Ancestry UK

Duncroft, Staines, Middlesex

On 20 October 1948, the Duncroft Approved School was certified for operation at the former Duncroft Manor on Moor Lane, Staines, Middlesex. The School, which was run by the National Association for Mental Health (NAMH, known as Mind since 1972), could accommodate 34 Senior Girls aged from 15 to 17 and who were classed as intelligent and emotionally disturbed.

In 1973, the School became an Assisted Status Community Home with Education (CHE) run in conjunction with Hounslow London Borough Council. In 1976, Barnardo's took over the running of the establishment.

Duncroft is believed to have closed in around 1981. The building has now been converted to private residential use.

In recent times, Duncroft has emerged as one of the many institutions where the abuse of girls was carried out by Jimmy Savile who was a patron of the establishment and a regular visitor.

Records

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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)
  • Higginbotham, Peter Children's Homes: A History of Institutional Care for Britain's Young (2017, Pen & Sword)
  • 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)