Newcastle-upon-Tyne Council Homes
In 1930, the Boards of Guardians, who had administered the poor relief system in England and Wales since 1834, were abolished and their responsibilities were taken over by county and county borough councils. Each council set up a Public Assistance Committee to oversee its new duties, which included the operation of the various children's establishments previously run by the poor law unions in each area. The Newcastle Upon Tyne Council's Public Assistance Committee took over the Newcastle Union's cottage homes site at Ponteland, where up to 320 children were accommodated, together with the 18-bed receiving home. Myrtle Cottage, at the corner of Bentinck Road and Clifton Road, Newcastle. A new receiving home was opened in about 1938 at Benwell View, on the east side of Bentinck Road, virtually opposite Myrtle Cottage. In 1945, the home was referred to as Elswick Grange, Bentinck Road, and in 1947 as Grindon, on Beech Grove Road.
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 Public Assistance Committees. The Committee took over responsibility for the Ponteland, Myrtle Cottage and Beech Grove Road premises, although the use of Myrtle Cottage appears to have ended soon afterwards. By 1950, there was a residential nursery in operation on Armstrong Road, Newcastle.
The 1948 Act had recommended that where children needed to be in residential care, they should be in 'family group' homes, which ideally accommodated no more than eight children, or twelve at most. By 1950, the council made its first step in this direction with a mixed 'family group' home at 1 Tankerville Place, Jesmond. By 1953, they had been joined by 18 Birnham Place, Gosforth, and 21 Staithes Avenue, Longbenton, both located on new council housing estates. The Armstrong Road nursery had also by then been replaced by one at Clifton Mount on Grainger Park Road, Newcastle, with some of the cottage homes accommodation at Ponteland also being given over to residential nursery use. The whole of the Ponteland site was eventually closed in 1959.
Further estate-based family group homes were opened in the 1960s. The council's children's accommodation in 1972 is listed below:
| Location | Places |
|---|---|
| Clifton Mount Residential Nursery, Grainger Park Road, Newcastle | 18 |
| Fernwood House Reception Centre, Clayton Road, Newcastle | 30 |
| Theresa Russell Hall Hostel, Adderstone Crescent, Newcastle | 16 |
| Family Group Home, 1 Tankerville Place, Jesmond | 12 |
| Family Group Home, 21 Staithes Avenue, Longbenton | 10 |
| Family Group Home, 18 Birnham Place, Monatgue Estate, Newcastle | 10 |
| Family Group Home, 221 Woodstock Road, Newcastle | 9 |
| Family Group Home, 14 Chalfont Road, Newcastle | 9 |
| Family Group Home, 17 Mead Walk, Newcastle | 9 |
| Family Group Home, 23 Wasdale Road, Newcastle | 9 |
| Family Group Home, 12 Slatyford Lane, Newcastle | 9 |
| Family Group Home, 12 Chevin Close, Newcastle | 9 |
| Family Group Home, 5 Hartburn Walk, Newcastle | 9 |
| Family Group Home, 25 Gofton Walk, Newcastle | 11 |
| Family Group Home, 17 St Oswald's Green, Newcastle | 11 |
| Family Group Home, 8 Gloucester Way, Newcastle | 11 |
| Family Group Home, 8 Iona Place, Newcastle | 11 |
| Family Group Home, 17 Liddle Court, Newcastle | 11 |
| Fernwood House Reception Centre, Clayton Road, Newcastle |
| Clavering House Observation and Assessment Centre, Axwell Park, Blaydon |
| Hostel, 1 Gill Street, Newcastle |
| Family Group Home, 131 Birchvale Avenue Avenue, Newcastle |
| Family Group Home, 14 Chalfont Road, Newcastle |
| Family Group Home, 12 Earsdon Close, Newcastle |
| Family Group Home, 17 Mead Walk, Newcastle |
| Family Group Home, 23 Wasdale Road, Newcastle |
| Family Group Home, 12 Slatyford Lane, Newcastle |
| Family Group Home, 12 Chevin Close, Newcastle |
| Family Group Home, 221 Woodstock Road, Newcastle |
| Family Group Home, 5 Hartburn Walk, Newcastle |
| Family Group Home, 21 Staithes Avenue, Longbenton |
| Family Group Home, 18 Birnham Place, Montague Estate, Newcastle |
| Family Group Home, 25 Gofton Walk, Newcastle |
| Family Group Home, 17 St Oswald's Green, Newcastle |
| Family Group Home, 8 Iona Place, Newcastle |
| Family Group Home, 8 Gloucester Way, Newcastle |
| Family Group Home, 17 Liddle Court, Newcastle |
| Family Group Home, 1 Tankerville Place, Jesmond |
| St Hilda's School, 305 Salter's Road, Gosforth |
| Leaving Care Team, Rivendell, 1a Jubilee Road, Melbourne Street, Newcastle |
