Back in December 1892, the Blantyre Board met at High Blantyre to discuss a compassionate but often overlooked issue — whether elderly married couples in the poorhouse should be allowed to live together.
Mr M’Kendrick, speaking passionately, argued that it was inhuman in an enlightened age to separate husbands and wives simply because they had fallen on hard times. He even joked that some of the gentlemen teasing him about the idea might find themselves on the pauper’s roll one day! His motion was simple but heartfelt: set aside wards so that old married couples could share their final years side by side.
The proposal struck a chord and was passed unanimously with space set aside in Hamilton Combination Poorhouse for this to happen. It was a small but meaningful victory for dignity (and love) in the toughest of circumstances and times.
💬 Do you think enough is done today to ensure elderly couples can stay together when they need care?
#BlantyreHistory #SocialChange #Poorhouse #ElderlyCare #LanarkshireHistory #BlantyreProject
Hamilton Combination Poorhouse, formerly on Bothwell Road is pictured in the 1960s.
