Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Milton Union Workhouse, Union Road, was built in 1836 at a site to the north of Sittingbourne. Taking the poor from Bapchild, Bobbing, Borden, Bredgar, Lower Halstow, Hartlip, Iwade, Kingsdown, Milstead [Milsted] , Milton (2), Murston, Newington, Rainham, Rodmersham, Sittingbourne (2), Tong, Tunstall, Upchurch

Monument Types

• (Former Type) WORKHOUSE (Post Medieval to Modern - 1835 AD to 1995 AD)

Full description

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The Milton Union workhouse was erected in 1836 at a site to the north of Sittingbourne. The design, by William Bland, a member of the Board of Guardians, was an adaptation of the courtyard plan devised by Assistant Poor Law Commissioner Sir Francis Head. This type of layout, in which an outer perimeter of buildings enclosed a large inner courtyard, was employed by a number of Kent Unions including Blean, Bridge, Eastry, East Ashford, Hoo and Maidstone. In 1835, the Poor Law Commissioners authorised an expenditure of £5,342 on construction of the building which was to accommodate 500 inmates. The workhouse location and layout are shown on the 1870 OS map:

Milton workhouse site, 1870.

In 1874, an infectious diseases hospital was erected at the site. It was converted into an infirmary in 1883.

The former workhouse buildings were demolished in around 1994 and a housing estate erected on the site. Taking the poor from Bapchild, Bobbing, Borden, Bredgar, Lower Halstow, Hartlip, Iwade, Kingsdown, Milstead [Milsted] , Milton (2), Murston, Newington, Rainham, Rodmersham, Sittingbourne (2), Tong, Tunstall, Upchurch

Peter Higginbotham, 2018, http://www.workhouses.org.uk (Website). SKE51754.

Kent Workhouses
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© 2017 Kent Workhouses, 2018, Kent Workhouses & Poorhouses (Website). SKE51755.

Sources and further reading