Toxteth Workhouse

Like many of the workhouses, Toxteth Workhouse became a hospital. In fact,  a small section of it is still operating as part of the city’s mental health services. There are also newly built facilities in the grounds for other health services but the majority is given over to a supermarket and carpark.

One of the themes we’ve been following is looking at workhouses, infirmaries, hospitals and the history of the health service in Liverpool.

Read Full Post »

The Kirkby Rent Strike: telling stories

Here’s an extract from a great documentary made by the then young film maker, Nick Broomfield. It features residents of Kirkby talking about the awful conditions of their housing. We looked at it as part of a wider look at poverty, housing and health in Liverpool and the area. Going back to old documents about life in the workhouse, we went on to examine printed materials, look at old pictures, watch films, read books and listen to archived radio interviews.  Importantly, we looked not only at documentary stuff but also dramas dealing with working class life. We have an ongoing interest in the subjects raised by these issues, but we’re also looking at the changing history of the media themselves. How ‘ordinary’ people’s voices, lives and concerns are represented; who makes the representations; how they’re distributed. Over the coming posts we’ll publish, among other things, more links like this one from our youtube collection.

Read Full Post »