England in the early 19th century was rife with bad harvests, disease, and poverty. Parliament developed the concept of workhouses to assist the poor, by providing them with housing and meaningful work to do. This plan met with varying levels of success, but was mostly disastrous. Worst of all was the Andover Workhouse in Hampshire, where workhouse residents were reduced to seeking food from the decayed rotting bones of farmhouse animals…and perhaps a bone or two from the local graveyard.
