St John's Home for Girls, Erdington, Birmingham, Warwickshire
In July 1906, the St John's Home for Roman Catholic Girls moved to Gravelly Hill, Erdington, having previously been located at Bath Street, Birmingham. The new premises had previously been a private house known as 'The Redlands'. The establishment was run by the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul and aimed to be a 'well regulated institution like that a safe shelter for girls from years old and upwards who had no suitable home of their own, and, by good training in laundry and domestic work, as well the inculcation of carefulness and regularity, fitting them to become useful members of society, and a help credit to the community in which they lived.'
On October 26th, 1936, the establishment was certified as an Approved School for Senior Girls Its address was given as 18 Gravelly Hill North, Erdington, and accommodating up to 54 girls, aged between the 15th and 17th birthdays at their date of admission. The girls were given domestic training and occupied in laundry work.
On December 9th, 1948, a property at 12 Gravelly Hill North was added to the School premises.
In 1973, the School became a Community Home with Education (CHE). The Daughters of Charity withdrew from the School in 1974 but it continued in operation for a period.
In more recent times, 18 Gravelly Hill Northhas been occupied by Youth Offending Services offices.
Former St John's Home for Girls, Erdington, 2013. © Peter Higginbotham
Records
Note: many repositories impose a closure period of up to 100 years for records identifying individuals. Before travelling a long distance, always check that the records you want to consult will be available.
- None identfied at present — any information welcome.
Bibliography
- Higginbotham, Peter Children's Homes: A History of Institutional Care for Britain's Young (2017, Pen & Sword)
- Hyland,Jim Yesterday's Answers: Yesterday's Answers: Development and Decline of Schools for Young Offenders (1993, Whiting and Birch)
- Millham, S, Bullock, R, and Cherrett, P After Grace — Teeth: a comparative study of the residential experience of boys in Approved Schools (1975, Chaucer Publishing)
Links
Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.
