Rotherham 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.

Rotherham's Public Assistance Committee took over the work previously carried out by the Rotherham Union. In 1933, its children's accommodation comprised:

By the following year, the Alma Road homes had been replaced by Oaklea, 104 Clough Road, which also provided 24 places. In 1940, the Westgate home was replaced by 50-52 Canklow Road. The houses at 148-152 Fitzwilliam Road now formed a single establishment. In 1943, a new home for seven children was in use at West Street, Anston, but appears to have ceased operation by the following year. In 1948, Lindum House had been replaced by a a new home at Park Mount, Clifton Lane, and residential nursery at Oakwood Grange, Moorgate.

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 the management of the council's existing children's accommodation. The establishments for which it was responsible in 1949 are shown in the table below.

In 1951, the Canklow Road home was replaced by Fairholme (referred to as Fairhurst from about 1958), 7 Clifton Crescent South. By 1954, new 'family group' homes had been opened by Westclose, 17 West Close, and Woodholme, 18-20 Wood Road, followed in around 1960 by a home at 27 Goldsmith Road. The last three of these were all on new council housing estates. The Oaklea home was closed in about 1956. By 1965, further family group homes had opened at 60 Studmore Road and 1 Treefield Close. Another, at 92 Creswick Road, was in operation by 1967. By 1970, Oakwood Grange had been replaced by a new residential nursery at Wallhead Grange, Munsborough Lane. The council's children's accommodation in 1972 is listed below:

Following a nationwide reorganisation of local government in 1974, Rotherham took over the management of a number of establishments previouly run by the West Riding County Council. Rotherham's accommodation for children and young people in 1983 is listed below. All are in Rotherham unless otherwise indicated and those taken over from the West Riding are indicated by an asterisk.

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

• Scattered Home, West Street, Anston
• 46 Maple Avenue, Maltby†
• 140 Green Lane, Rawmarsh†
• 9 Marriott Place, Rawmarsh†
• Family Group Home, 1 Treefield Close, Rotherham
• Scattered Home, 121 Westgate, Rotherham
• Sherwood House Nursery, 136 Moorgate Road, Rotherham
• Home for Working Boys, 148 Fitzwilliam Road, Rotherham
• Scattered Home, 150-152 Fitzwilliam Road, Rotherham
• Family Group Home, 27 Goldsmith Road, Rotherham
• Rotherham Union/Council Scattered Home, 35-37 St Ann's Road, Rotherham*
• Rotherham Union/Council Cottage Homes, 42-44 Alma Road, Rotherham*
• Sacttered Home, 50-52 Canklow Road, Rotherham
• Family Group Home, 52 Hollowgate, Rotherham
• Family Group Home, 60 Studmoor Road, Rotherham
• Family Group Home, 92 Creswick Road, Rotherham
• Danes Hill, 185 Moorgate Road, Rotherham†
• Central Home, Easthill, Doncaster Road, Rotherham
• Fairholme/Fairhurst, Clifton Crescent South, Rotherham
• Keppel's View. Simmonite Road, Rotherham
• Lindum House, 20 Lindum Terrace, Doncaster Road, Rotherham
• Moorgate House, Moorgate Road, Rotherham
• Wallhead Grange Residential Nursery, Munsbrough Lane, Rotherham
• Oaklea, 104 Clough Road, Rotherham
• Residential Nursery, Oakwood Grange, Moorgate, Rotherham
• Park Mount, Clifton Lane, Rotherham
• Family Group Home, Westclose, 17 West Close, Rotherham
• Family Group Home, Woodholme, 18-20 Wood Road, Rotherham
• 2 Millstone Drive, Swallowsnest†
• 2 Goodwin Crescent, Swinton†
• 18 St Edmund's Avenue, Thurcroft†
• 58 Quarry Hill Road, Wath upon Dearne†

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 Rotherham Council homes may exist at:

• Rotherham Archives and Local Studies Service, Clifton Park Museum, Clifton Lane, Rotherham, S65 2AA.

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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