It was a grim existence for those who found themselves at the mercy of life in a Victorian Workhouse. In a typical Cotswold market town such as Northleach as farming became more mechanized, those already living on the edges of poverty became so desperate they would find themselves at the gates of the town’s Workhouse. However Isabel Harvey, local history speaker, has discovered an unlikely story of hope for the girls of Northleach as through the education of them by their remarkable poor house School Mistress, Jane Hine, it enabled them to find employment and a more secure future.