wirral union workhouse

[molly78]

Does anyone have any info about the Wirral Union Workhouse? It was on the site of where Clatterbridge Hospital nr Spital is now. Apparently the last of the building was torn down in 1997.

If someone was listed as a "patient"-what circumstances might have they ended up there?

Thanks in advance.

[janan]

Hi Molly
This link gives quite a lot of info
http://users.ox.ac.uk/~peter/workhouse/Wirral/Wirral.html

and a Google for wirral union workhouse gives quite a few other refs. Hope this helps. Regards Jan

[buxtond]

Hi Molly

The workhouse closed in about 1930 and the buildings then became part of the Clatterbridge Hospital.  As you say they were demolished in the 1990s.  I have an interest in this location as I recently discovered that my father was born there while it was a workhouse.

Diane

[debbles]

Hi Molly,
My Great Grand Mother was in the Clatterbridge Workhouse with her parents in 1891.  She left and married but her parents were still there and both died there, 1891 and 1906.  My mother was there when it was an hospital in the late 1960's and died there in 1970.  My sister gave birth to her first child there also in 1970.  I remember visiting the hospital and it was very large and open, the wards were old by then and more like nissen huts. 
From what I have read of the Workhouse it wasn't too bad a place to be.  There was no central control hub and it appears that families were kept together as much as possible.  When my 2x Great Grand Parents died they were buried in their own home church in Neston and so were not so poor or alone that they were buried at the workhouse.  My 2x Great Grand Mother had been ill for sometime before she died and was cared for in the Workhouse infirmary, the hospital.  My Great Grand Mother was given a good education for the time, she could read, write, do arithmatic and had been taught to sew and was an expert seamstress even when she was quite aged, she taught all her daughters and grand daughters to sew and even taught me to cross stitch.
A lot of misconceptions about Workhouses exist and while it was true not all of them very great places to be, many of them provided good sustainance and covering for needy people.  In fact my 2x Great Grand Father actually lied about his age so he could stay in the workhouse.  They generally were not the "Mad Houses" that many would think of.  There were sometimes facilities for "Lunatics" "Imbeciles" and "Idiots" that's their definition not mine.  These poor souls would end up in the workhouse because there was no place else for them to go and if they weren't dangerous they didn't lock them up.
For someone to be a patient would be like my 2x Great Grand Mother.  She was there because she was ill, and her husband was oldish and they had an 10 year old child.  There was no NHS as you know and any kind of medical help was expensive, so the workhouse infirmary was the best option and perhaps the only option.
I hope some of this helps, good hunting with your ancestry tracing.
Regards,
Debs

[molly78]

Hi,

Thanks for that info. I'd suspected that some workhouses acted as a sort of eldery people's homes for those who couldn't stay with their families for whatever reason. My ancestor entered the workhouse between the ages of 70 and 80 and while she was a widow with several children and grandchildren, I assume nobody had the room or were even willing to look after an elderly relative.

Did you find your research at the Chester archives? I don't know yet when she died or where she is buried-is there still a cemetary nearby?

Molly

[debbles]

Hi Molly,
Glad it was some help.  The information on my family came from census details.  Where they were buried came from Chester Records, I have a cousin who goes there regularly. 
You are right that there is a grave yard near to Clatterbridge Hospital, there did used to be a church but I think they have pulled that down.
The best way to find out when you relative died is to search the index at 1837online if you have a rough idea of when.  If you need any help let me know.
Keep at it you will get there, where ever there is.
Take care,
Debs

[Beeonthebay]

I know this is a very old post but I am reviving it. 

Does anybody know if the Workhouse admission records for Clatterbridge are available on Find My Past?  I have been trying to search for a few hours now but it keeps timing out and I then get a "tech problem" error "we are working on it" message.  I did get one hit but with a commonish name all records were for Macclesfield only which makes me wonder if in fact this set is very limited?

[alan m]

I was led to believe no records survived for Clatterbridge workhouse .Birkenhead /Chester archives do not have any records i checked about 6 years ago

[Beeonthebay]

I was led to believe no records survived for Clatterbridge workhouse .Birkenhead /Chester archives do not have any records i checked about 6 years ago

Thanks Alan, that may explain why it kept timing out when I was trying to put Wirral and variants in the "browse poor law union" part.

Funnily enough the lady who posted in 2005, Debs, I actually think we are looking at the same family!!  It's only a very distant in law of one of mine but I was intrigued by the 10 year old child who married into my in laws as a young woman with an unusual name and was doing a bit of research, what a co-incidence!!