[an error occurred while processing this directive] St Edmund's Orphanage, Bebington, Cheshire
Ancestry UK

St Edmund's Orphanage, Bebington, Cheshire

On 13 July 1913, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury, Dr. Singleton, laid the foundation stone of St Edmund’s Orphanage and Certified School for Boys at Heath Road, Bebington. The institution, when completed, was to accommodate about sixty boys. It was the result of many years of work and fund-raising, the scheme having been founded as early as 1896. The building was designed by Messrs. Edmund Kirby and Sons, and was to cost about £7,655, of which about £5,046 had then been raised.

The premises were subsequently enlarged and by 1930 could accommodate up to 118 boys , aged from 4 to 15 at their date of admission.

The School site is shown on the 1927 map below.

St Edmund's Orphanage site, Bebington, c.1927.

St Edmund's Orphanage from the south-east, Bebington, Cheshire, c.1926. © Peter Higginbotham

Like many establishments of its type, St Edmund's had its own boys' band which gave performances at events in the area.

In 1966, eighteen-year-old John Carroll, who had grown up at the orphanage, was convicted of indecently assaulting a 12-year-old in his care.

The home closed in 1984. The original buildings no longer survive and the site is now occupied by housing.

Records

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Bibliography