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

West Sussex County Council Homes

Children's establishments run at some time in their history by West Sussex County Council.


 
  • Family Group Home, 33 Gospond Road, Barnham
  • Vernon House Hostel, 29 Richmond Avenue, Bognor Regis
  • Penn House, 58 Nyewood Lane, Bognor Regis
  • Family Group Home, 58 Kingham Avenue, Chichester
  • Family Group Home, Laburnum Lodge, 1 Laburnum Grove, Chichester
  • Woodlands, St Paul's Road, Chichester
  • Woodlands Nursery, St Paul's Road, Chichester
  • Beechfield Remand Home, Effingham Road, Copthorne
  • Family Group Home, 12 Forest View, Furnace Green, Crawley
  • Family Group Home, 17 The Pasture, Pound Hill, Crawley
  • Family Group Home, 2 Rillside, Furnace Green, Crawley
  • Family Group Home, 21 Stagelands, Langley Green, Crawley
  • Family Group Home, 3 Cuckmere Crescent, Gossops Green, Crawley
  • Family Group Home, 31 Coltash Road, Furnace Green, Crawley
  • Family Group Home, 34 Nightingale Close, Langley Green, Crawley
  • Family Group Home, 43 Spring Plat, Pound Hill, Crawley
  • Family Group Home, 52 Rother Crescent, Gossops Green, Crawley
  • Family Group Home, 93 Green Acres, Crawley
  • Ropes Hostel for Boys, Fernhurst
  • Beechfield Remand Home, 72 Oakhill Road, Horsham
  • Children's Home, Oakdene, 72 Oakhill Road, Horsham
  • Shermanbury Grange School, Partridge Green, Shermanbury, Horsham
  • Chichester Union / West Sussex Council Cottage Homes, Trumley Road, Lavant*
  • Family Group Home, 114 Clun Road, Littlehampton
  • Family Group Home, 23 Maltravers Drive, Littlehampton
  • Family Group Home, 22 Mant Road, Petworth
  • Clifton House, Bury, Pulborough
  • Family Group Home, 5 Parsonage Estate, Rogate
  • Allangate, Rustington
  • St Christopher's Reception Home, Rustington
  • Seaside, Kings Crescent, Shoreham by Sea
  • Stein Road, Southbourne*
  • Family Group Home, 23 Whitelot Way, Southwick
  • Family Group Home, 114 Reigate Road, Worthing
  • Melbury House Hostel, 133 Park Road, Worthing
  • Cedar House, 51 Chesswood Road, Worthing
  • Woodside, 14 Bulkington Avenue, Worthing

* 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 West Sussex 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.