Wandsworth London Borough Council Homes
Children's establishments run at some time in their history by Wandsworth London Borough Council.
London (SE/SW Postal Areas)
- 1A Larch Close, Balham SW12
- 1 Randall Close, Battersea SW11
- 10 Falcon Grove, Battersea SW11
- 50 Winstanley Road, Clapham SW11
- 140 Woking Close, Putney SW15
- 15 Genoa Avenue, Putney SW15
- 1A Linstead Way, Putney SW18
- Hostel for Girls, 25 Westleigh Avenue, Putney SW15
- 3 Briar Walk, Putney SW15
- 4 Rayners Road, Putney SW15
- 5 Arabella Drive, Putney SW15
- Hartfield, 170 Roehampton Lane, Putney SW15
- 22 Thrale Road, Streatham SW16†
- 27 Aldrington Road, Streatham SW16†
- 33 Ullathorne Road, Streatham SW16†
- 5 North Drive, Streatham SW16†
- 8 North Drive, Streatham SW16†
- 177 Blackshaw Road, Tooting SW17
- 1 Siward Road, Wandsworth SW17
- 2 Smallwood Road, Wandsworth SW17
- 5 Westdean Close, Wandsworth SW18
- Earlsfield House, 1 Swaffield Road, Wandsworth SW18†
- Hartfield, Roehampton Lane, Wandsworth SW15†
- Tudor Lodge Residential Nursery, 90 Wimbledon Park Side, Wimbledon SW19
- 32 York Road, Battersea SW11
- 80 Wilna Road, Wandsworth SW18
Surrey
- Wandsworth Council Children's Home, Beechholme, 1 Fir Tree Road, Banstead*†
- Hazel Cottage, Miles Lane, Cobham†
- Willow Cottage, Miles Lane, Cobham†
- Fairmile Hatch Residential Nursey, Sandy Lane, Cobham
- 10 Selham Close, Ifield, Crawley
- 14 Ferring Close, Ifield, Crawley
- 21/22 Lancing Close, Ifield, Crawley
- 23 Kirdford Close, Ifield, Crawley
- 67 Warren Drive, Ifield, Crawley
- 7 Lady Margaret Road, Ifield, Crawley
- Philanthropic Society's Farm School for Boys, Philanthropic Road, Redhill
- Mythe House, Goose Lane, Mayford, Woking†
* 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 Wandsworth Council homes may exist at:
- Wandsworth Heritage Service, Battersea Library, 265 Lavender Hill, London SW11 1JB.
- The Ancestry UK website has two collections of London workhouse records (both name searchable):
- The Find My Past website has workhouse / poor law records for Westminster.
- London Metropolitan Archives, 40 Northampton Road, London EC1R OHB.
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.