Do the records in question definitely say "lamp" - could it be a misreading
for, or dialect variation of, "lump" ?
The OED online lists, under LUMP:
"8. slang. The workhouse (see also quot. 1933).
1874 HOTTEN Slang Dict. 219 Lump, the workhouse; also called the Pan. 1898
J. D. BRAYSHAW Slum Silhouettes 146 If Sal can't bury me, the ‘Lump’'ll
have to. 1933 ‘G. ORWELL’ Down & Out xxxii. 236 These..are some of the cant
words now used in London... The lump - the casual ward. 1972 G. F. NEWMAN
You Nice Bastard 347 In the lump, in the workhouse."
Jennifer Scherr
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