Ghost Hunt @ Thorne Workhouse, Doncaster. Jan 24th 2026, Community Events in Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Dare you ghost hunt at ghost hunting in Doncaster. Several apparitions have been seen the most common are those of a little girl, a well dressed woman and an old man, windows are reported to open on their own and doors that are locked on an evening mysteriously found open the next morning.
Thorne Poor Law Union officially came into existence on 24th July 1837. Its operation was overseen by an elected Board of Guardians, 19 in number, representing its 13 constituent parishes
Formal admission into the workhouse proper was authorised by the Board of Guardians at their weekly meetings, where an applicant could summoned to justify their application. This would no doubt have been an intimidating experience — the heroine of the 1840s novel Jessie Phillips collapsed on the board-room floor.
Thorne Union workhouse was erected in 1838 on a site at the west of Thorne. By the late 1920s, the workhouse could house 111 inmates, although its average occupancy was around 80.
In 1930, the workhouse was taken over by the West Riding County Council. At that date, it could house up to 108 inmates, including 29 males and 5 females in the casual wards. The establishment was recorded as being scrupulously clean though in poor repair and heated by open fires and lit by gas. It was too small to become a Public Assistance Institution so was closed a few years later. The casual wards, noted in 1930 as being "totally unsatisfactory" and "of the most primitive type" stayed open until 1941.
Activity reported,
It is the last remaining part of an old work house from the 1800's with at least a dozen rooms you will have access to and it just so happens this part of the building was used as the workhouse morgue. Several apparitions have been seen the most common are those of a little girl, also a well dressed woman and an old man have been seen by the visitors to the building. And windows are reported to open on their own and doors that are locked on an evening mysteriously found open the next morning, many people working or visiting this place have fled in terror from the feeling of unwanted that oppresses these premises.
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