Hello, so welcome to Diary of a Workhouse Boy. This is my diary Charlie Gubbins. I m
nine years old, and I m about to start work in Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire.
The mill is supposed to be a special one as its built on the River Bollin.
The water is supposed to power a waterwheel which makes the factory work. I dunno what
that means but it sounds fancy. They've said if I can get anyone to subscribe, they'll give
us better food and longer playtimes on Sunday. Do you think you could help us out with that?
What, we need to start? Oh sorry. Let s get on with it then.
If you re poor you get looked after by your parish. That s the local church.
If you become too much of a burden to them, you may have to become indentured by the nearest mill.
Indentured means that you have to work for them for ten years.
Free! Hopefully in a job where I'll get paid for my work.
I m on my way now. We had to leave our home and move to Cheshire so we could be close to
the mill for work. Apparently we re not going to be paid for working in the mill. Apparently we
re going to have a chat when we all arrive and they re going to tell us what the rules are.
I probably won t get a chance to speak to you until tomorrow.
So its our first day on the job today. I arrived late yesterday afternoon and we were taken for a
quick walk around. We then had to go and see the doctor to check we were fit and healthy.
Then we went to find out where we were going to live.
I've got to stay in the lodgings with other children. There s 30 of us all crammed into one
room. I've got to share a bed with another lad. I hope he doesn't trump on me. Speaking of which,
there s no toilet. We've just got a bucket in the corner of the room. Thankfully I
m not in the bed right next to it. Imagine smelling that all the way through the night?
Apparently we've got to work for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. We get Sunday s off. Well that
s alright isn't it? They've said that the work is hard, but we'll get an education.
Three nights a week we'll be taught for an hour. So I've got to work AND go to school.
There s a kid from Chelsea here. Apparently they all used to come from there in the early
days of the mill. Now, most of us are from Liverpool and close by to the Mill.
It s so hard this work. I've got to run under the machines and pick up any loose bits of thread that
are clogging the machines. You have to be real quick though or you'll get caught by the machine.
I m alright, I m like Usain Bolt fastest man in the universe!
Some of the boys in my room got into a fight. We were told on the first day that if there was
any fighting, we d be locked in a room and only fed gruel for the whole time.
The food here s not bad. I'll tell you about that another time.
The lad I've got to share the bed with, Bradley. He s always crying for his mum.
I gave him a hug and told him that he'll see her soon.
I don t think he will though. We re stuck here for 10 years.
So today s Sunday. It s our only day off.
Then again, we HAVE to go to church whether we like it or not. There we get taught about
how we re all evil and we need to live our best lives so that we can get into heaven.
I wouldn't mind, but it s a two mile walk each way to St Bartholomew s in Wilmslow.
We do get some time to play in the afternoon on a Sunday. I can only usually run around for about 30
minutes before I have to sit down. Sometimes I even fall asleep against one of the trees.
Hey, sorry its been a while. I've been so tired trying to get into this routine.
Ever since the boys were locked up and only fed gruel they've behaved a lot better. Mr Samuel
Greg, who owns the mill, said to us all that he believes in treating us fairly. Apparently that s
how he can get the best work out of us. We have a superintendent who attends to our care and morals.
The tutors they've hired to teach us are really strict. I m learning in the sand trays currently.
I hope I can move on to learning to write with a quill if I work hard.
There was an accident at the mill today. Me and another lad were running under the machines.
Bradley his name was. We've always been told we have to be quick. Once
the machine line runs across, we have to dart under and grab any bits of material
that are sticking on the machine. You have to be quick to get back out in time. I made it,
but Bradley got his hand trapped just as he was coming out of the machine.
I've never heard a scream so loud. There was blood everywhere. They turned off the machine straight
away and several people ran over. I was in shock. I could only stand there and look. His hand was
all mashed like mincemeat. I hope he s going to be okay. He s one of my only friends here.
I had the bed to myself that night. It was
bittersweet. I really wished that Bradley was next to me for a change.
The girls have been fighting this time. Someone said something nasty about someone else
and it all went from there. They've been taken away. Apparently they re
going to have their heads shaved. That'll take a long time to grow back. Then again,
some of the girls have lice, it'll give them a chance to get rid of them.
I won a prize for my writing today. They've told me that I m going to move onto the quill.
The Greg's believe in rewarding hard work. Lots of us get prizes if we exceed their expectations.
I m even using bigger and better words when I speak.
Some of us have been offered to work longer hours in the mill.
It s called overtime. The difference is, we get paid for this overtime. It s only a penny an hour.
They said that they'll keep all of the money that we earn, then when we leave
the mill once we've finished our indenture we can take the money to start our adult life.
Then again, if we misbehave or we don t work hard enough they can fine us.
That means we have to pay them money. All of that hard-earned overtime wage could be taken from us.
I'm sick. I've got some kind of fever. I've got to go and see the doctor. Someone else who had to
go and see him said that they use leeches. They put them on your skin and they suck your blood.
I thought only vampires did that. Apparently, it draws all of the bad stuff out of your skin.
What did they call them, to .to toxins? Yeh, toxins.
One of my friends had a boil on his neck. They put a poultice on it.
They heated up some porridge oats. Then they slapped it on his neck
and put the bandage around it. It s supposed to reduce the inflammation.
I hope I m not sick for too long. I don t get fed as well when I m sick.
Remember that sickness I had? 5 days I was out of action for. They put me on some lighter duties.
If they d made me run under those machines whilst I was sick, I d have been a gonner.
I m missing mum and dad today. I haven t seen them since I got here.
I don t even know if they re well or not? I hope they re okay.
Oh my gosh. We had the best meal today! It was the owners big birthday so we got
some decent meat and some boiled vegetables in broth. It was good!
Our normal day consists of bread and cheese, or a porridge type meal for breakfast. For lunch,
several times a week we have meat. We have different types of meat so it varies day to day.
Then we get supper in the evening. We get bread and cheese. Sometimes we get
beer. It s safer to drink than the water, even living in the countryside. It s really watery,
but they have to brew it (like a kettle) to make the beer. This makes sure that the water s clean.
I m going to sleep well tonight. Bradley s back with me now.
His hands pretty mangled but he can still use two of the fingers.
They ve allowed him to work on a different job. He s lucky to still be alive.
We've been told its almost the anniversary of us coming here. I lose track of the time in the day,
let alone the weeks and months. It s hard work, but its better than living in the parish.
From what I ve heard, we re lucky to live in this particular workhouse. Word is that other
workhouses are not as nice as ours. The food is awful, the hours are longer and the children
working there are mistreated and beaten. Even though its hard hear, they seem to care about us.
I just hope when I finish my ten years I can make something of myself.
Don t forget, if we can get more subscribers, they've said we'll get even better food and
longer time to play on Sundays. Help out old Charlie by hitting that subscribe button. You
can always hit the notification bell to check if I've uploaded any new videos?
There s the bell. I've got to get back to work.
Only 3,330 days to go until I retire from this place. Then I can get a proper job.
Bye everyone!