Our image of workhouses has often been coloured by the writings of authors such as Charles Dickens. But what was the reality? Where exactly were all these institutions located - and what happened to them? You might be surprised to discover that a building in your own town, now transformed into flats or part of a local hospital, was once a workhouse.

Revealing buildings steeped in social history, 'Workhouses of London and the South East' provides a comprehensive and copiously illustrated guide to the workhouses that were set up across London and the neighbouring counties of Middlesex, Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Berkshire.