Dearnley Workhouse

In 1871, the Union purchased a 24-acre site on the slopes of Birch Hill and Starring Hill at Dearnley for £2,500. The following year, work began on a large new workhouse designed by George Woodhouse and Edward Potts. It was originally intended to accommodate 632 inmates but by its opening in November 1877, various extensions had increased the capacity to 847, including 29 officers. The total cost of the buildings and land was £85,000. The building was officially opened by the Mayor of Rochdale, Alderman T Schofield, on Wednesday 19th December 1837. Around seventy guests attended the ceremony which was followed by a tour of the premises and dinner at 3pm. Afterwards there were long speeches and a performance by the Orpheus Glee Club.

The location and layout of the site is shown on the 1930 OS map below, by which time the workhouse was officially known as Rochdale Poor Law Institution. ………………

The entrance to the site lay at the south and was originally through a pair of iron gates

Inside the gates stood two entrance blocks. The one at the east contained the porter's lodge, clothing stores, and accommodation for male probationers and vagrants. The one to the west contained committee rooms, and the corresponding accommodation for males

In 1930, control of the site passed to Rochdale County Borough, with the Poor Law Institution being run by the Public Assistance Committee and the Hospital being run by the Health Committee. With the inauguration of the National Health Service in 1948, the site became a single hospital known as Birch Hill. Now run by Rochdale Healthcare NHS Trust, many of the original buildings are still in use. The former imbecile and infirmary blocks at the east of the site are believed to be scheduled for replacement.

source: http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Rochdale/