Former Fever Ward of Hexham Workhouse, Dene Avenue, Hexham, Northumberland - Historic Building Record and Archaeological Watching Brief Report

Wessex Archaeology

The Fever Ward building presents a significantly altered mid-19th-century structure, originally appearing to have been largely open plan. The original layout of the building would have comprised open wards to each floor, with beds arranged against the walls and a walkway to their centre. Accounts of workhouse conditions attest to often multiple people forced to share single beds, and of the terrible conditions endured by inmates, with ‘care’ often left in the hands of untrained female inmates. When built, the building would likely have been poorly lit and cold – with only limited evidence for fireplaces noted during the building recording. Subsequent modernisations, alterations, and abandonment have resulted in the extant building; subdivided into offices, with inserted or much altered windows, doorways, and toilet facilities.

The building was constructed between 1839 and 1861, with infill to its south-east corner by 1896; evidence for the joining or nature of this infill were occluded internally by later alterations and wall coverings. Subsequent extensions to the building, as shown on historic mapping through the 19th and 20th centuries, have since been demolished, with scars on the building’s external faces and adjacent building platforms attesting to their former locations.

The building illustrates the poor quality of the workhouse offering – cold, dark, imposing, and wholly uninviting. The building contributes to an understanding of the wider evolution and character of the wider Hexham Workhouse site.

Groundworks surrounding the Fever Ward resulted in the existing hard core and overburden being removed to a depth of between 300 mm and 400 mm. Made ground deposits were recorded at this depth and this material abutted and covered the identified structures described below.

The watching brief identified the sandstone and red brick foundations to the southern extension to the Fever Ward identified on the 1896 OS map of the site (first shown on the 1861 OS), and visible as scarring on the extant car park surface. There is evidence to suggest the extension to the Fever Ward was single storey and the shallow foundations would support this. The lack of any surviving floor surfaces or internal structure above foundation level limits further interpretation regarding their function. The remains of an auxiliary building were also identified at the eastern limit of the watching brief area.

At the south-west limit of the watching brief area, a north-west to south-east aligned cobbled path was recorded. This path leads in the direction of the nearby hospital and is assumed to be contemporary.

The watching brief recovered a small assemblage of finds, all dating to the 19th and 20th century. No environmental samples were recovered.