The Workhouse (Hospital ?)

[CHAIRBOY]

I have recently read John Motson's well-written autobiography, "Motty".

During his year in Sheffield, he states his lodgings overlooked Firth Park Hospital. Unless I'm mistaken I think he means Firvale Hospital which became known as City General before its current title of Northern General Hospital. When I have brought this to people's attention, the words, The Workhouse were mentioned by Sheffield folk in relation to Firvale. Out of curiosity, where did that name come from?

[CathS]

It's cause it started out on 1878 as Firvale Workhouse.

In 1967 there were 2 hospitals on the site, Firvale infirmary and City General Hospital which combined later became the Northern General.

[CHAIRBOY]

It's cause it started out on 1878 as Firvale Workhouse.

In 1967 there were 2 hospitals on the site, Firvale infirmary and City General Hospital which combined later became the Northern General.

 

Cheers CathS, that fits in with my perception but I'm still not clear about the Workhouse name? Was it a workhouse or did hospital staff view it as a workhouse or, when was it first a hospital?

[Falls]

I have recently read John Motson's well-written autobiography, "Motty".

During his year in Sheffield, he states his lodgings overlooked Firth Park Hospital. Unless I'm mistaken I think he means Firvale Hospital which became known as City General before its current title of Northern General Hospital. When I have brought this to people's attention, the words, The Workhouse were mentioned by Sheffield folk in relation to Firvale. Out of curiosity, where did that name come from?

 

Hello Chairboy.

 

Glad to have you back.

 

The Firevale Infirmary (most of us used to know as the Firvale Workhouse) was built by Brightside Brielow Township to replace an older workhouse that used to be Rock Street in Pitsmoor. This was forced on the township by an Act of Parliament in the late19th century.

 

A lot of the old Infirmary buildings have been demolished to make way for the newer wings of Northern General but a few bits and pieces still remain. Some of the old buildings are boarded-up while others are used for functions such as administration/storage.

 

Don'y know the origins of City General but there was a military hospital on the site during WWI.

 

Regards

[HughW]

The Firvale Infirmary (most of us used to know as the Firvale Workhouse) was built by Brightside Brielow Township to replace an older workhouse that used to be Rock Street in Pitsmoor.

 

The Workhouse (and it was a Workhouse that included an infirmary) was built between 1878 and 1881 by Sheffield Poor Law Union to replace the old Union Workhouse at Kelham Island. The latter, originally a cotton mill, had been the Workhouse for Sheffield Township under the old poor law but became the Union Workhouse when the Union was created in 1837.

 

The Union covered central Sheffield, Brightside, Attercliffe cum Darnall, Handsworth and the Park.

 

The workhouse in Rock Street was for Brightside Bierlow Township. That was also an old poor law building, though it may have been used by the Union after 1837 as an annex.

 

There is lots of information on the superb workhouses.org.uk site (search for Sheffield and choose the fourth item in the results)

 

Hugh

[CHAIRBOY]

Many thanks for that - extensive and informative.

[Tooeg]

Netheredge hospital also contained a workhouse. I don't know how much of the site it involved but the single story building alongside the main road down to the traffic lights, was part of it.

I worked on the refurbishment in the late 60s. There was a row of individual cells about 10 feet square which we knocked through into 2s and 3s to form offices.

There were steel grids in the floor, an old guy there at the time told me the inmates broke up rocks until they would fit through the grids. I never really believed it but you never know.

[Plain Talker]

The whole of the old Nether Edge hospital was the Union Workhouse, originally. There were modern buildings added in the 1950s/ 60s such as the Maternity and Gynae Tower block (now gone in the "Nought-ies" redevelopment) but the old wards, like Cliffe Ward, and and Victoria Ward were the old workhouse buildings.

 

RE The Northern general, chairboy, what the others said, above is correct. The Workhouse became the General hospital, at Fir Vale.

 

A friend of mine delivered her children there, in the 1960s, just about a year apart. Aileen was born in 1963, on the same ward as her brother, Simeon, who was born in April 1964, but Aileen was born in the City General, and Sim was born in the Northern General.

[Plain Talker]

Netheredge hospital also contained a workhouse. I don't know how much of the site it involved but the single story building alongside the main road down to the traffic lights, was part of it.

I worked on the refurbishment in the late 60s. There was a row of individual cells about 10 feet square which we knocked through into 2s and 3s to form offices.

There were steel grids in the floor, an old guy there at the time told me the inmates broke up rocks until they would fit through the grids. I never really believed it but you never know.

 

In the workhouse, if you were able-bodied, you were put to work doing all sorts of demeaning work to earn your "Crust", from rock breaking to treadmill, to picking Oakum (that is, unpicking the strands of rope in order to weave them back together to make "fresh" rope!!! : ) It was as bad as prison!

[Redbox]

I worked at Firvale Infirmary as a pupil cook in 1959.

If any wards ran out of food we had to take it so I remember a few of them.

What is the only part of Firvale Infirmary still left and is now the administartion block was some administation and general wards for old people who were ill.

I had to go to Matrons office, which was in this block, when I had some sick leave.

There were many large units, which have now been demolished, for people with learning disabilities.

There were just a few staff and the more able "patients" used to have to look after the severely handicapped ones.

I remember the numbers of some of the units we used to cook for and one had 101 "patients" I don't know if staff were included in these numbers.

There were some buildings at the botton of the drive for vagrants, but I can't remember much about them.

Despite it being a massive institution, I have happy memories although the work was unbelievably hard, by todays standards.