by Carolyn Jacob
As early as February 1833, talks were held for the erection of a workhouse in the Parish of Merthyr Tydfil; the neighbouring Parish of Llanfabon had had one since 1803. These plans, however, were superseded by the passing of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, which centralised the existing workhouse system to cut the costs of poor relief and “discourage perceived laziness”. The Act grouped local parishes into Poor Law unions, under 600 locally elected Boards of Guardians. Each of those boards had its own workhouse.
The Merthyr Tydfil Poor Law Union was formed on 3 November 1836, and was overseen by an elected Board of Guardians, and they held their first meeting at the Castle Inn. For many years, the Merthyr Board of Guardians resisted the new law, and continued giving out monetary relief, and it was not until 1848 that they were forced to plan a workhouse for the town. The plans were further interrupted by the devastating 1849 Cholera epidemic, and finally, at the end of 1850, plans were agreed upon.
The new building, to accommodate 500, was designed by Aickin and Capes of Islington, and was to cost £10,000. Mr Hamlyn of Bristol was contracted to carry out the work, but by June 1851, so little work had been carried out that he was replaced by Messrs Henry Norris and Daniel Thomas of Cardiff, and the new building was completed in September 1853, at a lower cost than the original estimate – £6,880.
The complex was built in several ‘blocks’. The entrance block, at the west side of the complex housed the porter’s room, laundry and girl’s school. The main block, cruciform in shape, held the men’s and women’s wards, the boy’s schoolroom, a lying-in ward and the dining room and chapel.
In 1899-1900, a new infirmary block was built at the north end of the workhouse.
The complex was redesignated ‘Tydfil Lodge Public Assistance Institution’ and later became St Tydfil’s Hospital. The hospital closed in 2012, and most of the buildings were demolished in 2015.
I worked quite a lot at st Tydfils hospital the buildings were classic ,but as usual Merthyr council destroys and replaces with rubbish like the town centre which is falling apart
I visited St Tydfil’s Hospital many times as a child. I had a collapsed lung and had a stay of a week or more in about 1957 in an upstairs ward overlooking the Workhouse graveyard, and many outpatient visits, sitting in the waiting room with x-ray plates ready for my appointments. Then some years later I had gynaecological surgery. I remember cheerful, lovely staff at that hospital and great care.