Norfolk County Council Homes
Children's establishments run at some time in their history by Norfolk County Council.
- Shiel's Court, Brundall
- Norfolk Industrial School for Boys, Buxton Lamas
- Hostel for Boys, 81 Easthills Road, Costessey
- Howdale Home, London Road, Downham Market*
- 116 Sandy Lane, East Dereham
- Garfield House Reception and Short-stay Home, 15 Norwich Road, East Dereham
- Grove House Reception Home, Gilpin's Ride, East Dereham
- Erpingham Union / Norfolk Council Home, Old Rectory, Holt Road, Gresham*
- Beech House, Litcham Road, Gressenhall*
- 58 Woolstencroft Avenue, King's Lynn
- Panton House, King's Lynn
- Homelea, Norwich Road, Lingwood*
- Walsingham Union / Norfolk Council Cottage Home, Red House, Holt Road, Little Snoring*
- Depwade Union / Norfolk Council Home, Briardale, Ipswich Road, Long Stratton*
- The Durdans, Mundesley
- Hostel for Boys, 60 Norwich Road, North Walsham*
- Tunstead & Happing (Smallburgh) Union / Norfolk Council Home, 60-62 Norwich Road, North Walsham*
- Hostel for Girls, 191-193 College Road, Norwich
- Remand Home, Bramerton Lodge, Easthill Lane, Bramerton, Norwich
- Westwood, 111 Newmarket Road, Norwich
- The Grange, Overstrand
- Hill House, Norwich Road, Pulham Market*
- Thetford Union / Norfolk Council Cottage Homes, 23 Old Market Street, Thetford*
- Beckham House, Mill Road, West Beckham*
- 54 Pople Street, Wymondham
* indicates link to pages on www.workhouses.org.uk.
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 Norfolk Council homes may exist at:
- Norfolk Record Office, The Archive Centre, Martineau Lane, Norwich NR1 2DQ.
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.