Hull Council Homes

In 1930, following the abolition of the Hull and Sculcoates Poor Law Unions, the Hull Corporation took over responsibility for the administration of poor relief in the city. This included the children's cottage homes and scattered homes previously run by the two unions, which now came under the management of the council's new Public Assistance Committee.

The homes initially operated by the council are listed below.

Cottage Homes, Hessle High Road. © Peter Higginbotham

In 1939, only the scattered homes as 11 Cholmley Street and 23 Linnaeus Street were still in operation, but had been supplemented by two 14-bed homes at 12 and 14 Harley Street. The receiving home at 16-18 Linnaeus Street had also closed.

By 1947, the only scattered home that remained open was at 23 Linnaeus Street.

Following the passing of the 1948 Children Act, councils were required to provide care services for all needy children in their area, especially those who lacked a normal family home. In common with other local authorities, the council established a new Children's Committee, whose responsibilities had previously been spread across separate Health, Education and Social Welfare Committees. Under the new regime, residential care was seen as the least desirable option for children in care, but when it was employed, the recommended size of home was eight children, or twelve at most.

In addition to the existing children's homes, the new Children's Department had responsibility for a residential nursery on Margaret Street, a Remand Home on Marfleet Lane, and the Castle Howard Approved School.

By 1954, new family group homes had been opened at 1 Wellesley Avenue, 71 Marlborough Avenue, and 23 Ash Grove. A receiving home had also been established at Harley Street. The Margaret Street nursery was replaced in around 1958 by new provision at 2068 Hessle High Road.

The council's children's accommodation in 1959 comprised:

In the 1960s, further family group homes were opened at 2 Elgar Road (8 places), 1123 Hessle High High Road (10), 2A Hammersmith Close, Ings Road Estate (10), and 66 Selworthy Close, Bransholme Estate (10). In 1972, a new assessment and observation centre was opened on East Carr Road, with accommodation for up to 24 children.

Children's establishments run at some time in their history by Hull Council.

East Riding of Yorkshire

• Sculcoates Union / Hull Council Cottage Homes, 2050-2068 Hessle (High) Road or Hull Road, Hessle*
• Family Group Home, 1 Wellesley Avenue, Kingston upon Hull
• Family Group Home, 10 Wansbeck Road, Longhill Estate, Kingston upon Hull
• Kingston-upon-Hull Union Scattered Home, 11 Cholmley Street, Kingston upon Hull*
• Hostel for Girls, 1123 Hessle High Road, Kingston upon Hull
• 12-14 Harley Street, Kingston upon Hull
• Kingston-upon-Hull Union Receiving Home, 16-18 Linnaeus Street, Kingston upon Hull*
• Family Group Home, 2 Elgar Road, Kingston upon Hull
• Residential Nursery, 2068 Hessle High Road, Kingston upon Hull
• Family Group Home, 21 Coldstream Close, Longhill Estate, Kingston upon Hull
• Family Group Home, 23 Ash Grove, Kingston upon Hull
• Kingston-upon-Hull Union Scattered Home, 23 Linnaeus Street, Kingston upon Hull*
• Family Group Home, 2A Hammersmith Road, Ings Road Estate, Kingston upon Hull
• Kingston-upon-Hull Union Scattered Home, 30 Cholmley Street, Kingston upon Hull*
• Kingston-upon-Hull Union Scattered Home, 34 Fountain Street, Kingston upon Hull*
• Kingston-upon-Hull Union Scattered Home, 37 Derringham Street, Kingston upon Hull*
• Kingston-upon-Hull Union Scattered Home, 58 Mayfield Street, Kingston upon Hull*
• 66 Selworthy Close, Bransholme Estate, Kingston upon Hull
• Family Group Home, 71 Marlborough Avenue, Kingston upon Hull
• Family Group Home, 8 Milne Road, Bilton Grange Estate, Kingston upon Hull
• Spring Cottage Assessment and Observation Centre, East Carr Road, Kingston upon Hull
• Residential Nursery, Margaret Street, Kingston upon Hull
• Hull Industrial School for Girls, Park Avenue, Kingston upon Hull
• Crippled Children's School, Park Avenue, Kingston upon Hull
• Remand Home for Girls, Westwood, 48 Pearson Park, Kingston upon Hull
• Remand Home for Boys, Woodside, 347 Saltshouse Road, Kingston upon Hull

North Riding of Yorkshire

• Castle Howard Reformatory / Approved School, Crambeck Lane, Welburn, Malton
• Castle Howard School, Crambeck Lane, Welburn, Malton

Records

The involvement of local authorities in the running of children's homes dates from 1930, when they took over the running of the poor relief system previously administered by Boards of Guardians. Surviving records for council-run children's homes may be held in each council's own internal archives. Prior to 1991, however, when a legal requirement was introduced for councils to retain records of children leaving their care, the survival of such records is very variable. Contact details for local authorities in the UK can be found on the website of the Care Leavers Association (CLA). The CLA also provides guidance on accessing childhood care files, which are normally only open to the individuals they relate to.

Locating local authority records has been complicated by the various local government reorganizations that have taken place in recent times, such as the abolition of the London County Council in 1965, and the major nationwide restructuring in 1974 in which many administrative areas were created, amended or eliminated.

Older records may sometimes be placed with the relevant county or borough record office. Many of these repositories have online catalogues of their holdings and also contribute to the National Archives' Discovery database. Note that records containing personal data usually have access closed for a period of fifty years or more.

Older material relating to Hull Council homes may exist at:

• East Riding of Yorkshire Archives and Local Studies, The Treasure House, Champney Road, Beverley HU17 9BA .

Some records relating to council-run homes, for example inspection reports (though not resident lists etc.), are held by The National Archives (TNA). A closure period may apply to these records.

Bibliography

• Higginbotham, Peter Children's Homes: A History of Institutional Care for Britain's Young (2017, Pen & Sword)
• Urquhart, Gloria (2020) Nobody's Child: The True Story of Growing up in a Yorkshire Children's Home
• Cooke, Allan Institutionalized in a Children's Home: Skellow Hall 1950-1963 — a true story of a child and children in a home (2012, Authorhouse)
• Cummings, Les Forgotten: The Heartrending Story of Life in a Children's Home
• Limbrick, Gudrun The Children of the Homes: a century of Erdington Cottage Homes

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

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