Cell 1 – Sarah the single mother

We have chosen to portray the story of a single mother with a child to convey the fact that women and children would have formed part of the vagrant population, particularly those with illegitimate children, widows or deserted women. Vagrancy was often the only way a woman could stay with her children because if she had admitted herself into the main workhouse, she would have been separated from her child/children and only given access perhaps for half an hour a day if she was lucky. Vagrancy was hard but at least she wouldn’t be isolated from her children.

Unfortunately, visitors will not have access to the original female cells at Guildford Spike as this area has now been given over to the community facilities, but we recognised that it is important to convey that women would have used the casual ward system as well as men, so even though a woman would not have been housed in this end of the building, we will portray it as such in order to tell her story.

Sarah’s story – Sarah is a young single mother, whose child was born out of wedlock and has subsequently been deserted by the father. She gets by, by undertaking cleaning work and charring as she tramps from casual ward to casual ward, which pays just enough money to ensure she can feed her child and occasionally stay in a lodging house (which was one step up the ladder from a casual ward).  She is using Guildford Spike on her way to relatives who live further up the country, where she is tramping to in the hope that they will take her in on a more permanent basis. Her tin or box of belongings will contain items such as a child’s shoe or blanket, images of women and children in poverty, a letter from her relatives offering her somewhere to temporarily stay or asking her to come and visit and a map of her intended journey. Supporting interpretation to be displayed will be newspaper clippings from the time relating to the treatment of women and children in the workhouse (which was another reason to stay out of it), extracts from Mary Higgs and J.H. Stallard who were female social explorers of the time and went undercover into casual wards at the turn of the century to discover the plight of women and children, and finally period drawings and images referring to the treatment of women such as Punch’s “The ‘Milk’ of Poor-Law ‘Kindness’” (1843).

It is important that Sarah’s story relays that the casual ward was the lesser of two evils in a situation such as hers – she could either go into the workhouse and be separated from her child, perhaps never to be properly reunited, or she could live on the very edge of the poverty line, scratching a living out of odd cleaning jobs and never having a permanent roof over her head, but she got to stay with her child, which was the only option as far as Sarah is concerned. Sarah only wants the best for her child, and for her she believes that this can only be achieved if the child stays with her. She might have heard stories and rumours about the treatment of women and children in the workhouse, fuelled by newspaper articles, propaganda and rumours (the poor law officials encouraged this as it spread the fear of the workhouse amongst the poor and made them not want to enter it!). In reality, the workhouse would have at the very least given a child a basic education, a benefit that is not available for Sarah if she continues to tramp. She might reminisce to her own childhood, which was hard and impoverished, but stable, and wish that her child might have benefited from the same. She fears that her child will end up like her, and wishes it will not make the same mistakes. She hopes she has made the right decision for herself and her child by staying out of the workhouse and aspires to find a better life with her relatives, where she hopes she might make a new start. 

Cell 2 – Tom the soldier

 The vagrant population was obviously heavily influenced by wider economic and social factors and often the years following a war which Britain was involved in saw a sharp increase in the number of male vagrants using the casual ward system, particularly the Crimean War, Boer War and World War 1. Often those returning from war were disabled, both mentally and physically, and were unable to find work on their return as a result. More often than not, there just weren’t enough jobs to accommodate those coming back, and those returning were often disillusioned with society and its treatment of soldiers who had fought for their country, leading to a rejection of society and its norms fuelled further by images of incarcerated war prisoners and inhumanity which outraged domestic and international opinion (Davis, 1999). The Boer War was a fairly unpopular war, which left a legacy of high taxation and inflation with no obvious gains (Pugh, 1994). It also lead society to questions its attitudes towards imperialism and “popular backing for empire never really recovered from the setback” (ibid.) It also exposed alarming deficiencies in Britain’s military, political and social systems (ibid.) 

