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Between 1777 and 1948, Mitford and Launditch Union Workhouse - now Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse - was home to some of the most vulnerable people in rural Norfolk. Its purpose was to provide accommodation, food and work for 'paupers' who did not have enough money to provide for themselves. The NHS had not yet been created, and many people turned to the workhouse because of illness, old age, disability, mental illness, or as a safe place to give birth. The day-to-day care of the sick and vulnerable inmates fell to just a handful of nurses. They were often overworked, undertrained, and isolated.
The nurse biographies listed below were put together by volunteer researchers as part of the 2024 exhibition ‘Making the Rounds: Stories of Workhouse Nurses Told in Textile’, in collaboration with Norfolk-based textile artist, Connie Flynn.
These rich biographies offer a glimpse into the lives of the more than 300 women who lived and worked as nurses at Gressenhall.
The exhibition was shown at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse in 2024, and The Royal College of Nursing 2024-5.
The biographies are listed in ascending order of date of when the nurse first started working at Gressenhall.
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