This part of the gallery shows shoemakers' wares, as well as the old Workhouse Union clock and Bakewell Prison door.
Transcript:
Bakewell Union Workhouse Clock
[Bell rings]
This clock came from the Bakewell Union Workhouse which was built in 1841 as part of the new arrangements for dealing with the poor.
Following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, if you were destitute the only way to get some assistance was by entering the workhouse. Conditions were deliberately harsh so that only the most desperate applied, and when it was full, Bakewell Union Workhouse house more than 200 people.
Families would be split up and separated into different parts of the building. In return for their food and lodgings, everyone was forced to do hard, menial labour, such as breaking up stones. And often, the children were hired out to local factories, mines and quarries.
In the 19th century, conditions were less harsh. And in the 20th century, the workhouse became known as the Bakewell Public Assistance Institution. And later, after the creation of the National Health Service, the building became Newholme Hospital until it’s closure in 2019, much to the dismay of the local people.
[Bell rings]
