Ancestry UK

Home for Motherless Children, Mattock Lane, Ealing, London

The Homes for Motherless Children (HMC) organisation was set up in 1896 by the evangelist Robert Thomson Smith, who had founded the Chiswick Mission in 1880. The HMC's first homes were in Chiswick but later ones were established further afield. Those placing children at the homes were expected to contribute towards their keep, according to their means.

The second of these to be located in Ealing, in 1918, was Eric House at 8 Mattock Lane. It accommodated forty girls from 7 to 12 years in age.

The home was closed during the Second World War but re-opened afterwards. It closed for good in about 1952.

Other establishments run by Homes for Motherless Children were located at Spencer Road, Chiswick, Burlington Lane, Chiswick, Warwick Road, Ealing, Florence Road, Ealing, Uxbridge Road, Ealing, Queen's Walk, Ealing, Uxbridge Road, Hanwell and Barrack Road, Hounslow.

Records

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  • None identfied at present — any information welcome.

Bibliography

  • Jeffs, Ernest Motherless. The story of Robert Thomson Smith and the first homes for motherless children. (1930, Marshall, Morgan and Scott.)