Luton Workhouse - Early Workhouses in Bedfordshire

Early Workhouses in Bedfordshire

There were several workhouses in the Luton and South Bedfordshire area. Luton itself had a workhouse from 1722 which was the subject of a report in An Account of Several Workhouses dated September 17, 1724.

Over the next 50 years the Luton workhouse grew and by 1775 it was able to house up to 80 inmates.

Neighbouring Dunstable had a poorhouse from as early as 1592 located on the High Street. In 1775 it could house up to 20 inmates. In 1795, the poor in Dunstable were "farmed" by a contractor who in 1795 received 3s.6d. a week for each pauper maintained in the workhouse by the time of it closed in 1836, the Dunstable workhouse held 42 inmates.

A workhouse also operated at nearby Caddington from 1725. A parliamentary report of 1777 recorded further workhouses in operation in Eaton Bray and Houghton Regis, both capable of housing up to 20 inmates. A report on the Sundon workhouse in 1718 revealed it to be in a filthy condition.