Upkeep of Inmates

The upkeep of inmates in the workhouse was paid for by the poor rate and covered their food, bedding, clothing and medicine. When the workhouse opened in 1846 the only foods ordered for the inmates were oatmeal, bread, potatoes, sweetmilk and buttermilk. By 1899 eggs, tea, rice and meat had been added and by the early twenties butter, fish, jam and sugar were also included. As the variety of rations given to the patients increased so to did the cost of maintaining a person in the workhouse.

The average cost of maintaining an inmate in 1846 was 1s 9d, this cost rose slowly throughout the latter years of the nineteenth century and by 1899 it was 2s 9d. Between 1899 and 1921 the cost increased dramatically to 11s per person. The cost of maintaining a person in the fever hospital or the infirmary was a few shillings more expensive than in the workhouse due to the cost of medicines and the nurse's wages.

The increased amount of money available to spend on the inmates is likely to have been as a result of the decreasing numbers of paupers maintained by the union. In 1847 at the height of the famine 476 people were in receipt of relief in the workhouse, this had reduced to around 75 in 1899 and before the abolition of the workhouses there were only 49 inmates remaining in Milford.