Newtown and Llanidloes Union Workhouse
Ty Gwyn Rd, Caersws SY17 5HA
Contemporary with Penson’s workhouse at Llanfyllin and also opened in 1840. Built to a similar cruciform plan on the ‘panopticon’ principal but larger, accommodating 350 paupers: hence the men’s and women’s wings have three storeys.
Exterior
Penson opted to build the workhouse of brick, made from clay that was dug close by. However the entrance block housing the Board Room was built of stone and some exterior walls are stone-faced. The main façade of eleven bays is severely plain with a central pediment: a basement formed due to the fall of the ground gives it a certain grandeur. Twin staircases lead up to the two front doors.
The design is less ornate than Llanfyllin despite being built at the same time: perhaps this reflects the Guardians’ preferences, or their budget. Inexplicably it faces away from the road and the village.
The courtyards are stark and utilitarian, though softened by the warm tone of the brick. The central Master’s House, with diagonally placed windows to give an unobstructed view, is of four storeys. Ancillary workshops have been demolished.
Interior
Few original features are thought to survive.
The Building Today
In 1948 the workhouse passed under NHS control as Llys Maldwyn Hospital. It closed in 1999 and after standing empty was bought for conversion into apartments. Windows were altered; lower buildings on the perimeter were replaced by single-storey houses. The interior was drastically modernised and the entrance block converted to a home for the developer, with a conservatory at either end.
The new cupola is made of fibreglass and differs from that shown in old photographs.
The building stands close to the road and the yards are accessible: the entrance front faces a private garden.
Text: John Hainsworth
Sources
B. Owen: The Newton and Llanidloes Poor Law Union Workhouse, Caersws, in Montgomeryshire Collections Vol 78, 1990
Scourfield and Haslam: The Buildings of Wales: Powys 2013
https://coflein.gov.uk/en/site/32045/details/union-workhouse-caersws-llys-maldwyn-hospital
