Labouring in the laundry

My picture seems mundane enough.

Here are a group of girls at work washing clothes, and we could be almost anywhere in the late 19th century.

But there is a story here.

They are wearing uniforms and so we must be in an institution, perhaps a hospital or prison or maybe even the workhouse.

And if you wanted further confirmation there are those bare whitewashed walls.

The tasks are being completed manually all of which suggests that there are plenty of hands to do the tasks and so no need to bring in machines with also a hint that the discipline of work is part of what this is all about.

And work there is plenty of. There are the piles of dirty clothes which have already been separated, and to our left one girl appears to be washing in the sink while others are using the large mangle to squeeze out the surplus water.  All of which means there is enough of the stuff on the tiled floor to need regular mopping up.

And most of this is hard heavy work.  A day or even half a day with your hands in a sink of water won’t do much for the skin, and even the huge handle on the clothes press at the back of the room will not ease the effort needed to make it work.

Nor would I fancy the ironing with those heavy irons which needed frequently to be reheated.  The only real concession to modernity is the gas lighting suspended from the ceiling which while it gave light also gave off a smell and added to the heat in the place.  So perhaps it was all to the good that there was plenty of natural light from the windows and the glass sky light.

All of which is fine but neither dates nor places our picture.  For that you will have to read the story which accompanies the picture at
http://togethertrustarchive.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/sometimes-its-hard-to-be-woman.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+TogetherTrustArchive-GettingDownAndDusty+(Together+Trust+Archive+-+getting+down+and+dusty!)

It is another fascinating insight into the work of the Manchester and Salford Boys and Girls Refuge.

Tomorrow; from laundry to Canada

Picture; courtesy of the Together Trust