Tom’s Story – Tom is a soldier who fought in the Boer War (1899-1902). He was disabled in action during the war and on his return to England has been unable to get work as a consequence. He receives a small pension from the government and is able to stay in casual cells as a result (rather than a vagrants work cell), but the main reason he is tramping is that he has been unable to settle and adjust to normal life again after the war and as such has preferred to go on the tramp rather than be tied down to one place. Tom’s box will contain war medals, discharge papers from the army, papers relating to his pension, tobacco and a pipe, a snuff box, an image of a young man in uniform, and a map to show where he’s been and where he might be going. This will be supported by graffiti and poems on the wall, a period propaganda postcard titled ‘The Warriors Return’ (1903) showing the fate of soldiers returning from the war (blown up – or alternatively this could be used in the box), and newspaper clippings regarding the war and the fate of those who returned. There might also be a crutch or walking stick in his cell to indicate his disability.

Tom is fairly pragmatic about his lot in life and recognises that he is tramping out of choice rather than necessity, although he is disgruntled with the small payout he gets from the government, which can barely support him anyway. His main source of distress in life is the fact that he is disabled, as he is otherwise a fit, healthy man who could work if he wasn’t disabled. Society also stigmatises his disability, which makes it difficult for him to interact with other people, and he is a bit of a ‘loner’. He has been tramping for several years, so is an experienced user of the casual wards and the people that inhabit them and could “tell you a few stories about his experiences”. He might comment on the Tramp Major, who reminds him of his old army sergeant, and how he treats the inmates strictly and harshly. He could go into the workhouse and receive permanent support, but feels he is above this and does not want to be trapped by a government system. It is important in Tom’s story to convey the fact that he feels let down by the government, who have made little provision for returning soldiers and their needs. Tom’s story could be used as a comment on the wider factors affecting the vagrancy population, beyond the control of the individual. He might reminisce to his war days, the things he has seen in action and the camaraderie amongst the troops. Tom doesn’t really see that there is a way out for him and concedes that his long term future will probably be in the workhouse, a thought that distresses him. His main regret is that he cannot work, and wishes he was able-bodied so that he could do so and get out of the system in which he is trapped. He hopes that in the future the system of pensions for ex-soldiers will be improved so that others will not have to suffer as he has.

Cell 3 – Jim the seasonal worker

 The vagrant population was also affected by the seasons and how well the agricultural industry was faring, and an overall decrease in corn and wheat acreage and production in the late 19^th and early 20^th century (Wood, 1982) would have compounded a bad harvest.  This could impact quite heavily on vagrant numbers and vagrant migration around the country also followed the seasons, with vagrants and casual workers tramping to wherever there might be work, which often required a walk of some distance (for instance it was not uncommon for London tramps to walk into Kent in the hop-picking season). There were also marked regional variations in wages amongst agricultural labourers and a man could receive as little as 14s. in Dorset and Wiltshire in 1900 (due to a lack of alternative work) as opposed to 22s. in Northumberland and Lancashire, where there were wider employment opportunities (Pugh, 1994). A genuine casual worker, who had earned just enough to pay for a night in a casual ward would not have been subjected to the hard work task of a vagrant with no money. Instead, those pursuing work would have been allowed to pay a penny (or some other nominal amount), stay overnight in the casual ward and then leave early the next morning (probably 6am) to find work. Instead of breakfast they would have been given a meal-ticket to spend in a designated cafe, which would have entitled them to a basic meal like bread, cheese and tea. Guildford Spike has provision for both vagrants and casuals, and casuals would have been housed in the cells with no work area.  

Jim’s story – Jim is an out of work farm hand or agricultural worker who is tramping in order to find work, and he will continue to do so until work is found. Ultimately, he might be on his way to the northern counties where the promise of work and a better wage will provide him with more opportunities. He gets along by picking up odd jobs at farms along his route, but this year has been particularly hard and a bad harvest has meant that jobs are difficult to come by. Right now, he is heading towards Kent in the hope that he will be able to find work as a hop-picker. Jim’s box might contain a meal ticket, an image of hop pickers at the turn of the century (could be taken from Jack London ‘In the hop-fields’), images of local farm and agricultural life c.1900, a map showing his journey into Kent marked with casual wards to stay at along the way and where the hop fields are, and a few old pennies. Supporting information is likely to take the form of newspaper clippings relating to bad harvests and agricultural recessions at the turn of the century, and the use of period illustrations such as the Punch cartoon ‘The Rivals’ and accompanying poem. Graffiti messages will also displayed on the wall.  

