Good morning, I am going to finish up the Secrets of the Workhouse Series. This time Brian Cox and Barbara Taylor Bradford wrap up their workhouse story and Felicity Kendall learns about her ancestor who was in the workhouse. The run time for the episode is 46:28 and is called A New Beginning.
The workhouse was a place where social outcasts found themselves when they transgressed the order of society. Felicity Kendall’s story kicks off this episode. Her ancestress ended up in the workhouse after getting pregnant after an affair. Her husband had kicked her out, so she had no choice but to turn to the workhouse. Her ancestor, Mary Liddle broke the strict moral code of Victorian England. In 1898, Mary gave birth to her tenth child Albert Edward in the workhouse. She would have been given a uniform designed to shame her. Eventually, Mary Liddle would find a job and she would bring Albert with her. Then we return to Barbara Taylor Bradford’s story of her mother and her grandmother. They would eventually get out of the workhouse with the marriage of Grandmother. However, the family would find themselves back at the workhouse gates. The workhouse encouraged the innocent poor to come in, but the poor refused to work and were not invited. Brian Cox’s grandfather frequently used the workhouse because he was sick very often. He was noted as a troublemaker. Eventually, his grandfather would end up in the asylum. Brian wants to continue to learn about why his grandfather was put in the asylum. Brian’s grandfather had frequently health problems but the staff at the workhouse thought he was faking it. The staff thought he should have been able to look after his health better. However he was also not only looking after himself, but he had to look after his young son. The workhouse refused to do so because at least the child had a parent. Eventually, Brian’s uncle was taken care of and sent to the countryside to live. The Edwardian Period saw a shift in its care for children. The staff would adopt vulnerable children and take them into care. Felicity’s uncle was taken away from Felicity’s grandmother. She had a second illegitimate child. Children whose parents have died, unable to care for them, or who had no moral standing were taken into care by the guardians of the workhouse. Only orphans and abandoned children were taken into care that would change to any child. Albert would have been housed in a special children’s block away from the adults. His mother would have applied to the guardians to get Albert back. However, this application was denied. In Scotland, the scheme was very different. Instead of raising in the city and the children were sent out to the countryside. Brian Cox’s uncle was finally boarded out to a farming family. Sending the children into the countryside to give them a chance at a new life. His uncle would have been given a suit of clothing to help him blend into the community. The last thing people wanted was to see a pauper child in the countryside. Barbara Taylor Bradford’s family would fall under this scheme as well. Her aunt and uncles were taken into care by Barnardos. It was a private charity that was employed to look after orphaned, abandoned, and destitute children. This was a result of the death of Barbara’s grandmother and the neglect of her step-grandfather. She writes to Barnardos to see what happened with her aunts and her uncles. Felicity learns about the fate of both Albert and Claude, another child that her grandmother Mary had. She visits the site of Claude’s grave and lays stones on the unmarked ground. In the meantime, Albert would have gone off to war to make something of himself. To learn more about the stories of Brian Cox, Barbara Taylor Bradford, and Felicity Kendall continue to follow along with this episode. Barbara Taylor Bradford’s story made me sad and I hope that she made contact with her family in Australia. She just seemed like a dear sweet lady taking in the information of her family. This is a good series and the stories were very interesting to watch. This would be good for a history class and good for research purposes.
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