Paranormal Eye UK will be ghost hunting at the notoriously haunted ‘Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse’ located in Dereham, Norfolk. It was first opened during the summer of 1777 to start a ‘house of industry for the poor. Men were employed to cultivate the farm, and women would have spun worsted and hemp under the watchful eyes of Master James W Moore and Matron Margaret Moore, James’ wife. This building has not let us down yet, with many areas to investigate.

The ‘house of industry’ was later transformed into a workhouse after changes in the ‘Poor Law Amendment Act’ in 1834. A new classification system meant that men, women and children were separated. Work would include domestic chores for women such as laundry and kitchen duties, and highly physical labour for the men, such as breaking up stones to be carted away or pumping water. Conditions were so unpleasant that paupers would have done everything they could to avoid living in the workhouse. Although on the plus side, healthcare and education were also on offer to inmates so that it would have been beneficial to all. It was not unusual for people of a poor disposition to enter the workhouse purely for medical treatment in the infirmary! Gressenhall was in operation as a workhouse until 1948. It then served as an old peoples’ home for a short period. Then in 1976, it became the museum you see today, attracting up to 80,000 visitors per year!