Nazareth House, Prestwich / Heaton Park, Manchester, Lancashire
In 1906, the Sisters of Nazareth established a Nazareth House at Butterstile Lane, Prestwich. However, the site turned out to be unsuitable and inconvenient.
Nazareth House, Butterstile Lane site, 1909.
Nazareth House, Butterstile Lane, Prestwich, from the south, 1909. © Peter Higginbotham
In 1912, a replacement property known as High Bank was purchased for £12,000 on Scholes Lane, Heaton Park, Manchester.
In 1920, the home could house up to 85 destitute children aged 2 to 10 years, with a weekly payment requested of five to seven shillings, although some cases were accepted free. By 1935, the capacity of the home had increased to 220 children.
Nazareth House, Manchester, 2013. © Peter Higginbotham
Nazareth House, Manchester, 2013. © Peter Higginbotham
In 1959, a local newspaper featured a treat provided for the children by local taxi drivers.
Children from Nazareth House, Manchester, 1959.
The premises, still known as Nazareth House, are now a residential care home for the elderly.
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.
- Sisters of Nazareth Archive, Sisters of Nazareth Archive, Nazareth House, 169-175 Hammersmith Road, London W6 8DB. The archivist is Christine Hughes. The archive contains material from the very beginnings of the order in the 1850s up until the present day. The archive is not open to the public and does not have facilities for personal searchers, although exceptions can be made for Sisters and for academic researchers. Enquiries are welcomed by post only for privacy and confidentiality reasons and replies are by also letter. There is no fee for dealing with enquiries, although donations to the Sisters are appreciated.
Bibliography
- Fothergill, Anne Memoirs of a Nazareth House Girl (2013, Quoin Publishing). Memories of the Middlesbrough Nazareth House.
- Gray-Wilson, Shirley It isn't Always Raining: Children in Care, 1939-1948 (2000). Life in the Carlisle and Newcastle Nazareth Houses.
- Kelly, Judith Rock Me Gently: A Memoir Of A Convent Childhood (2006, Bloomsbury). A memoir of life at Bexhill Nazareth House in the early 1950s. The factual veracity of this book has been challenged, and charges of plagiarism levelled against the author (e.g. see Catholic Herald 2/9/2005). The introduction to the current edition of the book acknowledges some of these criticisms.
- Reilley, Frances Suffer The Little Children: The True Story of An Abused Convent Upbringing (2009, Orion). Memories of the Belfast Nazareth House.
- Nuns 'abused hundreds of children' (Guardian article 16/8/1998)
- Sisters of No Mercy (Guardian article 1/4/2003)
- Compensation for care homes abuse (BBC News item 15/8/2006)
- Sisters of Nazareth become second Catholic order to admit to child abuse (Guardian article 14/1/2014)
- Children at Derry care homes were made to eat vomit, inquiry told (Guardian article 27/1/2014)
- A Time for Penance? (BBC Scotland 'Frontline' TV feature on abuse in Scottish Nazareth Houses)
Links
Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.
