Peter Higginbotham

Peter Higginbotham became fascinated by the workhouse when, tracing his family history, he discovered that one of his forebears had died in such an institution. His extensive researches resulted in a number of books including the much-praised 'Workhouse Encyclopedia', 'Voices from the Workhouse', and 'A Grim Almanac of the Workhouse'.

His latest book, 'Workhouses of London and the South-East', is a richly illustrated survey of over than 600 establishments in London and the historical counties of Berkshire, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex.

One of his favourite previous works, 'The Workhouse Cookbook', is actually more of a history of the workhouse rather a recipe book but clearly confused bookshops who mostly filed it under "cookery" rather than "history"! It was followed by his entertaining history of the English prison system, 'The Prison Cookbook'.

Peter, who lives in West Yorkshire, has frequently contributed to magazines, radio and TV programmes such as "Who Do You Think You Are?" and "Heir Hunters".

Peter has also extensively researched the history of residential institutions for Britain's children. His 2017 book 'Children's Homes' surveys a wide variety of establishments covering charitably run orphanages, reformatories, industrial and approved schools, homes run by religious and occupational bodies, local authority homes, training ships, and institutions for children in poverty or with special needs.