(Catalogue ref: MH 32/62)
Mr Pigott
2
London,
22nd December 1855
My Lords and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the
20th instant, in which you inform me that having had under consideration
the expediency of some further provision than now exists for the
Dietary of Young Children Workhouses between the ages of two and
nine years, you ask my opinion as to the expediency of dividing
this class for the purposes of diet into two and as to what measures
may be advisable to secure to the children in workhouses the kind
and quality of food to their respective ages.
In reply, I have no hesitation in stating my opinion that the present
system by no means secures this important object; that the discretion
as regards the younger children, is very imperfectly exercised to
the great prejudice of their health and to unnecessary waste of
food, and that the modification of the existing practice proposed
in the letter of the poor Law Board is highly desirable. I venture
however to suggest that in place of leaving the preparation of the
Dietaries for Children between two and nine years of age to the
Guardians conjointly with the Workhouse Medical Officer, the later
should be required to submit such Dietary as he thinks proper to
the Board of Guardians and that they should transmit the same to
the Poor Law Board, with such observations as they may desire to
make thereon.
I take the opportunity of adding my opinion of the desirableness
(whilst establishing this classification) of insisting in every
workhouse on the formation of a district Nursery Class, under the
charge of a competent female for the custody and the care throughout
the day of all of the children under six years of age, in a wood
floored room, well warmed and ventilated, where they may have their
meals under the new regulation. This practice prevails in some workhouses
with most beneficial result to health of the children and to the
discipline and order of the workhouse. Mothers having children at
the breast are allowed to resort to them at all times and have them
with them also in their dormitories at night. The children are thus
kept clean and out of harm’s way during the day, and have
their meals as regulated by the medical officer.
In the workhouses where nurseries are not provided (which composes
by far the greater number), the children are constantly with their
mothers, often young single mothers, who makes them a pretext for
evading their due share of the labours of the house; preventing
due cleanliness and especially at mealtime, having them upon their
laps, and supplying them with portions of their own food, unsuited
to the digestive functions of infants, whereby the mortality amongst
this class becomes often very formidable, this mortality being increased
also in many instances by the cold brick or stone floors of the
Able Women’s day wards. A further evil consequence of the
absence of regular nurseries is the practice of putting young infant
bastards in the charge of young girls of fifteen and sixteen years
old, whilst the mothers are at work, who having continual resort
to the children are thus brought into the closest contact and most
continual communication with those from whom they ought to be most
carefully separated.
Lastly for want of these Nurseries children of 4 or 5 years are
often placed in the female school, to the prejudice of the older
children, by undue diversion of the attention of the teacher and
often to the permanent injury of their own health by a premature
exertion of their nervous system.
I have the honour to be,
My Lords and Gentlemen
Your very obedient servant,
Grenville Pigott
Poor Law Inspector
Place with the other answers
26 Dec
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