Solihull, Warwickshire Poor Law Union

History
A public meeting in Solihull in April 1740 proposed that a workhouse should be set up in the town. Initially, it was intended to rent premises but the house found for this purpose proved to be in need of substantial repairs. It was then decided to build a new workhouse. This was erected in 1741-2 on a site at the north side of Warwick Road by local builder Thomas Sandal.

Yardley, Worcestershire workhouse was erected in 1808 at the corner of Holder Road and Coventry Road. Its construction cost £537 14s. and the builder was James Smith of New Street.

Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire had a parish workhouse at the south of St Mary Magdalene's Church

Solihull Poor Law Union was formed on 3rd June 1836. It was initially proposed that the Union should purchase and use the existing Solihull and Yardley parish workhouses. However, with the introduction of civil registration of births, marriages and deaths, plans were put forward to build a new workhouse with Register Office attached. The new workhouse was built in 1838 at a site to the north-east of Solihull on the north side of the Warwick Road. Initially intended to accommodate 125 inmates, the Poor Law Commissioners authorized an expenditure of £3,500 on its construction. An 80-bed infirmary was added in 1898.Around 1900, a two-storey block for casuals (tramps) was added to the south of the site. This provided accommodation for males on the ground floor, and for females on the first floor. The sleeping quarters were mostly in the form of hammocks. The ground floor also included stone-breaking cells in which male casuals broke up stones into pieces small enough to pass through a metal grid to the outside, where they were collected and sold for road-making.

From 1904, to protect them from disadvantage in later life, the birth certificates for those born in the workhouse gave its address just as 1 Lode Lane, Solihull.

The site subsequently became Solihull Hospital. All the old workhouse buildings have now been completely demolished. Union Road remains as a reminder of the site.

Constituent Parishes
Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire Barston, Warwickshire Elmdon, Warwickshire Knowle, Warwickshire Lapworth, Warwickshire Packwood, Warwickshire Shirley, Warwickshire Solihull, Warwickshire Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire Tanworth Salter's Street, Warwickshire Temple Balsall, Warwickshire Yardley, Worcestershire Yardley Wood, Worcestershire

Records

 * Warwickshire County Record Office, Priory Park, Cape Road, Warwick CV34 4JS. Few records survive. Holdings include: Guardians' minute books (1836-1930); Accounts (1839-1930);

Websites
http://www.workhouses.org.uk/index.html?Solihull/Solihull.shtml