Listed Building record MDO11719 - Union Workhouse, Bedford Place, Bridport

The Bridport Union workhouse was built around 1836 in the popular cruciform plan. The building was of three-storeys and was constructed from local stone. Between 1948-1996 it was the Port Bredy geriatric hospital. It was converted into flats in 1999-2000.

The Bridport Union workhouse for 200 inmates was built c 1836 at the junction of Barrack Street and Bedford Place. It was designed by Henry J Whitling following the popular cruciform plan. The building was of three-storeys and was constructed from local stone.

In 1948 it became the Port Bredy geriatric hospital, which closed in 1996. It was converted into flats in 1999-2000.

Bridport Union Workhouse was built in 1837 to designs by Henry J Whitling. A standard cruciform plan building, the workhouse is faced with stone and has a slate roof. The workhouse became a geriatric hospital in 1948. It was still in use as Port Bredy Hospital at the time of a RCHME (Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England) survey in 1992, but was converted to residential use between 1999 and 2000. Some of the original buildings have been demolished. <1>

Stafford, Sylvia, 2023, Down and out in Bridport and the surrounding parishes 1200-1900 (Monograph). SDO21305.

<1> Morrison, K, 1999, The Workhouse: a study of Poor Law Buildings in England, 203 (Monograph). SDO17690.

<2> Historic England, Historic England Archive, BF100477 (Index). SDO14738.

Port Bredy Hospital, formerly Bridport Union Workhouse, Bridport. The file contains the following miniature format film prints: 190/V/32 - 35.

<3> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1407469 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Feb 18 2025 11:46AM