Fames and Furbelows

By Mary Garrett

Life in the workhouse was extremely hard and infants could be left in a box on the doorstep to be brought up in extreme poverty. There were few opportunities and the children often didn’t live past their early years. Sarah was the exception to the rule.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Mar 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781665587419

Book preview

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The first thing she could remember was being pulled through the snow and her hands and feet were so cold she could not feel them. She had been brought here in a horse and cart and the horse looked enormous, and it was the first time she had been in one. The windows of the house were dark and forbidding and she thought she could see the faces of other children reflected there. The door was opened by a very large man and woman who ran the Home and they looked frightening as they took her by the hand and dragged her into a large hallway that was freezing, and she was taken into an office where she was told to sit and keep quiet. The lady who had brought her was given a cup of tea to keep out the cold, but Sarah was given nothing. She had always been told to shut up by her mother so was used to being quiet. She wondered why she was the only one there from her house and already missed her brothers and sisters. They were all older than her and her mother had not been able to cope with another mouth to feed.

Sarah listened to their talk but didn`t understand what they were saying. Apparently, she was going to stay here and live with other children in this big dark house and the lady who brought her told her she must be very good and do what she was told. Mrs. Pritchard, as she was called, then left and Sarah was taken up a large flight of stairs to a dormitory with twelve beds in. These large rooms were originally the servant`s quarters when the house had been a family home. It had been built in the 1850`s and owned by the Hamilton family and called Huntington Hall. They had lost their home when the master of the house lost all his money gambling. The Home was now used as a workhouse for children who had no-one to look after them.

Mr. and Mrs. Robinson looked after the children with the help of a couple of maids and a gardener who was called Cooper and he lived in a tiny cottage not far from the house. The fact they were called caregivers was a complete misnomer as they left the children without any comforts at all. The house was barely heated except in the office and Mr. and Mrs. Robinson`s own domicile on the first floor. Sarah wouldn`t be seeing that for the foreseeable future as she would be helping the servants with their chores. She was not the youngest there as there were a couple of toddlers that were left in their cot most of the day with little to occupy them. Sarah wasn`t sure how old she was as she had never had a birthday, but she was a bit bigger than the toddlers, so was expected to help with jobs around the house.

Sarah was given a pair of bloomers, a grey dress, and a pinafore to go over the top. This was supposed to last her for a week, and she would not get any more if she got them dirty. She had been left upstairs by Mrs. Robinson and had been told to leave her old clothes on the floor and put on her new ones. A maid came in and took the old clothes away but wouldn`t answer a question about what was to happen next. Sarah was left on her own until a small girl came in to tell Sarah that she was expected downstairs for tea. She followed the little girl into