This book had its origins in a two-day conference on “Medicine and the Workhouse” in November 2008, sponsored by the University of Birmingham and the Wellcome Trust. It drew together scholars whose current work directly addresses the issue of medicine and the workhouse. It also included a number of historians who have investigated the subject of health, illness, and the workhouse and whose names frequently appear in the references of the selection of papers that were chosen to present in this volume. The first day of the event was devoted to the Old Poor Law, while the papers presented on the second day concentrated on the New Poor Law. This structure was retained for the organization of this volume to demonstrate change and particular themes that emerged during the conference. The afterword was initially a keynote delivered at the outset of the event but has been situated at the end of the volume, given that it serves as a bridge between the two periods and offers a fitting conclusion to the subject as a whole, outlining both achievements in this area of research and some future challenges.

We wish to thank the conference sponsors, particularly the Wellcome Trust, for making this event possible and all the presenters for their stimulating papers and discussions. We are especially grateful to Steven King, Alistair Ritch, and Kevin Siena for reading through the introductory section of the volume and their many helpful comments.