield Union Infirmary became an Emergency Medical Service Hospital and in 1942 the Canadians established a Military Hospital there.
During the 1990s the Old Union Workhouse was converted to apartments and the old nissan huts demolished to make way for housing.
The following are recorded as being at the Union Workhouse at the time of the 1881 Census.
| Occ | Married | Age | Sex | Birthplace | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Thorston RICHES | Master of Workhouse | M | 34 | M | Sheffield, York, England |
| Edith Jane RICHES | Matron of Workhouse | M | 33 | F | Burnage, Cheshire, England |
| Frank Maplestone RICHES | None | 4 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England | |
| Thomas Thorston RICHES | None | 1 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England | |
| Phillis Mary RICHES | None | 5m | F | Cuckfield, Sussex, England | |
| Frank Maplestone RICHES | Assistant Workhouse Master | U | 23 | M | Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England |
| Kate JUSTEN | Workhouse School Mistress | U | 28 | F | Merton, Surrey, England |
| Thomas HOPPER | Workhouse Porter | U | 28 | M | Lewes, Sussex, England |
| Paul MEASON | Workhouse Tailor & Industrial Trainer | M | 359 | M | Brighton, Sussex, England |
| Caroline TAYLOR | Infants Nurse | M | 55 | F | Chelsea, Middlesex, England |
| Joseph KING | Gardener | M | 36 | F | Bolney, Sussex, England |
| Ann KING | Superintendent of Vagrants | M | 36 | F | Slaugham, Sussex, England |
| Annie DANCEY | Scholar | U | 14 | F | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Charlotte BRICKNELL | Infant Nurse | U | 29 | F | Turnpike, Surrey, England |
| Mary Ann COPE | Infirmary Nurse | U | 45 | F | New Radford, Nottingham, England |
| Agnes BOONE | Infirmary Serv | M | 42 | F | Horsham, Sussex, England |
The following are recorded as inmates at the Union Workhouse at the time of the 1881 Census.
| Occ | Married | Age | Sex | Birthplace | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jane JONES | Laundress (Pauper) | W | 74 | F | (B S), Gibralter |
| Louisa TULLET | None(Pauper) | U | 18 | F | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Thomas STRINGER | Ag Lab(Pauper) | W | 79 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Ellen BARNETT | Field Work (Pauper) | M | 39 | F | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Amon CONSTABLE | Scholar | U | 16 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Herbert CONSTABLE | scholar | U | 14 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Robert CONSTABLE | scholar | U | 11 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Mary HIGHLAND | Cook Domestic Servant | W | 74 | F | Framfield, Sussex, England |
| Charles MARCHANT | scholar | U | 10 | M | Balcombe, Sussex, England |
| Jesse MARCHANT | scholar | U | 7 | M | Balcombe, Sussex, England |
| Louisa NEWNHAM | scholar | U | 5 | F | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Henry AUSTEN | Carpenter | U | 34 | M | Yapton, Sussex, England |
| Frederick BAILEY | scholar | U | 10 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Caroline HAYNES | none | U | 20 | F | Haywards Heath, Sussex, England |
| Annie THOMAS | scholar | U | 15 | F | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| William ANSCOMBE | scavenger | W | 68 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Henry GODSMARK | scholar | U | 13 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Frank GODSMARK | scholar | U | 10 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Mark JOYES | Ag Lab | U | 56 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Rebecca FULLER | Laundress | W | 81 | F | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Joseph MANSBRIDGE | scholar | U | 11 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Stephen MANSBRIDGE | scholar | U | 9 | M | Liverpool, Lancashire, England |
| Jesse MANSBRIDGE | scholar | U | 7 | M | Liverpool, Lancashire, England |
| Philip MANSBRIDGE | scholar | U | 5 | M | London, Middledsex, England |
| Eliza TURNER | laundress | W | 37 | F | Brighton, Sussex, England |
| Frederick TURNER | Scholar | U | 4 | M | Brighton, Sussex, England |
| James FREEMAN | Blacksmith | U | 41 | M | Horsham, Sussex, England |
