Albro Castle is a former

workhouse In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as Scottish poorhouse, poorh ...

in the north of the village of

St Dogmaels St Dogmaels () is a village, parish and community (Wales), community in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the estuary of the River Teifi, a mile downstream from the town of Cardigan, Ceredigion, Cardigan in neighbouring Ceredigion. A little to the nor ...

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The building was Grade II* listed in 1992 as one of the least-altered workhouses in Wales. After closing as a workhouse in 1935 the buildings were bought by

Pembrokeshire County Council Pembrokeshire County Council () is the local authority for the county of Pembrokeshire, one of the principal areas of Wales. History There have been two bodies called Pembrokeshire County Council. The first existed from 1889 until 1974, and th ...

and in 1948 were sold into private ownership.

Construction

The site was purchased for £290 by the Cardigan Poor Law Union. Plans and specifications were drawn up by William Owen of Haverfordwest who was appointed to oversee the works. Benjamin Evans was commissioned to build the workhouse for £2,700 and Owen was paid £160. The Board of Guardians would arrange for hedges to enclose the workhouse and an access road from the beach. On 9 March 1839 the Board passed a resolution: ''That no parochial relief be granted to any applicant keeping a dog''. The buildings were completed in 1840 for the Poor Law Commissioners at a cost of £3,250. The workhouse was to provide for the poor of 26 parishes in

Cardiganshire Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a county in the west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. Ab ...

and Pembrokeshire. The two-storey original building included a bakehouse, and had Tudor-style doorways and chimneys. The layout of the complex was three blocks connected by a central spine, giving four open-ended courtyards. At the centre of the spine was an observation room with canted windows. Internally, the principal rooms were large and lit from both sides. The stairways were stone.

History

Workhouse

By the third quarter of its first year, 1840, Cardigan Union Workhouse was home to 14 illegitimate and 13 legitimate children and 13 able-bodied women of whom four were ''"mothers of bastards"'', plus an unknown number of men. In 1841 there were 43 inmates, including a vagrant. Within two years the workhouse was accommodating 102 people and within another two years there were 224. The majority were men. By 1845 there were 441 in a complex designed for 120 inmates. In 1848 Ann Lundy, daughter of the Master and Matron, was appointed schoolmistress. There was frequent disruption during the workhouse’s existence, from both inmates and staff, with frequent reports in the local press. In the 1870s there were some 130 inmates. The 1881 census listed 52 residents, including 3 staff. In 1884 vagrant cells with grading grills and chutes for breaking stone were constructed. In 1901 a Ladies Visiting Committee noted that there was no infirmary and suggested fitting out a room to separate the sick and dying from those who were only infirm. Insanitary conditions heralded cases of typhoid in the 1920s and in 1929 the workhouse was considered to be the worst in Wales, according to inspectors. The institution finally closed in 1935 and the property was taken over by Pembrokeshire County Council.

Barracks

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the building provided accommodation for the 111th Ordnance Company of the U.S. Army from January 1944. The 180 men and their vehicles, including trucks and tanks, left at night on 6 June 1944,

D-day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

, bound for Normandy.

Post-war

The property was sold in 1948 and converted into flats and then workshops. It was listed Grade II* in 1992. Currently, Albro Castle is privately-owned holiday accommodation.

References

External links

*
People’s Collection Wales
{{Authority control Grade II* listed buildings in Pembrokeshire Workhouses in Wales