To find out more about workhouses in general, click on the image above
Life for ordinary people in the district
was harsh in Victorian times. With a poor diet,a
lack of clean drinking water, and
cramped and
damp houses, it was not surprising that disease was common.
Medical knowledge at the time was nowhere near as advanced as it is today,
and poor people could not afford the doctor. It has been estimated that
life expectancy in Brecon around 1850
was only about 30 years !
In some ways the paupers in the Caersws workhouse had better
healthcare than many outside. At least they had clean quarters
and drinking water, clean clothing and a regular if poor diet.
Life in the workhouse was designed to be stark, but the inmates were looked
after.
The workhouse itself had sick rooms and a Medical
Officer so if inmates were sick they could get better care
than they might outside the workhouse. Even so, many inmates died there,
and many young children who were born there died in
the first weeks of life.
