Workhouse shirt
Category
Costume
Date
1900 - 1929
Materials
Brushed cotton,
Measurements
650 mm (Width); 760 mm (Length)
Order this imageCollection
The Workhouse, Southwell, Nottinghamshire
NT 493235
Caption
In a place where life was hard and bleak, a bright red shirt might seem out of place. But this survival from the collections at The Workhouse in Southwell offers a flash of colour in an otherwise dark landscape, revealing a story of preservation and salvage at a time when the lives of those who lived and worked at the workhouse might have faded into history. The Poor Law Amendment Act in 1834 created a new system to manage responsibility for the care of the poor. Unions, comprised of a band of parishes and a board of guardians, were now in charge of the workhouses. Inmates were not allowed to wear their own clothing during their time at the workhouse and were instead given hard-wearing clothes. These further stripped inmates of their identity. After The Workhouse was acquired by the National Trust in 1997, the shirt was given to the collection by the daughter of the site’s last custodian. It had been saved by a local man, who had taken a collection of objects from the building that had been marked for disposal, and who recognised its significance. Helen Antrobus
Summary
Red workhouse shirt, front fastening with four white buttons and a pocket on the upper left front.
Provenance
Handmade in an unspecified institution, approximately 1928. Donated along with a plan of the new infirmary, 1928 and register of births and deaths. Recovered by a Mr David Kemp during the 1980's when much of the contents were being burned, subsequently donated by Katrina Evans in 2002.
Marks and inscriptions
Inside back neck: B638 Inside front right: illegible, possibly 'union' Inner back neck: illegible, possibly 'union'
References
Antrobus and Slocombe 2025: Helen Antrobus and Emma Slocombe, 100 Things to Wear: Fashion from the collections of the National Trust, National Trust 2025, p. 147.