AN AUTHOR has penned a second book about Turton, chronicling the history of the village's workhouse.

David Leeming, a former college lecturer in Blackburn and Accrington, has looked at the history of the workhouse that provided shelter and food to the poor from the mid-1700s to 1861.

Mr Leeming, 80, from Harwood near Bolton, said the book charts the workhouse’s rich history.

He said: “The workhouse in Turton took inmates from a wide area - including Liverpool and some towns in Yorkshire.

“People were desperate as the weaving industry was on the decline.

“There was a dire need and people would go to the workhouse.”

Mr Leeming explained that at the workhouse they would be fed and clothed, but it came at a cost to them.

He said: “They had to wear a uniform with a badge on it.

“They were not allowed out, although some people would escape from time to time to go to the pub and come back worse for wear.

“When people had misbehaved, they were given rougher tasks to do.

“For men, this would be jobs like breaking rocks up into smaller stones using an iron bar. The stones were used to build roads.

“Women would be given menial tasks like picking rope for oakum, which was used in the sealing of ships.”

Mr Leeming said that men and women at the workhouse were kept separate.

In its later years, the workhouse became more of a place for younger people, mainly from the Bolton area, and proper accommodation was set up and a school with a school mistress.

He said: “The workhouse closed in 1861 and the main one was at Fishpool in Farnworth, which is now the Royal Bolton Hospital.”

The book, which costs £6, is available from Bolton, Harwood and Farnworth Libraries, the Last Drop Gallery, Holden’s Shop, Edgworth, and other outlets.

Mr Leeming said he was especially indebted to the late Helen Heyes who provided much well-researched material that gave a sound basis from which to complete the book.