when did the last workhouse close in britain
Workhouse The 1948 National Assistance Act abolished the last vestiges of the Poor Law, and with it the workhouses.[92] Many of the workhouse buildings were converted into retirement homes run by the local authorities;[94] slightly more than half of local authority accommodation for the elderly was provided in former workhouses in 1960.[95] Camberwell workhouse (in Peckham, South London) continued until 1985 as a homeless shelter for more than 1,000 men, operated by the Department of Health and Social Security and renamed a resettlement centre.[96] Southwell workhouse, now a museum, was used to provide temporary accommodation for mothers and children until the early 1990s.[97]