| Susan SHORT | laundress | W | 73 | F | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Thomas MITCHELL | scholar | U | 12 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Fanny MITCHELL | scholar | U | 10 | F | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Francis BOWDLER | navvy | U | 68 | M | Leicester, Leicester, England |
| William STREETER | Ag Lab | W | 77 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Stephen GATFORD | Ag Lab | U | 46 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Richard BURTENSHAW | Ag Lab | W | 67 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Mary MANSBRIDGE | Gen Serv Dom Serv | M | 30 | F | Eybridge, Lincoln, England |
| Thomas PICKNELL | none | U | 17 | M | Brighton, Sussex, England |
| George ELSEY | Ag Lab | U | 75 | M | Lindfield, Sussex, England |
| William BEARD | Ag Lab | W | 62 | M | Linfield, Sussex, England |
| Peter MARCHANT | Ag Lab | W | 74 | M | Linfield, Sussex, England |
| George BOTTING | Ag Lab | W | 63 | M | Linfield, Sussex, England |
| John PENFOLD | Ag Lab | U | 54 | M | Linfield, Sussex, England |
| Charles Pierce | Ag Lab | W | 70 | M | Cowfield, Sussex, England |
| George HAYNES | Ag Lab | W | 76 | M | Lindfield, Sussex, England |
| William EASTMOND | Marble Mason | U | 36 | M | Jersey, Channel Islands |
| Owen TESTER | scholar | U | 13 | M | Horsted Keynes, Sussex, England |
| John PIERCE | Ag Lab | W | 78 | M | Horsted Keynes, Sussex, England |
| Joseph STEDMAN | Ag Lab | W | 41 | M | Horsted Keynes, Sussex, England |
| Abraham BAKER | Ag Lab | W | 81 | M | Horsted Keynes, Sussex, England |
| Thomas WOOLGAR | Ag Lab | W | 84 | M | Horsted Keynes, Sussex, England |
| Abraham WOOLGAR | Ag Lab | U | 77 | M | Horsted Keynes, Sussex, England |
| Edmond WOOLGAR | Ag Lab | U | 31 | M | Horsted Keynes, Sussex, England |
| John WALLER | Ag Lab | W | 85 | M | Horsted Keynes, Sussex, England |
| William MAY | scholar | U | 9 | M | Horsted Keynes, Sussex, England |
| Edward THOMPSON | Navvy | U | 52 | M | Munby Cum Shappel, Lincoln, England |
| Alexander SHERLOCK | Ag Lab | U | 75 | M | Horsted Keynes, Sussex, England |
| Thomas BROWN | Navvy | U | 60 | M | Mount Sorrel, Leicester, England |
| Clara NEWNHAM | Gen Serv Dom | U | 17 | F | Ardingly, Sussex, England |
| William CRONK | Ag Lab | U | 46 | M | Ardingly, Sussex, England |
| Richard TESTER | Ag Lab | U | 76 | M | Balcombe, Sussex, England |
| Florence BOTTING | scholar | U | 13 | F | Balcombe, Sussex, England |
| William GAMMON | Shoemaker | W | 81 | M | Balcombe, Sussex, England |
| Frances GAMMON | none | U | 49 | F | Balcombe, Sussex, England |
| Amelia STEDMAN | Gen Serv Dom | U | 27 | F | Balcombe, Sussex, England |
| Alfred STEDMAN | scholar | U | 6 | M | Balcombe, Sussex, England |
| Caroline STEDMAN | scholar | U | 3 | F | Balcombe, Sussex, England |
| Grace STEDMAN | none | U | 1 | F | Balcombe, Sussex, England |
| John WOOD | Ag Lab | U | 62 | M | Balcombe, Sussex, England |
| Eliza BREDEN | Laundress | W | 47 | F | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| William BREDEN | scholar | U | 15 | M | Balcombe, Sussex, England |
| Charles BREDEN | scholar | U | 13 | M | Balcombe, Sussex, England |
| Thomas BREDEN | scholar | U | 11 | M | Red Hill, Surrey, England |
| Emeny BREDEN | scholar | U | 8 | M | Red Hill, Sussex, England |
| Robert BREDEN | scholar | U | 5 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| James BREDEN | none | U | 1 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| William HILL | Carpenter | W | 77 | M | Slaugham, Sussex, England |
| William WENHAM | Ag Lab | W | 75 | M | Slaugham, Sussex, England |
| William SRATCHELL | Ag Lab | W | 67 | M | Slaugham, Sussex, England |
| Matthew MITCHELL | Ag Lab | W | 69 | M | Slaugham, Sussex, England |
| William HEASMAN | Ag Lab | W | 91 | M | Slaugham, Sussex, England |
| Sarah BAILEY | Laundress | W | 75 | F | Slaugham, Sussex, England |
| Thomas JAPP | Ag Lab | W | 75 | M | Slaugham, Sussex, England |
| Peter TUNEL | Ag Lab | W | 77 | M | Slaugham, Sussex, England |
| Jane COLLINS | Hawker | M | 37 | F | Slaugham, Sussex, England |
| Sarah COLLINS | scholar | U | 6 | F | Slaugham, Sussex, England |
| Alice COLLINS | scholar | U | 8 | F | Slaugham, Sussex, England |
