workhouse

Detached thirteen-bay two-storey former workhouse, built c.1841, with advanced two-bay three-storey end pavilions creating H-shaped plan. Western end altered to accommodate fire station, c.1975. Now used as youth centre. Pitched natural slate roofs with rendered chimneystacks, sections of cast-iron rainwater goods and with decorative bargeboards. Constructed of coursed rubble limestone with flush cut stone quoins to corners. Square-headed window openings with yellow brick surrounds, cut stone sills and replacement windows. Square-headed doorcases with brick surrounds. Road-fronted to rear of administration block (15004036).

This building was originally part of the Athlone Union Workhouse complex and was designed by George Wilkinson (1814-90) according to the standard workhouse plan and detail. It was designed to accommodate 900 people, cost £650 and closed as a workhouse in 1921. It is of historical importance for its associations with Poor Law Unions and, particularly, with the Great Famine (1845-c.50). The building itself is of considerable design merit and the survival of its planned form and much of its original fabric enhances the architectural significance of the complex.