| Description | The original Union Workhouse at Erdington was extended in 1844 to accommodate an infirmary, in response to a Poor Law Commission Order (see GP AS/1/1/1). Following the purchase of 10 acres of land in Gravelly Hill, a second Workhouse was built in 1868, with another infirmary extension following it in 1872. However, the infirmary was not housed in a separate building until 1899.
The new Workhouse building consisted of four blocks, one of which was to be used exclusively for the care of the children of inmates. The block was ready for occupation by 1867 (see GP AS/2/1/12). Previous to this date, no references to children's accommodation are made in the Board of Guardians' minutes, so presumably it was shared with the adult inmates. This new building included a separate schoolroom; however, the Union had been employing a schoolmaster and mistress since its inception in 1836 (see index to GP AS/2/1/1 - some of the earlier entries are missing).
The Committee was originally known as the Infirmary Schools Management and Visiting Committee, and was established in order to regularly visit both the Infirmary and School, and monitor conditions there. This included answering any queries or questions that had been left in the visitor's book, as well as receiving reports from the Union officials. The committee also had some responsibility for recruiting new members of staff.
By May 1900, the name of the committee had changed. The new Infirmary Committee had responsibility for the infirmary only, up until the amalgamation of the Aston, King's Norton and Birmingham Unions in 1912, and it is not known if a separate Schools Committee continued after this date. The minutes continue to include details on all aspects of work within the Infirmary, such as the treatment of inmates and the recruitment of new staff. The volumes are indexed. |