hi folks..long shot here but is there a map available to show us what was on the ground of the workhouse and infirmary before they were built..
thanks for any help
lyn
thanks for any help
lyn
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the workhouse ground
- Thread starter Astoness
- Start date
Mark Tooze
master brummie
Hi Lyn; this map from 1855 shows the workhouse but no infirmary yet:- 
Anything I can find from earlier always seems to end somewhere around Monument Rd. But I'll keep looking......
Anything I can find from earlier always seems to end somewhere around Monument Rd. But I'll keep looking......
The Infirmary (originally Birmingham Union Infirmary) was built in 1889. It was an extension to the Workhouse in Western Road. The (earlier) workhouse gate was the entrance to the infirmary according to this quote:
Extract from Birmingham Daily Post, 22nd April, 1890:
"There is only one way, officially speaking, into the infirmary, and that way lies through the Workhouse Gate, for it is only as an adjunct to the Workhouse that the infirmary is recognised"
Extract from Birmingham Daily Post, 22nd April, 1890:
"There is only one way, officially speaking, into the infirmary, and that way lies through the Workhouse Gate, for it is only as an adjunct to the Workhouse that the infirmary is recognised"
Mark Tooze
master brummie
I've got quite a few - trouble is they all end before that bit of Dudley Road....
pjmburns
master brummie
Likewise.
One way to find out, although would need a lot of digging, could be via the committee minutes just before the plans were made before the workhouse pre-1852 and the infirmary in pre-1889.
Wonder if there are any documents relating to the former 1700s Lichfield Street workhouse in Birmingham describing the need for a bigger and fit fir purpose workhouse to be built outside the city ? There must have been discussions about suitable land.
And re. the 1880s Hospital/Infirmary, there must be a report/minutes somewhere that describe the proposed addition to the workhouse site around the late 1880s. There's a link to Birmingham Archive documents below (click on Search Results)
From the drawing below we get the impression the Hospital/Infirmary was a green site prior to development.
The sort of questions I'd consider about this later development would be who owned the site prior to development ? The Workhouse ? Was the site previously wasteland/heath or farmland ?
My instincts tell me it was heathland prior to being developed for the workhouse and later infirmary, but no hard evidence to offer. Don't know how that would relate to ownership, but I expect the land would have been cheap and regarded as a healthy site. All speculation of course !!
Some Library of Birmingham sources might help, click here:
Wonder if there are any documents relating to the former 1700s Lichfield Street workhouse in Birmingham describing the need for a bigger and fit fir purpose workhouse to be built outside the city ? There must have been discussions about suitable land.
And re. the 1880s Hospital/Infirmary, there must be a report/minutes somewhere that describe the proposed addition to the workhouse site around the late 1880s. There's a link to Birmingham Archive documents below (click on Search Results)
From the drawing below we get the impression the Hospital/Infirmary was a green site prior to development.
The sort of questions I'd consider about this later development would be who owned the site prior to development ? The Workhouse ? Was the site previously wasteland/heath or farmland ?
My instincts tell me it was heathland prior to being developed for the workhouse and later infirmary, but no hard evidence to offer. Don't know how that would relate to ownership, but I expect the land would have been cheap and regarded as a healthy site. All speculation of course !!
Some Library of Birmingham sources might help, click here:
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great info everyone..yes jan looking at your map i can see parade and summer row so going on from that i think that turnpike road to the left may have become spring hill and dudley road..i am just not sure if your map extends enough to take in the workhouse/infirmary ground
lyn
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the reason i asked the question was i was wondering if when they start digging the foundations for the new buildings what they may find below the ground ie was it just farmland ...icknield st which is a roman road was only a few mins walk away so it could be possible roman artifacts could be unearthed...just my curious mind and a nice thought 
lyn
lyn
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pjmburns
master brummie
There are frequent reports of the Board of Guardians meetings ut the difficult bit is finding the references to the "new workhouse" amongst everything else they talked about.
There does seem to have been
much debate about the land at Birmingham Heath and its suitability vs cheapness.
There does seem to have been
much debate about the land at Birmingham Heath and its suitability vs cheapness.
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if we look at jans map we can see the canal bridge at what is now dudley road at taylors dock..then look at below st view showing the canal bridge which is further down from the site of the workhouse..so i dont think the workhouse site takes in birmingham heath..cant be certain though
lyn
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In Aris Birm Gazette 18.9.1843 page 4 there is a long report from the Guardians as to the possibility and cost of a new workhouse. The land is stated to be in Birminghameath, and the following excert gives reasons for new building. Under the new archive system, I find it virtually impossible to copy and save large clippings from the archive, so cannot copy. , but ref is above.
