Barton upon Irwell Lancashire Poor Law Union

History
The earliest workhouse at Barton was a local parish one

In 1834 the townships of Barton-upon-Irwell, Flixton and Urmston originally formed part of the Chorlton Poor Law Union. On 30th October 1849, they joined with the townships of Clifton and Worsley, which were unusual in not previously having belonged to any union, to form a new Barton-upon-Irwell Poor Law Union. Stretford joined shortly afterwards, with Davyhulme, Eccles, Irlam and Swinton being added in 1894. Prior to the 1849 formation of the Union Prior to 1849, a workhouse accommodating 100 inmates had been in operation at Barton-upon-Irwell at Green Lane, Patricroft. Worsley had been running its own local workhouse located to the east of Hazelhurst at the junction of Red Cat Lane and Old lane. Urmston and Flixton were still using sets of cottages as workhouse accommodation. In 1853, a new Barton-Upon-Irwell Union workhouse accommodating 230 was set up on the Green Lane site. Most of the existing buildings appear to have been incorporated in the building. An infirmary was added at the north centre of the site in 1879-80.

In 1892 following acquisition of land to the south, Maganall and Littlewoods design lead to 1892-1894 construction of pavilions. Although the actual building were scaled back from those planned, the new buildings allowed for continued use of the 1879 buildings as a temporary infirmary until the new buildings provided by 1899-1901 a new hospital infirmary.

The workhouse later became Green lane Institution, then Bridgewater Hospital. The former workhouse blocks were later used for the care of psychiatric patients, while the infirmary building accommodated geriatric and infirm cases.

All the buildings were demolished in the 1990s and housing now stands on the site.

The 1849 union included the following constituent parishes

Barton upon Irwell, Lancashire Flixton, Lancashire Swinton St Peter, Lancashire Worsley, Lancashire

Davyhulme Park Hospital
Barton-upon-Irwell erected a new union infirmary in 1925-6 at the north side of Moorside Road in Davyhulme. It was a typical pavilion plan layout with a central administration complex flanked by three ward pavilions to each side, all connected by a corridor spine. The hospital was where Aneurin Bevan, Minister for Health, inaugurated the National Health Service by symbolically receiving its the keys on 5th July 1948. It later became Trafford General Hospital.

Records
• Lancashire Record Office, Bow Lane, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 2RE. Holdings include: Guardians' minutes (1849-1930); Births register (1868-1928); Deaths register (1909-14); Creed registers (1913-19, 1922-29); etc. Bibliography • Midwinter, EC (1969) Social Administration in Lancashire 1830-1860 (Manchester, Manchester University Press)

Web Sites
http://www.workhouses.org.uk/index.html?BartonUponIrwell/Barton.shtml