About the project?
The Workhouse is the most complete 19th-century workhouse in existence, built in 1824 as a refuge for the destitute. This rural workhouse was designed to house around 160 inmates, who lived and worked in a segregated environment and the building was in use right up until the 1980s.
The recent conservation and visitor experience project brings its themes and stories to a 21st-century audience, and asks how society currently manages poverty compared to the past.
From 2019, visitors to The Workhouse will be able to see the results of a five-year project which has drawn on archival research to conserve the original 1871 Firbeck Infirmary building and has been largely untouched for decades. The completion of the restoration means that visitors now have access to Firbeck beyond the café space.