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Ancestry UK

Ormerod Convalescent Home for Children and Orphanage, St Annes on Sea, Lancashire

The Ormerod Convalescent Home for Children was established in 1890 at Todmorden Road, St Annes on Sea, Lancashire. Its construction was funded by the two daughters of the late Mr. Abraham Ormerod, a wealthy cotton manufacturer, of Todmorden. The Home was opened on September 13th, 1890, by Lady Eleanor Cicely Clifton.

The Home was run by the Community of the Sisters of the Church, an Anglican sisterhood of nuns sometimes referred to as the Kilburn Order, in conjunction with the Church Extension Association, who operated a number of other institutions.

The Ormerod Home had 110 beds and provided convalescent care for poor children, mainly from Lancashire and Yorkshire. The first three weeks of any stay were free, with a weekly payment required thereafter. Girls were accepted up to the age of 14 and boys up to the age of 11.

The School site is shown on the 1930 map below.

Ormerod Convalescent Home and Orphanage site, c.1930.

Ormerod Convalescent Home and Orphanage, St Annes on Sea, from the north-east, c.1913. © Peter Higginbotham

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Ormerod Convalescent Home and Orphanage, St Annes on Sea, from the west, early 1900s. © Peter Higginbotham

Dining-hall exterior, Ormerod Convalescent Home and Orphanage, St Annes on Sea, c.1905. © Peter Higginbotham

Chapel interior, Ormerod Convalescent Home and Orphanage, St Annes on Sea, c.1905. © Peter Higginbotham

Play room interior, Ormerod Convalescent Home and Orphanage, St Annes on Sea, c.1905. © Peter Higginbotham

Play room interior, Ormerod Convalescent Home and Orphanage, St Annes on Sea, c.1905. © Peter Higginbotham

Girls' dormitory, Ormerod Convalescent Home and Orphanage, St Annes on Sea, c.1905. © Peter Higginbotham

Boys' dormitory, Ormerod Convalescent Home and Orphanage, St Annes on Sea, c.1905. © Peter Higginbotham

During the Second World War, the Home provided accommodation for evacuees from London.

The Home closed in 1971 and the premises were then rented to the newly formed Ormerod Trust to provided a resource for children with learning disabilities.

The old buildings were demolished in 1984 and modern housing now occupies the site.

Records

Note: many repositories impose a closure period of up to 100 years for records identifying individuals. Before travelling a long distance, always check that the records you want to consult will be available.

  • Community of the Sisters of the Church holds records for homes run by the Order. Enquiries should be directed to: Community Archivist, St Michael's Convent, Vicarage Way, Gerrards Cross, Bucks SL9 8 AT. Email archives@sistersofthechurch.org. (Note: no records are held for individual convalescent children for either St Mary's Convalescent Home, Thanet, Kent, or the Abraham Ormerod Convalescent Home, Lytham St Anne's.)

Bibliography

  • Anonymous, A Valiant Victorian: The Life and Times of Mother Emily Ayckbowm 1830-1900 of the Community of the Sisters of the Church (1964, A. R. Mowbray & Co. Ltd., London)

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