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Gruel and graft: museum asks if you could survive a Victorian workhouse
UK NewsEntertainmentJuly 21, 2026 at 6:00 AMNational

Gruel and graft: museum asks if you could survive a Victorian workhouse

By Mark Brown North of England correspondentThe Guardian - UK News

Revamped Ripon attraction reopens as a more immersive experience telling ‘national story’ of poverty and welfareVisitors to one of Britain’s most complete surviving Victorian workhouses won’t have to strip and bathe in someone else’s bath water. But they might get some gruel, they can sweep the yard and there are “schoolmaster” volunteers happy to tell children how to behave.“You are literally going to walk in the footsteps of people who have experienced this place,” said the director of the Ripon Museums Trust, Alexa Vernon. Continue reading...

Revamped Ripon attraction reopens as a more immersive experience telling ‘national story’ of poverty and welfare

Visitors to one of Britain’s most complete surviving Victorian workhouses won’t have to strip and bathe in someone else’s bath water. But they might get some gruel, they can sweep the yard and there are “schoolmaster” volunteers happy to tell children how to behave.

“You are literally going to walk in the footsteps of people who have experienced this place,” said the director of the Ripon Museums Trust, Alexa Vernon.

Continue reading...

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