| Henry COLLINS | scholar | U | 13 | M | Slaugham, Sussex, England |
| Mary LEWRY | Cook Dom Serv | W | 84 | F | Slaugham, Sussex, England |
| Henry HUNTLEY | Shoemaker | W | 70 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Ann STEER | none | W | 55 | F | Slaugham, Sussex, England |
| John BOTTING | none | U | 55 | M | Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England |
| Ann BOTTING | none | U | 54 | F | Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England |
| William JOHNSON | scholar | U | 14 | M | Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England |
| John BURTENSHAW | scholar | U | 14 | M | Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England |
| Charles BURTENSHAW | scholar | U | 12 | M | Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England |
| James BURTENSHAW | scholar | U | 9 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Caroline KING | none | U | 43 | F | Barnsley, York, England |
| Richard RICHARDSON | Ag Lab | M | 70 | M | Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England |
| Rebecca RICHARDSON | none | M | 70 | F | Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England |
| Sarah HENLEY | laundress | U | 28 | F | Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England |
| Alice HENLEY | none | U | 1 | F | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Henry BATCHELOR | Ostler | U | 33 | M | Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England |
| Prudence SHERLOCK | Gen Serv Dom | U | 37 | F | Clayton, Sussex, England |
| Thomas HILLS | Ag Lab | M | 71 | M | Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England |
| William MARCHANT | Stone Mason | U | 48 | M | Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England |
| James GOODCHILD | scholar | U | 16 | M | Horsham, Sussex, England |
| John LEWRY | Ag Lab | M | 39 | M | Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England |
| Alice LEWRY | none | M | 29 | F | Liverpool, Lancashire,England |
| John LEWRY | scholar | U | 10 | M | Liverpool, Lancashire, England |
| James LEWRY | scholar | U | 8 | M | Liverpool, Lancashire, England |
| Stephen LEWRY | scholar | U | 6 | M | Liverpool, Lancashire, England |
| William LEWRY | none | U | 2 | M | Liverpool, Lancashire, England |
| Rose LEWRY | Laundress | U | 19 | F | Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England |
| Ann HOBDEN | none | U | 51 | F | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Sarah LINDFIELD | Gen Serv Dom | U | 19 | F | Keymer, Sussex, England |
| Mary LINDFIELD | scholar | U | 15 | F | Keymer, Sussex, England |
| George BEECHING | scholar | U | 10 | M | Keymer, Sussex, England |
| Sidney WARD | scholar | U | 10 | M | Keymer, Sussex, England |
| Mary WOOD | laundress | W | 75 | F | Keymer, Sussex, England |
| Ann GIBSON | schoOlmistress | w | 84 | F | Keymer, Sussex, England |
| Louisa BROOKER | scholar | U | 16 | F | Keymer, Sussex, England |
| George ORAM | Ag lab | W | 78 | M | Keymer, Sussex, England |
| William ANSDELL | Musician | W | 85 | M | London, Middlesex, England |
| Amy TREMAINE | Gen Serv Dom | W | 72 | W | Allerden, Kent, England |
| Eliza PARSONS | Gen Serv Dom | W | 40 | F | London Middlesex, England |
| John PARSONS | scholar | U | | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Robert PARSONS | none | U | 2 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Peter ORAM | Ag lab | W | 72 | M | Keymer, Sussex, England |
| Florence BEALE | Scholar | U | 12 | W | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| John MILLER | Ag lab | U | 68 | M | Keymer, Sussex, England |
| James HOLE | Blacksmith | U | 75 | M | Keymer, Sussex, England |
| Ruth SMITHERS | Scholar | U | 13 | F | Clayton, Sussex, England |
| James SMITHERS | Scholar | U | 12 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Elizabeth KNAPP | Laundress | M | 32 | F | Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England |
| James KNAPP | Scholar | U | 10 | M | Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England |
| Harry KNAPP | Scholar | M | 7 | M | Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England |
| Rose KNAPP | Scholar | U | 5 | F | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Frederick KNAPP | None | M | 1 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| William BURT | Ag Lab | W | 76 | M | Clayton, Sussex, England |
