Cleveland Street Workhouse

Cleveland Street Workhouse
5 December 1930 postcard of Cleveland Street showing the workhouse, now the Middlesex Hospital Outpatient Department
Cleveland Street Workhouse is located in Greater London
Cleveland Street Workhouse
Location in London
General information
StatusListed building (Grade II)
TypeWorkhouse
Address44 Cleveland Street
Town or cityLondon
CountryEngland
Coordinates51°31′13″N 0°08′18″W / 51.5204°N 0.1383°W / 51.5204; -0.1383
Completed1778
Technical details
Floor countFour
Design and construction
Architect(s)Edward Palmer

The Cleveland Street Workhouse is a Georgian property in Cleveland Street, Marylebone, built between 1775 and 1778 for the care of the sick and poor of the parish of St Paul Covent Garden under the Old Poor Law. From 1836, it became the workhouse of the Strand Union of parishes. The building remained in operation until 2005 after witnessing the complex evolution of the healthcare system in England. After functioning as a workhouse, the building became a workhouse infirmary before being acquired by the Middlesex Hospital and finally falling under the NHS. In the last century it was known as the Middlesex Hospital Annexe and the Outpatient Department. It closed to the public in 2005 and it has since been vacated.[1] On 14 March 2011 the entire building became Grade II Listed.[2] Development of the site began in 2019 by current owner University College London Hospitals (UCLH) Charity as a mixed-use development including residential, commercial and open space, but construction has been held up by the necessity to remove human remains stemming from the use of the area around the workhouse as a parish burial ground between 1780 and 1853. There has also been controversy about the amount of social housing to be included in the development.[3][4][5]

  1. ^ "Hospitals". Derelict London.
  2. ^ Historic England, "Former Strand Union Workhouse (Middlesex Hospital Annex) (1242917)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 30 March 2013
  3. ^ "Human remains 'should be anticipated' at former workhouse site". Fitzrovia News. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Investigation of former hospital and workhouse site reveals intact human burial remains". Fitzrovia News. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  5. ^ Rees, Linus (3 July 2021). "Developer wants to reduce social housing on Middlesex Annex site". Fitzrovia News. Retrieved 4 September 2021.