History

 

The manor of Winchfield is recorded in the Domesday Survey and the name probably derives from Anglo-Saxon words meaning a field in a corner.

 

The Workhouse

 

A workhouse was erected in 1871 on the site of what is now  Winchfield Court. Designed by Edmund Woodthorpe of London, the building cost of £11,739 and accommodated 120 inmates. At the front, two entrance blocks included male and female tramp wards, with a courtyard behind. The main block included the board-room, offices, dining hall, kitchen and other facilities. Behind the main block were various workshops, the laundry, and courtyards. An infirmary and fever wards stood at the rear.

 

The buildings later housed a hospital and were converted to residential use in 1985-86.

 

Further Information

 

There is more on the Winchfield workhouse at Peter Higginbotham's site on Workhouses and Poor Law Unions in England.

 

A full account is also available in the Illustrated History of Winchfield and the Hospital by Anne Pitcher, 1985. This is no longer in print, but one or two residents may have copies.