A NEW book documenting the history of the Basingstoke Workhouse and the town has been launched.

Written by Walsall-born author Barbara Large, ‘Basingstoke Workhouse: And Poor Law Union’ explores all aspects of life in the feared institution, the workhouse as well as the staff who lived and worked there.

It details the problems of administration and oversight, the stresses and strains suffered by the new, untrained and inexperienced officers who had to make it work, and the sometimes excruciating difficulty of getting every detail sanctioned by London.

Also dissected in the historical account is how the Poor Law Union became a whole new tier of local government which still operates today.

Formed as part of the Victoria County History project, a private enterprise with the intention of producing a history of each English county, Barbara’s book is the result of five years research into the topic for the scheme.

“I love Basingstoke, the people are friendly and I have just taken to the place,” Barbara, who moved to the town in 2009 from Stafford, told The Gazette

“Basingstoke as a town isn’t as new as everybody thinks. The town goes back to Domesday book and the thing that made it expand was the London overflow and it has become a thriving and important part of the country.”

She added: “This book isn’t just about the workhouse, it’s about this new tier of local government that became very influential on the town.”

Barbara launched her book at the Willis Museum last month in the company of Basingstoke and Deane mayor Cllr Jane Frankum.

“When I moved here, I was always interested in the local history – it’s a passion of mine,” Barbara, 68, said.

“It turned out to be this terrific story about the town with some terrific characters in it.

I’m really happy with what I have done in this book, I enjoyed the research and spent lots of days in the Hampshire Records offices and was dealing with documents that people have never looked at. I was one of the first to look at it in detail.”

She added: “There were some many offshoots from this story. It’s all interesting.”

Barbara hopes her next book will look at how the traders in the town and the people’s tastes changed between 1835 and 1925 in Basingstoke.

The book is available for £12.99 and can be purchased online. 

For more information visit thehistorypress.co.uk.