| James ORAM | Ag Lab | W | 61 | M | Clayton, Sussex, England |
| Mary WICKHAM | None | U | 42 | F | Clayton, Sussex, England |
| David WHITE | Ag Lab | U | 71 | M | Clayton, Sussex, England |
| Henry BRICKNELL | Ag Lab | W | 70 | M | Petersfield, Hampshire, England |
| Emily BRICKNELL | Scholar | U | 12 | F | Petersfield, Hampshire, England |
| Charles NORTH | Brickmaker | U | 43 | M | Clayton, Sussex, England |
| George KING | Ag Lab | U | 47 | M | Hurstpeirpoint, Sussex, England |
| Esther MOORE | None | U | 49 | F | Cowfold, England |
| Florence KNIGHT | None | U | 17 | F | London, Middlesex, England |
| Louisa TURNER | None | W | 25 | F | Exmouth, Devon, England |
| George TURNER | Scholar | U | 8 | M | Bristol, Gloucester, England |
| Charles TURNER | Scholar | U | 4 | M | West Hallam, Derby, England |
| William TURNER | Scholar | U | 3 | M | Kettering, Northampton, England |
| David DAVEY | Ag Lab | M | 53 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Joseph GILLAM | Carpenter | U | 58 | M | Cowfold, Sussex, England |
| Sarah BATCHELOR | None | U | 39 | F | Bolney, Sussex, England |
| George BATCHELOR | None | U | 2 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Alfred SCUTT | Ag Lab | M | 21 | M | Bolney, Sussex, England |
| George WOOD | Ag Lab | M | 55 | M | Twineham, Sussex, England |
| Elizabeth WOOD | Scholar | M | 33 | F | Twineham, Sussex, England |
| John WOOD | None | U | 12 | F | Twineham, Sussex, England |
| Elizabeth WOOD | Scholar | U | 10 | F | Twineham, Sussex, England |
| William WOOD | Scholar | U | 5 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Henry WOOD | Scholar | U | 3 | F | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Amelia WOOD | Scholar | U | 8 | F | Twineham, Sussex, England |
| Stephen VIRGO | Ag Lab | U | 69 | M | Twineham, Sussex, England |
| Ellen TULLEY | None | U | 27 | F | Bolney, Sussex, England |
| Frederick LEWRY | None | U | 1m | M | cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Harry ANSCOMBE | Ag Lab | U | 28 | M | Cowfold, Sussex, England |
| Thomas MITCHELL | Ag Lab | U | 74 | M | Balcombe, Sussex, England |
| Richard NEWMAN | Ag Lab | U | 62 | M | Cowfold, Sussex, England |
| Peter STARLEY | Shoemaker | U | 56 | M | Bolney, Sussex, England |
| Henry PACKHAM | Ag Lab | W | 76 | M | Cuckfield, Sussex, England |
| Henry HENTY | Ag Lab | W | 79 | M | Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, England |
| George BOWRING | Ag Lab | U | 47 | M | Liverpool, Lancashire, England |
| John SOLLEY | Ag Lab | M | 51 | M | Ramsgate, Kent, England |
| James ROBERT | Bricklayers Labourer | U | 48 | M | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Albert THORPE | Bricklayers Labourer | U | 39 | M | Greenwich, Kent, England |
| John KEEFE | Carpenter | U | 56 | M | Lambeth, Surrey, England |
| George SYKES | . | U | 30 | M | London, Middlesex, England |
| John WILSON | Bricklayers Laborer | U | 32 | M | Lambeth, Surrey, England |
| Timothy MC CARTHY | Bricklayers Laborer | U | 49 | M | Ireland |
| George ATKINS | Bricklayers Laborer | U | 46 | M | Walworth, Surrey, England |
| John SMITH | Tanner | M | 41 | M | Gt Coggeshall, Essex, England |
| Mary SMITH | Laundress | M | 40 | F | Dublin, Ireland |
| William SMITH | Bricklayers Laborer | U | 48 | M | London, Middlesex, England |
| Thomas WRIGHT | Bricklayer | U | 40 | M | Dublin, Ireland |
| Thomas ANDERSON | Ag Lab | M | 44 | M | London, Middlesex, England |
| Mary ANDERSON | Laundress | M | 40 | F | London, Middlesex, England |
| John CARTER | Ag Lab | M | 43 | M | Dover, Kent, England |
| Elizabeth CARTER | Laundress | M | 41 | F | Brighton, Sussex, England |
| Stephen HAWKINS | Painter | U | 60 | M | South Molton, Devon, England |
| Edward JOHNSON | Painter | U | 44 | M | Calcutta, East Indies |
| George BULL | Dock Laborer | U | 45 | M | Dartford, Kent, England |
| John GILL | Dock Laborer | U | 24 | M | London, Middlesex, England |
| Louisa REECE | Laundress | M | 40 | F | London, Middlesex, England |
| Alexander REECE | Scholar | U | 7 | M | London, Middlesex, England |
| John MC CARTHY | Dock Laborer | U | 59 | M | Cork, Ireland |