The contract for the application of the workhouse was signed on the 28th August 1840 and the proposed cost of the building was £6300 with the addition of £1259 for fixtures and fittings. The seven acres of land was purchased for £340 11 shillings and the foundation stone was laid on the 25th October 1840.By early 1846, Lord Lucan, who was also the Chairman of the guardians, was in arrears with his payments to the Board of Guardians and by the autumn of 1846, the Board of Guardians were refusing to admit the destitute and starving people of Castlebar and the surrounding areas. The Board of Guardians, an appointed group of landlords, agents and landowners, were in disarray and what can only be described as an absolute disaster through mismanagement and corruption could only cater for 130 people even though the workhouse could accommodate 600 people.
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It has been stated that the actions of the Board of Guardians were cruel and neglectful of the people that were so dependent on them for their tiny daily rations of food and shelter. It had been said that many people in the workhouse would often have to go long periods of time without food, without adequate clothing or heat and that their beds were made from meagre pieces of filthy straw.