Langford Poorhouse

A poorhouse (or workhouse) was a place where those who were unable to support themselves were given accommodation and employment. Under an Act of 1785 each parish, including Langford, had to provide a poorhouse to give shelter to the poor. Life in a poorhouse was intended to be harsh, to deter the able-bodied poor and to ensure that only the truly destitute would apply.

By 1802 the poorhouse was in a terrible state and a court order was issued to Langford to repair poor houses, drain grounds to prevent floor being damp, furniture and clothes to be provided in workhouse and parish officers to 'pay more attention to the situation and necessities for the poor in order to eradicate present contagion, to prevent the recurrence and to rescue themselves from the disgrace of a system of management so cruel and oppressive to the  poor'. Parish officers to pay for the attendance of a doctor and apothecary for as long as the doctor thinks necessary [ref: QSR1802/1].

Some of the people who applied from villages, including Langford, were accommodated in the Biggleswade Poor Law Union building when it was formed in April 1835 and as a consequence the Langford poorhouse activities ceased. As the 19th century wore on, poor and workhouses increasingly became refuges for the elderly, infirm and sick rather than the able-bodied poor, and in 1929 legislation was passed to allow local authorities to take over workhouse infirmaries as municipal hospitals.

Langford Poorhouse is located at the corner of Mill Lane and Church Street. The poorhouse still remains and is now two houses.