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Life in an English Workhouse Trivia Quiz

Ever wondered what life was like in a workhouse? Hopefully this quiz will answer some of your questions.

A multiple-choice quiz by lorstrivia. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
lorstrivia

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
322,804

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
514

Last 3 plays: Guest 171 (4/10), Guest 92 (4/10), Guest 81 (1/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. The first workhouse for the parish of St. John, in Hackney, London was set up in 1728. How many paupers did it accommodate? Hint

100

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. The workhouse uniform for male inmates consisted of cloth caps and shoes, breeches or trousers, striped cotton shirts and a jacket. What was the name of the material the jacket made from? Hint

Hessian

Fernought

Corduroy

Mohair

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. Prayers were read before breakfast and after supper each day. What service was performed every Sunday, Good Friday and Christmas Day? Hint

Holy Communion

Holy Service

Paupers' Prayers

Holiday Service

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Question 4 of 10

4. If an inmate broke workhouse rules they would receive a punishment. What would the punishment for an inmate entail who had purposely broken a window?

Hint

No beer for one week

Locked up for twenty four hours only being fed bread and water

Sent to prison for two months' hard labour

No meat for one week

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Question 5 of 10

5. In 1834 in a Brighton workhouse inmates were provided with 3 meals a day. How many days a week could an inmate expect to have meat served as part of their meal? Hint

Four

Six

Two

Seven

6. Workhouse inmates were given a variety of jobs to perform. One of the jobs that was given to small children and the elderly was to tease out the fibres of old hemp ropes. What was this practice called?

Hint

Rope pulling

Oakum picking

Hemp teasing

Fibre picking

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Question 7 of 10

7. Bone crushing was a horrible occupation for many inmates. The bones of horses, dogs and other animals were crushed for fertilizer for local farms. Bone crushing was banned after a scandal in 1845. What caused the scandal?

Hint

Too many injuries from the splinters

Their hands were damaged while crushing the bones

They caught disease from the rotten bone marrow

Inmates resorted to eating the rotten flesh from the bones they were crushing

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. In the 1860s pressure began to make improvements in the medical care facilities of the workhouse. What was the name of the act that was passed in 1867 requiring London workhouses to locate their hospital facilities on separate sites from the workhouse? Hint

London Poor Act

Workhouse Poor Act

Metropolitan Poor Act

Paupers Poor Act

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Question 9 of 10

9. In most workhouses before 1834, Christmas Day was an occassion for a treat.
What did the inmates of a London workhouse receive for their christmas day lunch?
Hint

Roast beef, plum pudding and a pint of porter

Roast lamb, stew apple and custard

Roast turkey, trifle and sherry

Roast pork, bread and cheese and a quarter of gin

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. As years went by life in the workhouse became much more tolerable for the inmates. By the 1880s the rules were starting to be more relaxed. What luxuries were inmates allowed to have from 1880 onwards? Hint

Toys for the children

Tea brewing facilities

Snuff for the elderly

All of these

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The first workhouse for the parish of St. John, in Hackney, London was set up in 1728. How many paupers did it accommodate?

Answer: 15

The Hackney Parish Vestry rented a house from John Evans in Homerton High Street to accommodate 15 paupers. In 1741 the workhouse had to be moved to a larger property on the south side of the High Street with the capacity to hold 30 paupers.

2. The workhouse uniform for male inmates consisted of cloth caps and shoes, breeches or trousers, striped cotton shirts and a jacket. What was the name of the material the jacket made from?

Answer: Fernought

Also called fearnought cloth, these jackets were issued to seamen as outer clothing in cold, rough weather. It was also used on board a ship as protective covering around port holes and hatches.

3. Prayers were read before breakfast and after supper each day. What service was performed every Sunday, Good Friday and Christmas Day?

Answer: Holy Communion

These were also the days when the only work the inmates undertook was the necessary household work and cooking.

4. If an inmate broke workhouse rules they would receive a punishment. What would the punishment for an inmate entail who had purposely broken a window?

Answer: Sent to prison for two months' hard labour

After 1834 the breaking of workhouse rules fell into two categories "Disorderly Conduct", which was punishable by withdrawal of food or the more serious "Refractory Conduct", which could result in a period of solitary confinement. These rules were set out on a poster usually in the workhouse dining hall.

5. In 1834 in a Brighton workhouse inmates were provided with 3 meals a day. How many days a week could an inmate expect to have meat served as part of their meal?

Answer: Six

Men recieved two pints of beer a day, children one pint of beer and women received a pint of beer along with a pint of tea. They also had gruel for breakfast and bread and cheese for supper.

Answer: Oakum picking

As a result of the oakum picking, hands would often be left covered in blisters and bleeding. The resulting material from the oakum picking was sold to ship-builders or the navy, mixed with tar it was used for sealing the lining of wooden ships.

Answer: Inmates resorted to eating the rotten flesh from the bones they were crushing

In 1845 at the Andover workhouse there were rumours spread that inmates in the workhouse boneyard were so hungry they were eating the tiny scraps of gristle and rancid meat attached to the bones they were crushing. Fighting would often break out when a juicy bone came their way.

Answer: Metropolitan Poor Act

The act also led to the Metropolitan Asylums Board being created to take over the provision of care for the sick poor of London. It set up its own institution for the treatment of fever, smallpox, tuberculosis and venereal diseases.
The foundations were effectively being laid for what we now know as the National Health Service.

9. In most workhouses before 1834, Christmas Day was an occassion for a treat. What did the inmates of a London workhouse receive for their christmas day lunch?

Answer: Roast beef, plum pudding and a pint of porter

After 1834, the Poor Law Amendment Act actually made things worse for a while. The Act prohibited extra food on Christmas Day. The rules also said that no pauper should be allowed to have or use any wine, beer or spirits unless on written instructions from the medical officer.

Answer: All of these

Apart from these little luxuries, the living conditions were often healthier in the workhouse than in much of the poorer housing at the time. Although food was rather boring and bland it was regular and quite wholesome, and improved considerably more after the dietary reforms in 1900.

Source: Author lorstrivia

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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