Nottingham Council Homes
Children's establishments run at some time in their history by Nottingham Council.
- Silverwood Hostel for Maladjusted Boys, Imperial Road, Beeston
- St Martin's House, 42 St Martin's Road, Bilborough
- The Leys, 103 Greencroft, Clifton
- Greencroft House, 91 Greencroft, Clifton Hampden
- Nottingham Union/Council Scattered Home, 1 Ben Street, Nottingham*
- Nottingham Union/Council Scattered Home, 102 Robin Hood's Chase, Nottingham*
- Field House, 127 Foxhall Road, Nottingham
- Nottingham Union/Council Scattered Home, 174-176 Radford Boulevard, Nottingham*
- Hill Crest, 2 Watcombe Circus, Nottingham
- Nottingham Union/Council Scattered Home, 20 Gorsey Road, Nottingham*
- Grove House, 250 Derby Road, Nottingham
- Nottingham Union/Council Scattered Home, 31 Addison Street, Nottingham*
- Nottingham Union/Council Scattered Home, 317 Castle Boulevard, Nottingham*
- Forest House, 362 St Albans Road, Nottingham
- Redcot, 387 Woodborough Road, Nottingham
- Nottingham Union/Council Scattered Home, 4 Alberta Terrace, Nottingham*
- Nottingham Union/Council Scattered Home, 449-451 Mansfield Road, Nottingham*
- Nottingham Union/Council Scattered Home, 5, 9 & 10 Victoria Villas, Sneinton, Nottingham*
- Nottingham Union Training Institution / Council Central Home, 51 Hartley Road, Nottingham*
- Nottingham Union/Council Scattered Home, 59 Beech Avenue, Nottingham*
- Three Roofs, 70 Milverton Road, Bestwood Park Estate, Nottingham
- Sycamore House Residential Nursery / Reception Home, 700 Mansfield Road, Nottingham
- Nottingham Union/Council Scattered Home, 82 Gregory Boulevard, Nottingham*
- Red Tiles, 9 Beckhampton Road, Bestwood Park Estate, Nottingham
- Nottingham Union/Council Scattered Home, 9 Church Drive, Nottingham*
- Mothers' Hostels, 95 Queen's Drive, Nottingham
- Residential Nursery / Home, Beechwood, 379 Woodborough Road, Nottingham
- Remand Home for Boys, Beechwood, 379 Woodborough Road, Nottingham
- Remand Home for Girls / Community Home, Enderleigh, Alexandra Park, Woodborough Road, Nottingham
- Hazelwood, Forest Grove, Mount Hooten Road, Nottingham
- Nottingham Union/Council Receiving Home, Norton Street, Nottingham*
- Wollaton House, Radford Bridge Road, Nottingham
- Cherry Orchard House, Woodyard Lane, Wollaton
- Worksop Union / Nottinghamshire Council Home (Mixed), Abbeyhurst, 55 Cheapside, Worksop*
- Worksop Union / Nottinghamshire Council Home (Boys), Abbeyhurst, 55 Cheapside, Worksop*
* 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 Nottingham Council homes may exist at:
- Nottinghamshire Archives and Southwell Diocesan Record Office, County House, Castle Meadow Road, Nottingham NG2 1AG.
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.