'Oliver Twist' workhouse saved
Source: Agencies |
March 15, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE British government announced yesterday it has given protected status to a former workhouse thought to have inspired Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist," a move that should save the building from the demolition.
Heritage minister John Penrose said the Georgian edifice was "an eloquent reminder of one of the grimmer aspects of London's 18th century social history."
He said the building had been given Grade II listed status, meaning it can't be demolished and restrictions are put on any redevelopment.
The run-down building in central -London had been slated to be replaced by a new housing development, but local residents and academics fought a campaign to save it.
The young Dickens lived nine doors away and scholars say the sights and sounds of the building were probably the basis for the workhouse where orphan Oliver is incarcerated in his 1838 novel.
Advisory group English Heritage said the building was also significant for its links to Victorian social -reformer -Joseph Rogers, the workhouse's medical officer.
He was so alarmed by conditions at the workhouse - where hundreds of destitute people worked at menial jobs in return for basic shelter and a diet of gruel - that he began a campaign for better care for London's poor.
Heritage minister John Penrose said the Georgian edifice was "an eloquent reminder of one of the grimmer aspects of London's 18th century social history."
He said the building had been given Grade II listed status, meaning it can't be demolished and restrictions are put on any redevelopment.
The run-down building in central -London had been slated to be replaced by a new housing development, but local residents and academics fought a campaign to save it.
The young Dickens lived nine doors away and scholars say the sights and sounds of the building were probably the basis for the workhouse where orphan Oliver is incarcerated in his 1838 novel.
Advisory group English Heritage said the building was also significant for its links to Victorian social -reformer -Joseph Rogers, the workhouse's medical officer.
He was so alarmed by conditions at the workhouse - where hundreds of destitute people worked at menial jobs in return for basic shelter and a diet of gruel - that he began a campaign for better care for London's poor.
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