Workhouse and Famine Hospital Traditional Cache
Mental Medic: This cache has been more trouble than it's worth, time to go [:(]
Workhouse and Famine Hospital
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(other)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
In the nineteenth century, the impoverished circumstances of the majority of tenant farmers forced the government to provide social reforms and direct relief. One of the most conspicuous results of the passing of the Poor Law Act of 1834 was the erection of workhouses on the outskirts of larger towns. These wholly institutional complexes were built in the early 1840s to a standardised model designed by George Wilkinson. The typical plan placed the master's house to the fore, with larger ranges housing dormitories, kitchens, refectory, schoolrooms, infirmary, chapel and morgue, placed in succession behind. The typical austerity and utilitarian character of these buildings was relieved only by a relatively modest repertoire of Tudor details, including tall chimneys and hood mouldings, features that were particularly evident in the master's house. Although the workhouses were designed to be built in haste, they displayed remarkably well-executed stonework throughout, with internal features such as limestone cantilevered stairs. The mullioned fenestration found on most of the buildings, originally filled with quarry glazed windows of cast-iron, always exploited the full aesthetic possibilities of these materials. Well-preserved examples can be found at Carrickmacross
The renovation of Carrickmacross Workhouse to make it what you see today has been the result of many years planning, fundraising and hard work carried out by the committee and many interested people from the area. Today it stands as a testiment to those families who had no choice but to move into the workhouse for survival during famine times. It has been beautifully restored, as close to the original architecture and features as possible while making it a practical modern working environment with offices, meeting rooms and catering facilities.
The new Carrickmacross Union workhouse was erected on a six-acre site at the north-west of Carrickmacross. Designed by the Poor Law Commissioners' architect George Wilkinson, the building followed one of his standard design to accommodate 500 inmates. Its construction cost £5,000 plus £977 for fittings etc.
The workhouse was declared fit for the reception of paupers on 25th October, 1842, and received its first admissions on 11th February 1843.
The original administrative block was extended westwards in 1851, ending in a three-storey cross wing in which children's accommodation and schoolroom were located.
The upper floor of the children's block had the standard raised platforms on which the inmates slept.
To the rear was an accommodation block, two-storeys high except for a three-storey cross-wing at the western end matching the children's extension in the front block. There was also an observation tower giving views over the inmates' yards.
During the famine in the 1847, a fever hospital was erected on a separate site just across the road from the workhouse. Additional accommodation for 249 was provided by constructing sleeping galleries in the workhouse and by hiring two houses.
The cache is is a magnetic nano located near the entrance to the workhouse. Stealth will be required as the road can be busy. Please replace the cache exactly as found after signing the log
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures