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West Mount, Ripon, West Riding of Yorkshire

In 1935, a Barnardo's 'Ever Open Door' was established in West Mount on Kirkby Road, Ripon, a property that had previously housed the Ripon Home for Girls. Ripon's Ever Open Door was the last of the sixteen or so such establishments to be set up in Britain's provincial towns and cities and followed on from those already opened in Bath, Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Sheffield and Southampton. The Ever Open Door houses, with their slogan 'No Destitute Child Ever Refused Admission', were open twenty-four hours a day and provided short-term shelter for homeless youngsters while consideration was given to their future, which would generally be in a long-term Barnardo home or emigration to Canada.

In 1956, West Mount became a long-term home for boys. Then from 1975 until its final closure in October 1978 it was used as a home for children with emotional difficulties.

West Mount no longer exists but the home is commemorated in the name of the housing development that now covers the site, Westmount Close.

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.

Bibliography

  • Barnardo, Syrie Louise, and Marchant, James Memoirs of the Late Dr Barnardo (Hodder & Stoughton, 1907)
  • Batt, J.H. Dr. Barnardo: The Foster-Father of "Nobody's Children" (S.W. Partridge, 1904)
  • Bready, J. Wesley Doctor Barnardo (Allen & Unwin, 1930)
  • Rose, June For the Sake of the Children: Inside Dr. Barnardo's: 120 years of caring for children (Hodder & Stoughton, 1987)
  • Wagner, Gillian Barnardo (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1979)

Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.