Biography

The following biography is a fictional representation of the life of Mary-Ann Stevens, a pauper child who lived in the St. Andrew Undershaft Workhouse. All the ideas in this biography are based on scholarly articles about British workhouses, other academic research (such as websites and a BBC show), and St. Andrew Undershaft’s Committee minute book. Through Mary Ann Stevens’ biography, the authors aimed to help readers gain a sense of the importance of apprenticeships, and to give readers a small glimpse at what life was like for a young girl in the workhouse during the late 18th century.

Mary-Ann Stevens was not an ordinary child. From a young age, she prided herself on her strong work ethic and perseverance. Often, she would meditate on a Proverb that the Matron of the schoolhouse had taught her: “A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied”. The bible verse constantly resonated in her mind during the many turbulent times she faced in the workhouse: when the draft blew through the windows at night or when she pined for the attention of her increasingly distant father, she focused her mind on her work and the words of the Lord. After all, life could be much worse.

The workhouse provided three meals a day, more than her family could get on the streets. Mary-Ann had also been able to get new shoes and stockings to accommodate her rapidly growing body. Her cousin, Ann, was growing quickly as well. Without the workhouse, they might have only had rags to wear. She was quite young, but Mary-Ann knew that in order to extricate herself and her family from poverty, she needed to show the Matron and Master that she was a hard worker. After all, idle hands were the devil’s workshop.

Mary-Ann could still recall the days before the workhouse when she’d spent her days leisurely playing with her friends, but such frivolity was not allowed in the workhouse. Mary Ann wished she could play more. However, according to the Matron, lazy children did not deserve to play, and thus, the more time you spent doing work, the more you could play. Not like that mattered, because even if you worked yourself to the bone, eventually, the Master and Matron would stop letting you have leisure time anyway. It was sad, but Mary-Ann did not complain, but instead focused on her Bible verse and worked on learning how to become a proper woman so she might receive an apprenticeship. Besides, she had seen the price of complaining, and she certainly did not want to forgo her dinner or go to the dark room. As the Master would say, time was money, and Mary-Ann did not want to waste either. She had a goal after all.

Only the best children, those who were hard-working, good, Christian children, were apprenticed off to people outside of the workhouse. Apprenticeship was a big deal: it gave the ability for children to learn a trade, which could eventually mean earning a real wage. Mary-Ann knew that a wage meant a chance at a better life not just for her, but for her Grandmother and little Ann as well. Perhaps pulling her family out of poverty by herself was a far-flung dream, but it was something to strive for.

Mary-Ann’s father, however, did not see apprenticeship in the same light. He’d worked hard to keep his family alive through the trials and tribulations of the pauper’s life, and he wasn’t about to hand part of it off to a stranger, or at least, not voluntarily. He felt like his family was slipping away from him: his mother was only getting older, and his young niece, Ann, had gotten so ill she had to leave the workhouse and return to his brother. So, when he saw Mary-Ann beaming in the Director’s office, a stranger offering to take her on as an apprentice, his heart sank. He’d let her go originally, because her bright smile of accomplishment was too beautiful to crush. But the longer he thought about it, the more worried he became. He’d heard stories in the dormitories about what strange men did to the girls in their care. He needed to make sure that his little Mary-Ann was not one of those girls. So, he sent a complaint into a certain Mr. Jordan.

I want my little girl back.

When Mary-Ann heard the news from Mr. Jordan that her father wanted her back in the workhouse, she was livid. She was working so hard for him, for the family, but he seemed not to care. Why did he even need her back? Mary-Ann had always lived with her Grandmother and cousin Ann in the workhouse. She rarely ever saw him. Luckily, she didn’t have to live with the embarrassment for long. Mr. Jordan summarily informed her that the Workhouse Committee had ordered that she must remain apprentice to him. “Good,” thought Mary-Ann, as she smiled radiantly at nothing in particular as she continued her sweeping. Maybe her father would be able to understand her dream if she continued to work as hard as she could.

Meanwhile, far away on the cold floors of the workhouse, a father cried.

References

British Broadcasting Company. 24 Hours in the Past. “The Workhouse.” Directed by Chris Parkin. BBC: 2015.

Eden, Frederick Morton. The State of the Poor: Or, An History of the Labouring Classes in England, from the Conquest to the Present Period ; in Which Are Particularly Considered, Their Domestic Economy, with Respect to Diet, Dress, Fuel, and Habitation ; and the Various Plans Which, from Time to Time, Have Been Proposed, and Adopted, for the Relief of the Poor: Together with Parochial Reports Relative to the Administration of Work-houses, and Houses of Industry ; the State of Friendly Societies ; and Other Public Institutions ; in Several Agricultural, Commercial, and Manufacturing, Districts. With a Large Appendix; Containing a Comparative and Chronological Table of the Prices of Labour, of Provisions, and of Other Commodities; an Account of the Poor in Scotland; and Many Original Documents on Subjects of National Importance. Printed by J. Davis, 1797.

Potter, R. “Considerations on the Present State of the Poor in Great-Britain, with Proposals for Making the Most Effectual Provision for Them ... The Whole Most Respectfully Submitted to the Consideration of the Parliament” ...Printed for S. Leacroft, and Sold for the Benefit of the Asylum, 1773.

Hansard. "Spiritual Instruction In Union Workhouses." Spiritual Instruction In Union Workhouses, vol. 73 (23 February 1844). http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1844/feb/23/spiritual-instruction-in-union-workhouses.

St Andrew Undershaft Workhouse Committee, “St Andrew Undershaft - Workhouse Minute Book 1780-1801 p189-300,” Virtual Workhouse Digital Archive, accessed January 21, 2018, https://virtualworkhouse.carleton.edu/items/show/1766.

Florence Wong, “Mitford and Launditch Hundred House of Industry at Gressenhall - Punishment Room Image 1,” Virtual Workhouse Digital Archive, accessed January 25, 2018, https://virtualworkhouse.carleton.edu/items/show/3537.