Orphanages similar to Lowood Insitution mentioned in Jane Eyre ( p. 47 of the Norton 4th Critical Edition) ran as schools, temporary homes and in many respects like workhouses with no pay. Orphanges took in children who were abandoned, like Jane in the novel. They also took in children who were runaways, and whose parents died, leaving them with nowhere else live.
Some institutions were all-boys or all-girls. There were rigid schedules children must follow, which included when to eat in the dining halls, when to learn lessons and when to go to bed. Orphanges were funded with public charity, however they were often underfunded and overwhelmed. Children ran the risk of being exposed to illnesses like typhoid and experiencing malutrinution from the lack of food and or food improperly cooked. Corporeal punishment was often enforced in these institutions, even for the slightest infractions. The orphanges often looked beautiful structurally on the outside, but inside it was an unbareable place to live in, if you were a child with no other place to call home but there.
Bibliography
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 2016.
Information Source: Nierendorf, Justin. "Orphans in the Victorian Era." prezi.com. Prezi. 10 Dec. 2012. Web. Date Accessed, 8 Sept. 2019. https://prezi.com/-swzyvkdzavk/orphans-in-the-victorian-era/
Image Source: https://merrynallingham.com/19th-20th-century/the-rise-of-the-orphanage/