In 1776, the passing of a Local Act led in the following year to the erection a new workhouse for 120 inmates on land given to the parish by Mrs Amy Hill. It was located on “the Hundred Acre in the Back Road” – at the junction of Liverpool Road and what is now the western portion of Barnsbury Street. The three-story brick building consisted of a central section with two wings, and had a vegetable garden. It was extended at front of the centre in 1802, and the workhouse also had an infirmary. In 1814 there were 407 inmates: 95 men, 186 women, 67 boys, 48 girls, and 11 lunatics, with room for about 50 more. Male inmates picked oakum and mended local footpaths; females did slop-work and nursing.