Norton-in-the-Moors:
Norton-in-the-Moors
workhouse was built about 1798 almost opposite Norton Hall. Before extension
in 1824-5, there was a single large room on both floors, with a central stove
and so master and mistress probably shared the same space as the paupers.
Numbers could fluctuate: there were 10 in 1814 and only 2 in 1815. The inmates
were mainly the old, sick, unmarried mothers, temporarily unemployed or
disabled men, some children and a flow of vagrants. After the Poor law
Amendment Act, Norton-in-the-moors became part of the Leek Union, and a new
workhouse built there in 1839.
also see Poverty and the North
Staffordshire Workhouses
