The material below is taken from the web page Unless otherwise indicated, content is copyright Peter Higginbotham and may not be re-published without permission.
Ancestry UK

Southwark London Borough Council Homes

Children's establishments run at some time in their history by Southwark London Borough Council.


 

Kent

  • Southwark Council Short-stay Home, 49 Hadresham, Holbrook Lane, Chislehurst†
  • Southwark Council Small Home, 53 Highfield Road, Chislehurst
  • Southwark Council Short-stay Home, Scathebury, 47 Holbrook Lane, Chislehurst†
  • Southwark Council Small Home, 17 The Drive, Sidcup
  • Children's Home, 60 Halfway Strett, Sidcup
  • Boys' Hostel, 60 Halfway Strett, Sidcup
  • Southwark Council Children's Home, 70-72 Halfway Street, Sidcup
  • Southwark Council Children's Home, 78-80 Halfway Street, Sidcup
  • Southwark Council Small Home, 8 Hadlow Road, Sidcup
  • Southwark Council Children's Home, The Hollies, Burnt Oak Lane, Sidcup†
  • Linden Nursery, The Hollies, Burnt Oak Lane, Sidcup*
  • Girls' Hostel Annexe, 134 Petersham Drive, St Paul's Cray
  • Southwark Council Small Home, 161 Petersham Drive, St Paul's Cray
  • Southwark Council Children's Home, 45-47 Petersham Drive, St Paul's Cray†
  • Girls' Hostel, 45-47 Petersham Drive, St Paul's Cray
  • Southwark Council Children's Home, 65 Leeson's Way, St Paul's Cray†
  • Hollyshaw Residential Nursery, Camden Park, Tunbridge Wells

London (SE/SW Postal Areas)

  • Southwark Council Short-stay Home, 1 New Place Square, Bermondsey SE16
  • Southwark Council Children's Home, 300 Ivydale Road, Brockley SE15
  • Southwark Council Short-stay Home, 93 Herne Hill, Herne Hill SE24
  • Southwark Council Reception Home, 2 Davey Street, Peckham SE15
  • Southwark Council Short-stay Home, 212 Peckham Rye, Peckham SE22
  • Southwark Council Short-stay Home, 42 Northchurch, Aylesbury Estate, Dawes Street, Southwark SE17

Sussex

* indicates link to pages on www.workhouses.org.uk.
† indicates homes at some time also run by a county 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 Southwark 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

Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.