About the Board
TRACING THE TIMES OF TOWER HILL
1842 - 2001
Before the Board
The transformation of Tower Hill Hospital, Armagh, into the new headquarters for the Southern Health and Social Services Board marked another milestone in the history of a building which has been the focus for health and social care for around 150 years. However the well-lit and computerised accommodation used today is a far cry from 1842 when it provided accommodation for 1,000 destitute poor.
Although poverty and destitution have long existed in human society, there was little or no provision to alleviate suffering until the introduction of the Poor Law Act 1938. In 1837 an English Poor Law Commissioner came to Ireland and 'found in favour of the workhouse system'. He introduced a 'Bill for the more Effectual Relief of the Destitute Poor in Ireland'. This became law in 1838, dividing the island into 130 Unions each centred on a market town. In each town a workhouse was built to a standard though flexible design by the architect George Wilkinson of Oxford. In Armagh, a building was erected on the Tower Hill site between Victoria Street and the road to Portadown and continued in its role until the abolition of the workhouse system after the Second World War when it was renamed Tower Hill Hospital.
Home for 1000
In Armagh, the Board of Guardians, was made up of 37 elected representatives and 12 ex-officio members from the landed gentry. The workhouse opened early in 1842 with accommodation for 1,000 destitute poor, men, women, boys and girls. There was complete segregation of infants, aged men, able bodied men and boys. The same categories for women and girls meant that families entering the institution were split up. There were even separate exercise yards. The workhouse included an infirmary and graveyard. In spite of the common design, the use of local stone gave the Armagh workhouse a distinctive appearance. The site chosen was Tower Hill on six acres bought from Mr John Magill at £7 10s an acre. The building contractor was a local man, Sinclair Carroll, who also built Newry workhouse.
A place of last resort
The effect of the high stone walls entered by iron gates was forbidding and intimidating, exactly the effect which the Guardians wanted as the workhouse was to be a place of last resort. Rules were harsh and repressive and the sustenance plain and meagre. For example, in September 1845, for neglecting his work, James McKinney was ordered to have 24 lashes and no supper for a week. In December of that year, for disturbing the nursery, Bridget McNamee was sent to break stones for a week. In 1847, Mary Ewing was placed in 'the black hole' for using obscene language.
Devastated by famine
Although Armagh workhouse was the biggest in Ulster, within a few years of its opening, it was unable to accommodate all of those seeking help when in 1845 the potato crop failed and famine spread. In the following years there was further damage to the potato crop and by 1847 the workhouse was overcrowded. To cope with the influx, large sheds were erected in the grounds and the old Cholera Hospital on what is now Cathedral Road and houses in Barrack Hill were brought into use. The occurrence of fever was inevitable and in that year it appeared 'in every part of the house'. Many died of contagion, more than 500 from October 1846 to March 1847 including both the Master and Medical Officer. The poverty was so widespread that outdoor relief and public works had to be introduced again. The famine declined after 1848 and so did the numbers seeking refuge in workhouses. By 1851, Armagh had only 750 on the rolls.
Becoming a hospital
When in 1899 reform of local administration in Ireland set up county, urban and rural district councils, the infirmary in the workhouse became the rate-aided District Hospital open to all in Armagh. The workhouses in Northern Ireland continued in use until 1948 when they were closed with the creation of modern health and welfare services. Tower Hill was used as a hospital for people with learning difficulties until 1989. The complex also contained continuing care beds for elderly people. Tower Hill continued to be used as office accommodation for administrative staff, supplies department and health promotion. In 1970 a maternity unit was built in the grounds and operated there until 1988. After the closure of the old City Hospital, at Abbey Street, in 1991 (now an outreach campus for the Queen's University of Belfast), Tower Hill accommodated part of the Armagh Community Hospital. This is now wholly located in the former maternity unit. In 1996 this fine old building was refurbished and today acts as headquarters for the Southern Health and Social Services Board.
Information courtesy of Mr D R M Weatherup - Former Curator of Armagh County Museum
TOWER HILL BURIAL GROUNDS - COMMEMORATIVE CEREMONY
On 4 October 2001 religious leaders, council representatives, local historians and members of the public joined the Board Chairman and Chief Executive for a special Commemorative Ceremony to remember the people who once lived in the Armagh workhouse and who are buried on the site.
Welcoming guests to the ceremony, Chairman, Bill Gillespie said, "Many of the men, women and children who lived and died in this workhouse are buried on two areas of consecrated ground on this site known as the pauper's graveyards. In the past these grounds were maintained in immaculate order by the inmates but until now, the graves have been unmarked."
"When we moved into this building 5 years ago, we became aware of the sadness, but also of the richness of its history.
"Today as we struggle to secure sufficient resources to maintain and enhance our health and social services it is appropriate that we reflect on a period when there were virtually no health or social services. Waiting lists were not relevant because there were no lists at all. Ambulance response times were not important because there were no ambulances. Accident and Emergency Departments were not overcrowded because there were no Accident and Emergency services. Life was cheap. Death was cheap and in many cases a happy relief from suffering and distress."
"We felt that permanent recognition should be given to those who lived and endured such primitive conditions within these walls, and especially those who died and were buried here in unmarked graves."
Local historian Mr Roger Weatherup also addressed guests at the event explaining that the workhouse was indeed a place of last resort for people who were destitute. "The entrance to the workhouse was very intimidating with high stone walls and forbidding iron gates. Once inside, men women and children were completely segregated, families were split up, rules were harsh and food was plain and meagre."
Mr Weatherup also highlighted the devastating impact of famine on the workhouse when many died of contagion.
At the ceremony a specially commissioned stone was unveiled and clergy representing the four main churches provided a moving dedication.
Armagh man Mr Billy Peilow, a former porter in the Armagh workhouse, laid a floral tribute at the stone and a fitting lament was performed by local piper Mr Jim Paynter.
After the ceremony guests viewed the numerous original features of the workhouse. These included the entire top floor of the building which remains as it was as the sleeping quarters for residents. Here raised wooden sleeping platforms remain unchanged and provide a stark insight into the harsh conditions endured by those who lived in the workhouse.