Little Timothy was without parents at age four after they died in a mining accident. The year was 1840. Timothy was a small child with egg-shell blue eyes and a mop of golden ringlets. He had a certain elan with a cheerful disposition that belied his circumstances.
For the next 10 years he lived at St. Anne’s Workhouse on Rose Street on the Strand, Middlesex, London. The Workhouse was erected on a convenient piece of ground for the reception and employment of the poor of the said Parish and for providing an additional burial ground for the use of the said Parish.
The Strand Poor Law Union was formed March 25, 1836. The population fell within the union at the 1831 census was 26,220. The medical officer Dr. Joseph Rogers received a salary of 50 pounds. The burial ground continued in use until 1853 when it was closed by an Order in Council.
When Dr. Rogers arrived at Cleveland Street, whose inmates never numbered less than 500, many things gave him cause for concern. Those included the fact that there were no paid nurses and nursing was performed by elderly female inmates who were often drunk.
The ward for fever and foul cases had only two beds and was separated from the tinker’s workshop by a thin partition. The nursery was damp and overcrowded. The laundry was in a cellar beneath the dining-hall and filled the building with unpleasant-smelling steam.
Dr. Rogers had the cellars enlarged to provide better accommodation for sick children which made him unpopular with some of the Guardians who delayed increasing his salary for two years. He received criticism after increasing the gruel-only diet fed to single mothers for nine days after giving birth in the workhouse labour ward. Children kept their clothes in a small basket placed under each bed.
Another building included an isolation cottage, a probation cottage, a superintendent’s hours, a porter’s lodge, and a swimming bath. One infirmary was reserved for the treatment of disease of the eye which was common in pauper schools.
Little Timothy would be served scraps of meat Tuesday, boiled bacon and cabbage Wednesday, Irish stew, or, potato soup Thursday, then baked fish and potatoes and suet pudding with molasses sauce. The diet was fairly sufficient and nourishing, however, Timothy wanted something sweet, such as apple dumplings, or red licorice.
The Strand Millfield House School had almost 400 children. In July 1897 there were 168 boys and 130 girls and 40 infants. Children destined for the school first had to spend two weeks in the main workhouse. Then they would go to the school in fortnightly batches.
Timothy loved school because he could read. He read everything provided to him and he was often seen even reading at recess. For recreation the girls had toys, swings, and skipping ropes and swimming each Summer. The boys had an open-air gymnasium and a sports field and a covered playground for wet weather.
Boys were taught history, geography, drawing and singing. Girls received conversation classes, needlework and were taught to sing by ear. Older boys were trained in tailoring, shoemaking and carpentry. Girls learned laundry, cookery and household work. Some girls were trained to assist in caring for the infants in the nursery.
Timothy was emancipated when he was 15 and took an apprenticeship with a cobbler in south London. He applied himself and earned a good living because of his diligence.
He became a highly-respected member of the community and wed and was father of two children. The orphan boy Timothy lived a life of moderation and service.