Firstly, what exactly is the Red House and how does it link to children in care’s history?
The Red House is a workhouse- sometimes referred to as a poorhouse- that was first built in 1664 inside the Inner Court of Framlingham Castle (now an English Heritage site) and was the parish workhouse. It was built by Pembroke Hall- now Pembroke College, Cambridge, in fulfilment of Sir Robert Hitcham’s will.
Sir Robert Hitcham bought Framlingham Castle in 1635, then in 1636, a week before his death, he drew up a will leaving his Framlingham Estate to Pembroke Hall, to be governed by a trust, on the condition that the college set up and maintained a number of charitable institutions for the poor.
The Red House is one of a very small number of purpose-built workhouse buildings to survive from the 17th century and the earliest use of the term ‘Red House’ occurs in a 1699 document.
But what is a workhouse or a poorhouse, as it’s sometimes referred to?
A workhouse is a public institution in which the destitute of a parish received board and lodging in return for work. Whereas, a poorhouse is any building that provided shelter for the needy prior to 1834; usually operated by the parish and funded from the poor rates. The work done at the Red House workhouse was mostly spinning.
But how does this link with children in care? At the time there were many children in care, although the set up was very different to nowadays. Care Experienced children have been looked after in various ways throughout England’s history. Spending some time being looked after by their extended family, friends or the state was a relatively common experience for children in the past, and the Red House Workhouse, situated within the walls of English Heritage property Framlingham Castle, is a good example of institutional care.
The Red House, despite originally not being a residential building, ended up accommodating many children in care from the Framlingham area over the years. This article explores the period of the Red House’s history, when it specifically links to children in care’s history.
Children in Care at the Red House
The Red House changed over time, both architecturally and in terms of its purpose and use. During part of its history, it was directly linked to the care of children on the Framlingham Castle estate. The Red House sat within the castle grounds and formed part of a wider group of buildings used for poor relief.
While the Red House itself functioned as a workhouse, a separate school for children operated nearby, housed in the adapted north range of the surviving castle buildings. This school had its own schoolmaster, who lived on site in the north range. Together, these buildings demonstrate how the castle estate was used to support children through education, work, and forms of care.
The Trustees of Hitcham’s Estate continued to carry out his wishes, including maintaining a number of charitable institutions for the poor focusing especially on poor children who were in care. This occurred after Richard Porter- in 1697- approached Pembroke Hall on behalf of the town of Framlingham to ask if they could use it as a workhouse, essentially reviving the scheme of 1664. He also stated there was a desperate need for the workhouse due to the high rate of unemployment amongst men who couldn’t spin.
Two years later, a 1699 document from the trustees set out their motivations for providing care:
- Firstly, the trustees hoped that if they took one child from the poorest, largest families who were already receiving financial help from the parish, these families would be more able to look after the children they kept at home.
- Secondly, the trustees felt that poor children would be better cared for at the workhouse than with their own family. The middle-class trustees assumed poor parents didn’t put their children to work or school but allowed them to play and get into trouble.
This links to the 17th century belief that poor children were a national asset who needed to be taught to be hardworking so that they would grow up into industrious adults who would contribute to the economy and not themselves need help from the state. People like the workhouse trustees believed that poor parents would only teach their children to be poor, and that workhouses should be used to remove this bad parental influence and instead educate poor children to be obedient and hardworking citizens, as mentioned in their proposal. In April 1669, the Trustees of Hitcham’s Estate came up with the proposal that Framlingham Castle should be used as a workhouse for around 10 poor children (children in care), aged between 3-10, who were to live on the premises and learn to spin wool. The proposals were agreed by Pembroke Hall on 22nd January 1700.
So, the schoolroom and workroom were to be located in the north range. The schoolroom remained under the control of the schoolmaster (and presumably continued to admit non-workhouse children), whilst the workroom was in the charge of the workhouse Governor and Governess, Thomas and Anne Harding, who were also responsible for the care of the children.
The children were set to work being taught how to spin in return for their lodgings, food and clothes that were also mended when needed. The girls were also taught to read by the Governess, whereas the boys were almost certainly being educated by the schoolmaster. All the children who were admitted were poor and children in care. The Red House Workhouse was a type of care the ‘state’ provided for children in care at the time.
However, during this period of the Red House’s workhouse history there were complaints. For example, in 1703–04 a scheme to accommodate and employ poor children within the castle was attempted, with the ground‑floor room in the north range designated as a children’s workroom. When this room was handed back for parish use, the scheme was not a success, and the number of children in the workhouse declined. At the same time, in 1703–04, the castle buildings were being repaired and altered for workhouse use. However, rather than remaining in the workhouse, many children were apprenticed out, as apprenticeship was another form of care for poor children at the time.
In March 1705 the Governess Anne Harding confirmed that ‘there is not room enough in the said Work-house to imploy aboue ten Children.’ By 1708, with there just being 5 children in the workhouse, it was decided to admit adults, rather than children, to Framingham Workhouse, and to save money until there was enough to ‘make the workhouse fit’ to receive the poor.
Overall, one of the Red House’s many uses, throughout its history was a workhouse that looked after children in care. Although the scheme didn’t last long, during the time it did, it provided support for children who were in care. This is just one example of how children in care were looked after in this time period.
Historical consultancy provided by Dr Kate Gibson
References
Historic England. (2016). The Red House (formerly Framlingham Workhouse), Framlingham Castle, Suffolk. Research Report Series No. 023‑2016. London: Historic England. Available at: https://historicengland.org.uk/research/results/reports/6604/
Suffolk County Council. (n.d.). Framlingham Parish Workhouse (FML 207). Suffolk Historic Environment Record. Available at: https://heritage.suffolk.gov.uk/Monument/MSF49105
Suffolk Record Office. (1703–1704). Parish and estate accounts relating to repairs and alterations at Framlingham Castle for workhouse use [AH5.1]. Ipswich: Suffolk Archives.
Hindle, S. (2004). On the Parish? The Micro‑Politics of Poor Relief in Rural England c.1550–1750. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Slack, P. (1995). The English Poor Law, 1531–1782. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.