VIII. THE POOR.
The care of the Poor was, in ancient times, a religious duty enjoined by the laws of the realm. In Dover, as in other places, the religious houses made distributions of food to the needy. Henry VIII. was responsible for the closing of the Priory and the Hospitals of St. Bartholomew and the Maison Dieu, and, at the same time that King gave his assent to a law which required Churchwardens and two others, in every parish, to make collections for the Poor on Sundays, so that there might be no necessity for them to go a-begging. That statutory provision, of course, had to be observed in the Dover parishes, and, at the same time, the ancient Dover Almshouse was re-organised by the Corporation, the Mayor and two of the Jurats being the Master and Wardens. At that time the Almshouse of the Municipality was moved from the ancient structure which was built over the river, between St. Mary's and St. James's parishes, to other premises in Queen Street, and it is presumed that the Poor Relief of the two parishes continued to be distributed from that old Almshouse for a century or two longer. As the population increased, it became necessary for both parishes to have Poor-houses. The Poor Law arrangements in Dover during the Stuart times are not recorded ; but early in the Eighteenth Century St. Mary's parish had a large Poor-house on the west side of Limekiln Street, the building being rented from the Corporation by St. Mary's Vestry; and that con tinued to be used until 1795. St. James's Parish, during the same period, had a Poor-house in Woolcomber Street, where able-bodied people who wanted relief were set to work at wool-combing. Outdoor relief was paid by the Overseers of both the parishes by the order of the Mayor and Jurats.
The River Poor Law Union was founded in the year 1793, with a Workhouse there. That included all the pari.shes round Dover, embracing Charlton and St. James's parishes also, but the Union would not take the poor of St. Mary's parish because at that time they were very numerous. The Poor-house at the Pier having become overcrowded, St. Mary's Vestry, under the powers of the Poor Law Act of 1782, purchased land on the north side of Peter Street, Charlton, and there built a Workhouse for St. Mary's parish in the year 1796. The Workhouse was well designed, and there was attached to it sufficient land lying between Peter Street and Bridge Street to profitably employ the inmates; but the expenses were a heavy burden on the parish, so that about a year after the formation of the Dover Union, with a Workhouse in Buckland Bottom, St. Mary's Poor went there, and the Charlton Workhouse was closed. The Dover Poor Law Union was formed in 1835, and the Workhouse at Buckland opened in the Spring of 1836. The original house was built in the form of a quadrangle, with the Board Room and Master's offices in front over the entrance, and a small hospital against the opposite wall, the rest of the square being occupied by the ward rooms and dormitories. It was very much like a prison, none of the v/indows affording an outside view. When St. Mary's Poor were admitted, a year later, the whole of the square was used for the ordinary inmates, and a small hospital was built on the bank at the rear, where a much more extensive one has since been erected. Further enlargements of the House were made in the years 1849, 1871, 1877 and 1903. The Union Workhouse, from its commencement until the present time, has been controlled by a Board of Guardians, a Master and Matron, and other officials, including a staff of nurses, the hospital being the most expensive part of the establishment. A separate schoolroom, dining hall and dormitories have been provided for the children, so as to keep them as clear as possible from the " taint of pauperism"; but there has long been a project to remove them to a separate establishment. That has not yet been done, but the children now go out to schools in the Town instead of being educated in the Workhouse. The granting of Old Age Pensions has greatly reduced the cost of outdoor relief. The ordinary indoor Poor are also decreasing, the most expensive part of the House being the hospital; but few will grudge that increase, for the worst of the sickness and suffering in the whole Union is concentrated there, and it is a satisfaction to be able to record that the sick and dying there are kindly and carefully tended.