A workhouse, established in 1612 in a donated house, was rebuilt in 1817 (opposite the southern leg of the road Lewisham Park and now called the Waterloo block). The Lewisham Poor Law Union was formed in 1836, and the workhouse was enlarged, including cholera wards. It was run by a board of 20 guardians representing constituent parishes including Lewisham, Eltham and Lee. By 1865 it was more a hospital than a workhouse and in 1929 the Boards of Guardians were dissolved.
For its later life see Lewisham Hospital.
More information at Workhouses (whence comes this 1895 photo) and Lost Hospitals of London.
1884 map showing the area covered by all the different Poor Law Unions, including Lewisham.
Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk
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