A trip to the Workhouse

When I got up this morning, the first thing I did was go and check on the little bee. He was still on the lawn and was alive so I gave him some more nectar and left him to it. Hopefully, he will fly off soon!

Sophie and I picked my Mum up at 10.30am and we were a little dismayed by the grey weather. However, as the Workhouse was mostly inside, it didn't matter that much! We set Google maps to give us directions and drove along the A14 and M1 to junction 21a where we joined the A46. It started to rain and became quite heavy but by the time we reached the delightful little town of Southwell, it had dried up a bit.

The Workhouse at Southwell was built in 1821 and is the most intact example of a workhouse in Britain today. It opens at 12pm and we arrived a few minutes afterwards so after paying we made straight for the cafe for a quick sandwich and a coffee.

The infirmary had also just opened but to be honest there wasn't that much to see and Sophie was spooked by a couple of the rooms upstairs as she said the door tried to shut on her! When we saw one of the old bathrooms I commented on how much they had changed over the years (thank goodness!).

The Workhouse itself was more interesting and there were stories you could listen to from people who had lived there right up until the 1970s when the place was used as a shelter for the homeless or families in need. Originally, the workhouse system was introduced to cut down on the money paid to the needy in their own homes and came out of the charitable donations of the local community.

The workhouse was not designed to be a place where people would want to go. Life was harsh and men and women were segregated and the able-bodied put to work in often meaningless tasks.

The blankets were hard and scratchy!

My Mum thoroughly enjoyed the visit, pointing out things that she had seen when she was a child, especially the mangle in the laundry. The kitchen looked like a place of hard work and Sophie tried out the forerunner of our modern washing machine!

There was even an outside barn that housed the dead which was a bit macabre, as they had a "corpse" in there! We visited the cellars which were cool and dark and were the only ones down there, so that was a bit spooky!

We stayed for about two and a half hours and the place was filling up rapidly when we left. Happily, the weather had improved and the sun was peeking out from the clouds!

Rhubarb in the extensive gardens.

As we loved the look of Southwell, we drove the short distance and parked in a small car park near the town. It was free for two hours which was a lovely touch, I thought, and certainly encouraged us to visit.

We walked up the lovely high street and came across an upmarket wine shop where we spent a very pleasant time perusing the shelves. There were wines you could taste using a pre-loaded payment card and we were very tempted!

Mum bought my Dad a bottle of Montepulciano wine and Sophie treated us to two bottles as well. As we all fancied an ice-cream, we went in search of a shop and found the whole area really lovely, with loads of independent shops and cafes with people sitting outside in the sunshine.

After our ice-creams, Sophie and I went into a tiny deli and bought cheese, crackers and some chocolates. Laden down with our delicious purchases, we returned to the car and set the directions to get us back home.

On the way, the clouds darkened and it looked like the weather back at home was still grey and rainy. We dropped Mum off at home and then returned to find Keith still out at the football and Mike lounging in his room.

Dinner tonight was a lovely beef curry and afterwards we watched Speed. A great end to a very interesting and enjoyable day!