Jim sees himself as a cut above the general vagrant population as he can afford to pay to stay in a casual cell. He might comment on the tramps and their behaviour in the casual ward, who he sees as beneath him as they cannot afford to pay for their stay and are made to do a work task before being allowed to leave. For him, the tramps are the ‘undeserving poor’ as most are able-bodied and are able to work as he does, but are too lazy and prefer to live a life of uncertainty on the roads. He might also comment on the diseases they carry around with them, and the fact that he hopes he won’t catch anything from them by being in the same ward, which might put him out of work. He is proud that he is still able to support himself just enough to pay for his stay, but fears that if the agricultural industry continues to decline, he will become ‘just another tramp’ amongst the masses. He might ruminate on stories he’s heard about men being paid for their days work and then spending it all on drink before they’ve even got to the casual ward and ending up in a vagrant’s cell being made to break stone, and then missing a day’s work and perhaps not being able to find work again.  Jim worries that this will happen to him and recognises how easy it would be to fall upon hard times in this way and become a permanent vagrant.  His hope is that one day he will find a more permanent job on a farm, or perhaps even become the owner of a small holding and will be able to stop using the casual wards and settle down, but he remains pessimistic that this will ever happen, particularly with the increase in imported goods from other countries. He has seen too many men drift into vagrancy over the years.

 Cell 4 – Will the young lad

 Young male teenagers also formed part of the vagrant population. In the eyes of the casual ward, a teenage boy would be accommodated along with the male vagrants, as any male child over the age of seven was classed as an adult, and was therefore treated as such. One can only begin to imagine how terrifying it might have been for a young boy to be separated from his mother (if he even had one) for the night and housed with the adult tramps.  This part of the vagrant population were young men who, through family circumstance, economic conditions, the social disruption of war, or just sheer wanderlust, had joined the numbers frequenting the casual ward but had not graduated to its long-term habitués, though most were in danger of doing so. By fraternizing with adult vagrants, some of them untrustworthy tricksters, habitual small time criminals and drunkards, the future would have been pretty bleak and uncertain for someone who was young and probably easily influenced.

 Will’s story – Will is well acquainted with the welfare and workhouse system. Coming from a persistently impoverished family, he was in and out of the workhouse throughout his childhood years and has never known a stable family life. His family were no longer able to support him, so as the eldest child his parents gave him up to the workhouse (it was not uncommon for adults with children to put one or several of their children in the workhouse, as an interim measure, until such a time as they could be supported at home), who provided him with a very basic education and placed him with a local family as a servant, from which he absconded due to bad treatment. He has taken to vagrancy knowing that he cannot go back to his family as they cannot support him, and he cannot go back into to the workhouse as they will probably send him straight into an Industrial or Reformatory School (early form of juvenile detention centres) for running away from his placement. Will’s box might contain a written account of his time as a servant, perhaps a journal or diary entry (although his writing skills may well have been poor due to his lack of education), a ‘servants agreement’ (a type of contract that a child would have signed when leaving the workhouse for service), and a letter from his mother whilst he was living as a servant wishing him well. Supporting interpretation will include newspaper clippings regarding the treatment and support of pauper children, children who have turned to vagrancy and also what happened to children when they left the workhouse (i.e. stories of those who emigrated, those who went onto training ships, those who went into service) to show that there was some hope for children of poor families, images to include photo’s of waif children from the Children’s Society, and Cruikshank’s series of etchings entitled ‘The Bottle’. Graffiti will also be on the walls.

 Wills story is a sad tale of the breakdown of family life, brought about by poverty and the inability of the workhouse system to keep family groups together. Will doesn’t see much of a future for himself and wishes he had been given the opportunity to go onto a training ship (there are references in the archives to male children from Guildford Union being sent to the training ship ‘Exmouth’ docked in Essex, where they would have been prepared for life in the Navy) as he wanted to go into the Navy. He might think back to his days in the workhouse (or more likely a boarding-out home), the other children he met, and how children were treated. His experiences of the casual ward have already exposed him to some rather questionable individuals and he has already been tempted to commit some petty crime in order to survive, and fall in with a ‘bad crowd’. He largely blames his lot in life on his parents and their inability to provide for their family. He might comment on the work tasks that he is expected to undertake, as he is unable to pay for his stay in the ward. He doesn’t see a way out of his impoverished state, and to him his future looks bleak, but he hopes that he might be able to find casual work when he gets a bit older and stronger.