KIRKCUDBRIGHT COMBINATION POORHOUSE (Burnside House) 1851 - 1953.

The story of Kirkcudbright Poorhouse will be told at the next meeting of the Society by Donald Cowell.

Initially built by five parishes in the Stewartry, by 1854 twenty two parishes had "combined" to manage this large building which was on the outskirts of Kirkcudbright.

As part of the "poor relief" system operating in Scotland after 1845, thousands of poor and sick passed through its doors. Many were born there; many died there.

What were conditions like for them? How tough was the regime under which they lived? What sort of people were they? How was the poorhouse funded? What sort of people managed the institution and oversaw its work? What do we know about the Governors, Matrons and staff who cared for the inmates? What was the role of the parish "Inspector of the Poor"? What overall judgement can be made about the effectiveness of Kirkcudbright's Poorhouse? Did it help those it served?

Based on extensive research drawing on a variety of sources, including discussion with someone who spent his adolescent years there, this talk may help throw some light on how Scotland treated its poor in the past.