Site of Orsett Union Workhouse (EHER 15382)

Orsett Workhouse was built in 1837 to Sampson Kempthorne's '200-pauper' cruciform design. In 1848 a fever ward, a vagrant's ward and workshops were added. In 1911 a female infirmary was added. In 1917 only sick people were admitted, and the buildings were used as a hospital called The Orsett Lodge Hospital. In the 1960s the workhouse buildings were replaced with modern hospital buildings and the site is now known as Orsett Hospital.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import. Situated four miles to the north-east of Grays Station the workhouse buildings were of brick with slate roofs and occupied 12.5 acres. Based on an irregular plan by Sampson Kempthorne ( '200-pauper' cruciform design), the site was completed in 1837 at a cost of £9,000; vagrants wards, fever wards and workshops had been added by 1848 (RCHME, 1995). In 1911 a female infirmary was added. In 1917 only sick people were admitted, and the buildings were used as a hospital called The Orsett Lodge Hospital. In the 1960s the workhouse buildings were replaced with modern hospital buildings and the site is now known as Orsett Hospital. Further expansion took place in the early decades of the twentieth-century and The Public Assistance Committee Report of 1930 noted two padded cells, two observation wards and ‘good accommodation for tuberculosis cases in the infirmary’ (ERO, D/56.02; 129). <1> <2> All of the original buildings have been demolished and a modern hospital now occupies the site. Site Assessment: Demolished and developed - no archaeological potential. <1> Additional reference <3>