Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England, in 1812. His ...

But what if you lost your job or didn’t have
enough money? In this century if you were
poverty-stricken or an unwanted orphan you
could end up in the dreaded union workhouse.
There were two main aims that lead to the
workhouse: it was a shelter for the people that
lost everything, but it was also a deterrent for
the lazy people. The living conditions in the
workhouses were terrible. The building was like a
prison because it was grim and intimidating. In
the workhouses there were separate areas for
women, men and children. Sometimes children
born in a workhouse died without having seen
any other places. In the workhouse they were
given a prison-style uniform, so that everybody
knew where you ‘lived’. You had to get up at
5.00 a.m. and you had to go to bed at 8.00 p.m.
During the day you had to work hard. You were
given very little food. If you tried to escape or if
you didn’t obey rules you were convicted as an
idle or disorderly person, or even sentenced to
imprisonment with hard work.