[an error occurred while processing this directive] South Tyneside Council Homes
Ancestry UK

South Tyneside Council Homes

The metropolitan borough of South Tyneside was created in 1974 by a merger of the county borough of South Shields along with the municipal borough of Jarrow and the urban districts of Boldon and Hebburn from County Durham. The South Tyneside counciltook over the operation of the children's homes in the new area. These were initially nine in number but by 1984, just three were still in use — those at Clyde Avenue, Hebburn; at Lanark Drive, Jarrow; and at Owen Drive, West Boldon.

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


 
  • Family Group Home, Burnham House, Burnham Grove, East Boldon§
  • Family Group Home, 34 Clyde Avenue, Hebburn§
  • Family Group Home, 63 Lanark Drive, Primrose, Jarrow§
  • Family Group Home, 14 Edhill Avenue, Simonside, South Shields§
  • Family Group Home, 16 Lewis Gardens, Whiteleas, South Shields
  • Family Group Home, 23 Henderson Road, Simonside, South Shields
  • Family Group Home, 39 Grotto Gardens, Marsden, South Shields
  • Family Group Home, 9 Owen Drive, West Boldon§
  • Residential Nursery, Blackburn House, 33 Tennyson Avenue, West Boldon


§ indicates homes at some time also run by a borough council.

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 South Tyneside Council homes may exist at:

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