Linton Union Workhouse

History of Linton Union Workhouse

Linton OS 1901

Old Pampisford by O C Mayo has a section on the workhouse at Linton because it also covered the parish of Pampisford.

The Union Workhouse was built in 1835 just outside the village. There were two courtyards and space for 230 inmates from 22 parishes. Able paupers who were willing to move to the north of England or to Canada or Australia could receive financial assistance.

There was also an infirmary for the mentally ill. Later a school and two fever wards were added.

In 1929 it became a Poor Law Institution containing mostly orphans, elderly and unmarried mothers.

By 1974 it had become a home for the elderly, Symond’s House.

Linton Taske House
Linton’s Taske House originated during the Elizabethan period as a place where the poor could earn their living through supervised work. Over succeeding generations its role changed, becoming increasingly a refuge for elderly and infirm parishioners rather than a workshop for productive labour. Murphy uses Linton to demonstrate how many early workhouses gradually evolved into simple poorhouses as expectations about poverty and welfare changed.

Source: Michael J. Murphy, Poverty in Cambridgeshire.