Forced to Toil in a Brutal Workhouse

The massive fire at the Queen's Hospital complex in Thornton Heath has this week prompted Heritage to take a closer look at the site's fascinating history.

Long before the site was used as a hospital, it was first known as the Croydon Workhouse, which was opened in 1866 to deal with the then growing population and an increase in vagrants.

The first workhouse in Croydon was built in 1727 at Duppas Hill and housed 160 people. But when the new and larger workhouse opened, the original building was used as the infirmary until the Mayday Road site opened in 1885.

Inmates of the Queen's Road workhouse were put to work an a variety of chores. Women worked in the wash house, which cleaned the site's laundry and took in washing from Croydon homes for a fee.

Most of the inmates had to do much harder work, the most difficult being the stone yard. Here, cart loads of stones were broken down and used for building materials. Other lobs included chopping and bundling firewood to be sold off, as well as rearing pigs and, selling them at the local market. The income from all of these jobs went towards the running of the workhouse.

In 1870 a ward block was built on the site for the treatment of smallpox victims and a fever ward was added in 1879.

In 1929 the running of the workhouse was taken over by Croydon Borough Council and, after the casual ward was closed in 1931, its name was changed to Queen's Road Homes.

During World War One, many inmates sought permission to join the local regiment, and when World War Two broke out in 1939 the site was turned into an emergency hospital where chronic sick cases were admitted. In the first four days of the war, 100 patients were transferred to Queen's from Mayday.

The homes were damaged by bombs four times in November 1940 but the worst attack came on 16th April 1941. The main building was the worst hit, with 17 elderly people and one member of staff killed. The last of the bodies were recovered four days after the rubble was cleared.

Nine more patients were killed on February 19, 1944 when two bombs hit the homes, destroying two blocks.

The workhouse history of Queen's came to an end in 1948 when it was turned into a geriatric hospital.

In 1968 a staff hostel was built next to the water tower and a row of staff houses was built in 1975 before it closed down hi 1983.