Fylde Workhouse Medlar with Wesham

NEW WORKHOUSE, FYLDE. — On the 27th ult, the new workhouse for the Fylde Union was opened. The workhouse has been designed by and carried out under the superintendence of Messrs. Haywood & Harrison, architects, of Accrington and Lytham. It is built on the pavilion system, The accommodation is for 300 persons, exclusive of staff. In the centre is placed the administrative building, which consists of a central dining hall, with glazed brick walls, and open timbered pitch-pine roof, with kitchens, sculleries, store-rooms, etc., and a house for the master. To the right and left are the different pavilions, all communicating with the administrative block by a wide, covered corridor. the females being placed on the east side and the males on the west side. The able-bodied and aged inmates of both sexes will have for their accommodation two three-storied pavilions, with day-rooms and dormitories. A separate pavilion is provided for mothers and infants, and infirm females, and also a two-roomed cottage for married couples. To the rear of these are placed the laundry, bakery and boiler and engine and pumphouse. The infirmary buildings, consisting of a nurses' home, and two-story pavilions for males and females, occupy the most elevated position to the north of the site, and accommodation is provided for fifty patients of each sex. The vagrants' block, for twenty-five tramps, is placed at the entrance to the site, with porter's office and living rooms to the right and left, and commanding a view of the entrance-gates. In this block are placed the receiving-rooms-male and female & with day-rooms, bathrooms, and clothes stores, while a steam disinfector is also provided. The offices and board-room are contained in a block of buildings, comprising four large committee rooms and an entrance-hall. The outdoor relief office with its attendant waiting-rooms and conveniences is set back from the main block at the westerly end of the building, and at the opposite end is the registration office, with a strong-room. A feature is the water-tower, built for the purpose of utilising the supply of water obtained by the sinking of a well in the grounds. The heating throughout and the hot water supply for all purposes are worked from a central station, under the control of the resident engineer, and rotary pumps assist the circulation. All the different pavilions are in telephonic communication. The buildings are faced with Accrington red-pressed bricks, and stone dressings, and the work has been carried out by Mr. Sam Wilson, of St. Annes. [Builder 1907]