Riverhill Cottages, Tadcaster, West Riding of Yorkshire

In August 1961, Barnardo's opened its Riverhill Cottages home was opened on Wighill Lane, Tadcaster. The complex consisted of a purpose-built residential block together with some old buildings which originally belonged to a large house nearby called Fircoft.

In around 1973, the home was renamed the Dalziel of Wooler Memorial Home, perpetuating the name first given to the now closed Barnardo's home in Kingston. From the mid-970s, the Tadcaster home began to be used for children with emotional difficulties. A further residential block was added and in the 1990s and early 2000s, the site was home to what was known as Barnardo's Tadcaster Project.

The location of the home is shown on the 1964 map below.

Riverhill Cottages site, Tadcaster, c.1964.

Riverhill Cottages entrance lodge, Tadcaster, 2013. © Peter Higginbotham

Riverhill Cottages administration buildings, Tadcaster, 2013. © Peter Higginbotham

Riverhill Cottages second residential block, Tadcaster, 2013. © Peter Higginbotham

In 2013, the site was lying abandoned with the original accommodation block demolished and the other buildings derelict.

Records

Note: many repositories impose a closure period of up to 100 years for records identifying individuals.

• Barnardo's Family History Service deals with enquiries regarding records of individual children — various services are available costing from £15 upwards.
• Making Connections — a service for those wishing to access their Barnardo's adoption records.
  
• Barnardo's historical administrative records are now deposited with Liverpool University's Social Welfare Archives with stringent restrictions on their access.
• The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU. File BN62/1308 — inspection reports (1962-70). [Access closed for 75 years]

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)
• Fraser, Carole (1994) Inspection of Barnardos Tadcaster Project: 16-17 May 1994. (Social Services Inspectorate)

Links

• The Barnardo's website.
• The Goldonian Website — memories and information from former Barnardo's children.

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