I am currently finishing my PhD in History. My thesis considers the role and importance of religion in the eighteenth century workhouse, 're-enchanting' these institutions. Focusing on those parochial workhouses established in Westminster, it tests the thesis that the parochial workhouse movement in the eighteenth century, underpinned by the relgious reforming agenda of the SPCK, was predominantly and specifically concerned with reforming the poor rather than curtaling costs as it is so often assumed to be. It also further illuminates the experiences of the poor in these key institutions, and tests how far this thesis can be applied across the eighteenth century.