1 Cole, David, The Work of Sir Gilbert Scott (1980), p. 186 Google Scholar, n. 5. Dickens, Anna M., ‘Architects and the Union Workhouses of the New Poor Law’, doctoral thesis, Brighton Polytechnic, 1982 Google Scholar.

2 Stamp, Gavin (ed.), Personal and Professional Recollections: the Autobiography of the Victorian Architect Sir George Gilbert Scott (Stamford, 1995), p. 77 Google Scholar.

3 The term ‘Central Workhouse’ occurs in numerous board of guardians’ minute books.

4 Scott described this experience, see: Stamp, Recollections, p. 82.

5 ‘First Annual Report of the Poor Law Commission’, Parliamentary Papers 1835 (500), xxxv, Appendix A, No. 10. 1-10; ‘Second Annual Report of the Poor Law Commission’, Parliamentary Papers 1836 (595), xxix, Appendix no. 15, 1-3. The 1835 report included a design for a courtyard-plan workhouse by Assistant Commissioner Sir Francis Bond Head which was adopted by twelve unions in Kent.

6 Stamp, Recollections, p. 77.

7 Ibid., pp. 76-77. Voysey entered competitions for several workhouses, usually with his partner Richard Suter, but is not known to have won any. Sometimes he acted as Kempthorne’s ‘agent’, for example at Hastings, where he.provided plans and specifications to Kempthorne’s ‘square’ plan (Hastings Guardians’ Minutes 1836, East Sussex Record Office, RC/12/1).

8 ‘Fourth Annual Report of the Poor Law Commission’, Parliamentary Papers 1837-38 (147), XXVIII, pp. 285-87.

9 Colvin, H., A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840, 3rd edn (1995), p. 577 Google Scholar.

10 For many years the Scott family occupied the rectory at Gawcott, south-west of Buckingham. In 1833 the family moved to Wappenham, between Brackley and Towcester.

11 Towcester Guardians’ Minutes 1835 (Northamptonshire Record Office, PL11/1), Brackley Guardians’ Minutes 1835-36 (Northamptonshire Record Office PL1/1), Oundle Guardians’ Minutes 1836 (Northamptonshire Record Office, PL7/1) and Winslow Guardians’ Minutes 1835 (Buckinghamshire Record Office, G/6/1/1). At Towcester, Scott was called in to prepare a fresh plan on 16 June 1835. At Brackley, plans for a workhouse to hold 250 paupers were submitted by Scott on 1 July 1835, and were accepted. Scott won the Winslow competition on 29June 1835 and the Oundle competition on 14 April 1836.

12 At Winslow, on 22 June 1835, Kempthorne advised that a workhouse for 200 paupers was needed. Both Kempthorne and Scott were then invited to prepare a plan and estimate, for a workhouse with six classes, to be chosen at the next meeting. On 29 June, Scott’s plan was adopted.

13 The relevant guardians’ minutes do not survive.

14 In 1838 Scott married Caroline Oldrid and his office moved from Carlton Chambers to 20 Spring Gardens.

15 Stamp, Recollections, p. 81.

16 The National Monuments Record Centre, Swindon, holds pre-demolition photographs of Winslow Union Workhouse, taken in 1976 and 1991, and of Oundle, taken in 1982. It also holds pre-conversion photographs of Towcester.

17 Stamp, Recollections, p. 79.

18 Brackley Guardians’ Minutes (Northamptonshire Record Office PL1/1): on 20 December 1835 Scott recommended Moffatt as clerk of works.

19 The clerk of works at Oundle was Mr Salmon and at Winslow Mr Barnard. The others are not recorded.

20 Scott was a pupil of Edmeston from 1827 to 1831. This was followed by a short spell with Peto and Grissell, before he entered the office of Henry Roberts.

21 Stamp, Recollections, p. 80; Amesbury Guardians’ Minutes 1836 (Wiltshire Record Office H2/110/1).

22 Thrapston Guardians’ Minutes 1836 (Northamptonshire Record Office, PL10/1).

23 Stamp, Recollections, Appendix 1, p. 444.

24 Devizes Guardians’ Minutes 1836 (Wiltshire Record Office, H7/110/1).

25 Stamp, Recollections, p. 131.

26 Ibid., Appendix 1, p. 444.

27 As well as the 44 workhouse commissions they are known to have executed, Scott and/or Moffatt, are known to have lost a number of workhouse competitions. The following are recorded:

Newport Pagnell, won by William Roote in November 1835 (Scott alone)

Devizes, won by George Wilkinson in February 1836 (Moffatt alone)

Thrapston, won by William Donthorne in May 1836

Colchester, won by John Brown in April 1836 (Scott alone)

Southam, won by John Plowman on 30 June 1836 (Scott alone)

Epsom, won by William Mason on 27 July 1836

Bicester, won by John Plowman on 21 August 1836 (Scott alone)

Totnes, won by Scott and Moffatt on 7 September 1836 but eventually handed over to Thomas Ponsford

