Bawnboy Union Workhouse, BAWNBOY, Roman Catholic

Bawnboy Workhouse was built in 1852 to a pattern design by George Wilkinson (1814-90), architect to the Poor Law Commissioners. The design developed as a revision to his earlier workhouse type built throughout Ireland between 1839 and 1850. The workhouse was designed to accommodate 600 people, but never reached full working capacity. As an '1850' type workhouse it was amongst the latest in Ireland and is the only example of this type in Ulster. It served the newly created 'Bawnboy Union' following a decision by a commission established in 1848/9 to provide more workhouses in response to the Great Famine. The new pattern may have resulted from the need to provide more space for children. It differs from the earlier type in that the previous 'front building' is divided into two blocks, the previous 'body' is a dining hall, and the infirmary is separated from the other buildings. The workhouse retains its historic form and much of its fabric and detail. Its nearly intact layout provides insight into the workings of the second generation of workhouse, built in the years after the Famine, as an early primitive form of public welfare provision. The austerity of the accommodation and rigid segregation of the sexes reflect the social attitudes of the period. It has an imposing presence when seen from the eastern road approach to Bawnboy and can be seen from the village itself.

[National Inventory of Architectural Heritage]