A ward in a workhouse providing accommodation for those temporarily unable to support themselves.
〈史〉(为暂时无法自立之人提供住宿的)临时收容所
Example sentencesExamples
We knew that the casual wards were overcrowded; also, that if we begged from farmer or villager, there was a large likelihood of our going to jail for fourteen days.
In January 1866, on a bitterly cold night, a man dressed in ragged clothes begged for a night's lodging in the male casual ward of Lambeth workhouse.
This need was satisfied around 1837 when casual wards were provided within each workhouse union.
Many people incorporated the workhouse into personal survival strategies, using the casual ward system to sustain them in their wanderings in search of work or going inside as a refuge from inclement winter weather.
Overnight accommodation varied, from the the casual wards of local workhouses to more friendly lodgings and municipally-arranged feasts.