Following the passage of the 1834 New Poor Law, parishes in England and Wales were organized into unions, each of which had at least one workhouse, a public institution where impoverished individuals and families were housed, fed, and put to work. Beyond bricks and regulations, the workhouse was shaped and animated by those who ran it. Workhouse Lives reconstructs the careers and experiences of workhouse staff: masters and matrons, nurses, schoolmasters, porters, chaplains, taskmasters, relieving officers, and inspectors.

In the workhouse, roles overlapped, lines of responsibility blurred, and power was constantly negotiated. As the functions of the welfare state expanded, staff were expected to manage dormitories and medical wards, teach children and offer spiritual guidance, resolve disputes, keep records, administer vaccinations, arrange foster placements, and conduct sanitary inspections. Violence was a regular feature of workhouse life, arising from clashes between staff and inmates, conflicts among inmates (including domestic violence), and staff disputes. Officers might abuse their authority, sometimes brutally, while others acted with care and compassion. What moulded the lives of everyone within the workhouse was less the administrative structure than the character of the person appointed to each role. This dynamic continues to resonate in modern welfare systems, which, however bureaucratized, are embodied by the people working on the front lines.

Touching on histories of welfare, labour, poverty, literacy, material culture, and state formation, Workhouse Lives illuminates the personalities, motivations, and community connections of staff whose lives have long been hidden.