The Evolving Moral and Physical Geometry of Childhood in Ulster Workhouses, 1838–55

Thomas, Liz

doi:10.1179/1758571613z.0000000003

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Both plans consisted of three main parts: the front building (entrance and Guardians' rooms); the main building (able-bodied adults and children); and the infirmary buildings (to accommodate the sick and mentally ill). After 1848, Wilkinson arranged these same set of buildings in a different layout to accommodate changes in how children were perceived (Thomas 2013). By 1848, the perception of children's morality, even those children in the workhouses, had changed such that they were perceived as superior to adults.…”

Section: The Planmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By 1848, the perception of children's morality, even those children in the workhouses, had changed such that they were perceived as superior to adults. Thus easier to reform, children were housed at the front of the new workhouse with a vista to life and hope beyond the workhouse (Thomas 2013). Nevertheless, the same principles of uniformity and classification applied.…”

Section: The Planmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their ideologies were reflected somewhat in the workhouses in England and Wales. However, it was in the workhouses built in Ireland that their ideologies were ultimately manifested (Thomas 2013).…”

Section: Ideologies and Reformmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to the Commissioners, children were unlike other residents and were workhouse inmates Bthrough misfortune, wholly unconnected with any default on their own part^and for this reason were permitted Ba larger degree of indulgence^(Sixth Annual Report of the Commissioners in Ireland 1853: 6). In particular, Wilkinson's second phase workhouse plan at Bawnboy emphasized the special rank ascribed to inmate children: their apartments were at the very front of the workhouse, providing them a vista of hope beyond the workhouse grounds (Thomas 2013).…”

Section: The Realities Of Reform Among the Workhouse Inmates And Offimentioning

confidence: 99%

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Manifestations of Institutional Reform and Resistance to Reform in Ulster Workhouses, Ireland, 1838-1855

Thomas¹

2017

Int J Histor Archaeol

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The new Irish and English poor laws of the nineteenth century were based on ideologies prevalent during the period of Improvement. The workhouse was the central instrument of these new Acts. Through an archival and archaeological methodology, this paper investigates the physical manifestations of the governing ideologies of reform and improvement and the manifestations of resistance to this reform in one type of institution, Ulster's nineteenth-century workhouses (a province that spans Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland). It also reflects on how these once despised institutions are now used, through community efforts, as recreational and Breform^centers.

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Section: The Planmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Planmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ideologies and Reformmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Realities Of Reform Among the Workhouse Inmates And Offimentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Manifestations of Institutional Reform and Resistance to Reform in Ulster Workhouses, Ireland, 1838-1855

Thomas¹

2017

Int J Histor Archaeol

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Skeletal manifestations of stress in child victims of theGreatIrishFamine (1845–1852): Prevalence of enamel hypoplasia, Harris lines, and growth retardation

Geber

2014

American J Phys Anthropol

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The Great Irish Famine of 1845-1852 is among the worst food crises in human history. While numerous aspects of this period have been studied by generations of scholars, relatively little attention has so far been given to the physiological impact it is likely to have had on the people who suffered and succumbed to it. This study examines the prevalence of enamel hypoplasia, Harris lines, and growth retardation in the nonadult proportion of a skeletal population comprising victims of the Famine who died in the workhouse in the city of Kilkenny between 1847 and 1851. The frequency of enamel hypoplasia in these children does not appear to have increased as a consequence of famine, although this fact is likely to be a reflection of the osteological paradox. Harris lines and growth retardation; however, were very prevalent, and the manifestation and age-specific distribution of these may be indicators of the Famine experience. While there was no clear correlation in the occurrence of the assessed markers, the presence of cribra orbitalia displayed a significant relationship to enamel hypoplasia in 1- to 5-year-old children. While starvation, metabolic disorders and infectious diseases are likely to have greatly contributed to the manifestation of the markers, the psychosocial stress relating to institutionalization in the workhouse should not be underestimated as a substantial causative factor for skeletal stress in this population.

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Mortality among institutionalised children during the Great Famine in Ireland: bioarchaeological contextualisation of non-adult mortality rates in the Kilkenny Union Workhouse, 1846–1851

Geber

2016

Cont. Change

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Over half of all victims of the Great Irish Famine (1845–1852) were children. Many of these deaths took place in the union workhouses: institutions of government poor relief which for many were the last resort in a desperate struggle to survive famine-induced conditions such as starvation and infectious disease. Archaeological excavations of a mass burial ground dating to 1847–1851 at the former workhouse in Kilkenny City have provided the opportunity to undertake a detailed interdisciplinary exploration of non-adult mortality in an Irish workhouse during the height of the Famine.

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The Evolving Moral and Physical Geometry of Childhood in Ulster Workhouses, 1838–55

Cited by 6 publications

References 7 publications

Manifestations of Institutional Reform and Resistance to Reform in Ulster Workhouses, Ireland, 1838-1855

Manifestations of Institutional Reform and Resistance to Reform in Ulster Workhouses, Ireland, 1838-1855

Skeletal manifestations of stress in child victims of theGreatIrishFamine (1845–1852): Prevalence of enamel hypoplasia, Harris lines, and growth retardation

Mortality among institutionalised children during the Great Famine in Ireland: bioarchaeological contextualisation of non-adult mortality rates in the Kilkenny Union Workhouse, 1846–1851

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