Uxbridge, won by William Thorold on 21 October 1836

Poole, won by Mr Clarke on 26 January 1837

Clutton, won by Jesse Gane on 10 June 1836

Wolstanton and Burslem, won by Boulton and Palmer in June 1838

Horsham, won by Hallett and Newman on 25 May 1838

Barrow-upon-Soar, won by William Flint in November 1838

Launceston, won by Mr Lang in 1838

Bakewell, won by Mr Johnson on n February 1839

28 Stamp, Recollections, p. 79.

29 Ibid., pp. 81-83.

30 Dickens, ‘Architects’, called this the ‘open court’ plan.

31 ‘Explanatory Remarks on a Design for a Workhouse for the Newton Abbot Union by George Gilbert Scott and Wm Bonython Moffatt, Carlton Chambers, Regent Street’ (Devon Record Office, PLU Newton Abbot 20). The ‘Treatise’ handed to the Dunmow guardians in 1838 was probably the same document (Dickens, ‘Architects’, p. 115).

32 Plans of Launceston Union Workhouse (Devon Record Office, 1080/80-81). Plans of Williton Union Workhouse (Somerset Record Office, 32/2 D/G/WI). In addition, an unsigned heating plan for Tavistock Union Workhouse shows under-floor piping and was probably produced in Scott’s office (Devon Record Office).

33 ‘Explanatory notes. . .’, fol. 1r.

34 Ibid.

35 Gloucester Guardians’ Minutes (Gloucestershire Record Office, G/GL 8a/1).

36 Boston Guardians’ Minutes 1836 (Lincolnshire Archives, PL1/102/1); Louth Guardians’ Minutes 1837 (Lincolnshire Archives, PL9/102/1); Spilsby Guardians’ Minutes 1837 (Lincolnshire Archives, PL11/102/1) and Horncastle Guardians’ Minutes 1837 (Lincolnshire Archives, PL14/102/1).

37 Dickens, ‘Architects’, pp. 104, III.

38 Guildford Guardians’ Minutes 1836 (Surrey Record Office, BG6/11/1).

39 Bestall, J. M., History of Chesterfield (1978), p. 64 Google Scholar.

40 St Columb has been attributed solely to Moffatt (Dickens, ‘Architects’, pp. 138, 107), but ‘Messrs G Gilbert Scott & W B Moffatt’ are named as the architects in the Guardians’ Minutes of 29 January 1838 (Cornwall Record Office, PU St Columb/1).

41 Stamp, Recollections, p. 83.

42 Hitchcock and Dickens both regarded Moffatt as Scott’s assistant.

43 Stamp, Recollections, pp. 82-83.

44 For example, Moffatt attended the Witham board on 29 May and 12 June 1837 (Essex Record Office, Witham Guardians’ Minutes, G/W M1). Dickens related Moffatt’s involvement at Guildford (Dickens, ‘Architects’, p. 120). Scott corresponded on numerous occasions with the board of Newton Abbot and both architects were involved at Newcasde-under-Lyme.

45 The style of Lutterworth (1839) is not known.

46 Stamp, Recollections, p. 100.

47 Devon Record Office, PLU Newton Abbot 19-23.

48 The first minute book of Amersham Union was found in the 1960s but has subsequently been lost. Surviving minutes begin in 1840 (Berkshire Record Office).

49 Dunmow Guardians’ Minutes 1838 (Essex Record Office, G/D M3). Either Scott or Moffatt impressed the Dunmow Building Committee who had ‘never conversed with an individual who evinced more perfect knowledge of his subject. . . ’; this person claimed that the Firm had already been involved in building forty Union Houses, and succeeded in adding Dunmow to the hst. Dickens refers to a sketch in Scott’s notebook of January to April 1839 which appears to relate to the Dunmow entrance arch (Dickens, ‘Architects’, p. 132).

50 Dickens, ‘Architects’, pp. 122-24.

51 A Walk Through the Public Institutions of Macclesfield, being a series of articles written and re-printed from ‘The Macclesfield Courier and Herald’ (1888), p. 8: the guardians decided to erect a new workhouse in January 1843, and by March had selected a plan by Scott and Moffatt and were able to advertise for tenders.

52 Dickens, ‘Architects’, p. 129.

53 A Typescript History of Macclesfield Union Workhouse, c. 1888 (Cheshire Record Office, LGM 3169/4).

54 Cole, Scott, p. 15.

55 Stamp, Recollections, Appendix 1, p. 446.

56 For example, the Penzance guardians discovered that Liskeard Union was paying Moffatt 3.5% on the contract sum for the workhouse, not 5% as Moffatt had declared (Cornwall Record Office, PU Penzance/1). Moffatt is known to have entered competitions for later poor-law buildings, for example the Central London District School at Hanwell (GLRO CSSD1, 17 September 1855).

57 Truro workhouse (1849), attributed by Cole to Moffatt alone, was in fact designed by W. Harris — perhaps the William Harris who designed three Greek Revival market houses in Cornish towns in the 1830s.