Abstract: The Fifth Annual Report of the Poor Law Commissioners, May 1839. Includes details of "the measures which [the Commissioners] have adopted for introducing into Ireland the provision of the Act of last session, for the more effectual Relief of the Destitute Poor in Ireland". The Appendices which accompany the Report contain 'Documents Issues by the Board Under the Irish Poor relief Act', with Section 9 consisting of 'Papers as to the Providing of Workhouses in Ireland' and Section 10 consisting of 'Plans, &c., of Workhouses for Ireland, to contain from 400 to 800 paupers'. Two ground plans were included, one for a 400 to 500 person workhouse and one for an 800 person workhouse. Each plan was accompanied by a 'Bird’s Eye View Shewing the General Arrangement' for the building. These drawings constitute templates for the Tudor-style first wave of workhouses by architect George Wilkinson from which the constructed buildings did not significantly deviate. An important feature of the design was its flexibility; "the pans [were] so arranged as to allow of [an] addition being made without either interfering with the part already executed, or occasioning any sacrifice of the previous outlay".
Fifth annual report of the Poor Law Commissioners
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