St George's Home for Boys, Warrington, Cheshire
In 1896, the Waifs and Strays Society established the St George's Home for Boys at 53-55 Brick Street, Warrington. The property, sometimes referred to as the Cottage Home, provided accommodation for just 7 boys aged between 6 and 10 years. The opening ceremony and dedication of the home took place on 12th June, 1896, with the Rev. Thurston officiating.
In around 1907, the home moved a very short distance to 50 Hopwood Street, Warrington, where 15 boys could be housed.
The 1907 map below shows the location of the premises at Brick Street (blue dot) and Hopwood Street (red dot). Neither of the properties survives.
St George's Home for Boys sites, Warrington, c.1907.
St George's Home for Boys, Brick Street, Warrington, early 1900s. © Peter Higginbotham
In 1909, the home moved again to a house at 24 Salisbury Street, Warrington, which also accommodated 15 boys.
St George's Home for Boys, Salisbury Street, Warrington, c.1909. © Peter Higginbotham
St George's Home for Boys, Warrington, c.1923. © Peter Higginbotham
St George's Home for Boys, Warrington, 2013. © Peter Higginbotham
Old Boys from the home often kept in touch with it afterwards and occasionally met up there. In the picture below, a group of former residents pose with the home's 'mother'.
Old Boys visiting St George's Home for Boys, Warrington, c.1911. © Peter Higginbotham
The Society's lease on the Salisbury Street home expired in 1924 and the home relocated to new premises in Orford at the north of Warrington. The move was marked by the retirement of Mrs Laura Barrett who had been Matron of the home since its opening in 1896.
The Salisbury Street house is now a private residence.
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.
- Index of the Society's first 30,000 children's case files ordered by surname.
- Index of the Society's first 30,000 children's case files ordered by date of birth.
- The Children's Society Records and Archive Centre is at Unit 25, Springfield House, 5 Tyssen Street, London E8 2LZ (email: archives@childrenssociety.org.uk). Files for children admitted to its homes after September 1926 were microfilmed in the 1980s and the originals destroyed. Some post-1926 files had already been damaged or destroyed during a flood. The Society's Post-Adoption and Care Service provides access to records, information, advice, birth record counselling, tracing and intermediary service for people who were in care or adopted through the Society.
- The Society has produced detailed catalogues of its records relating to disabled children, and of records relating to the Children's Union (a fundraising body mostly supported from the contributions of children).
Bibliography
- Bowder, Bill Children First: a photo-history of England's children in need (1980, Mowbray)
- Church of England Waifs and Strays' Society [Rudolfe, Edward de Montjoie] The First Forty Years: a chronicle of the Church of England Waifs and Strays' Society 1881-1920 (1922, Church of England Waifs and Strays' Society / S.P.C.K.)
- Higginbotham, Peter Children's Homes: A History of Institutional Care for Britain's Young (2017, Pen & Sword)
- Morris, Lester The Violets Are Mine: Tales of an Unwanted Orphan (2011, Xlibris Corporation) — memoir of a boy growing up in several of the Society's homes (Princes Risborough, Ashdon, Hunstanton, Leicester) in the 1940s and 50s.
- Rudolf, Mildred de Montjoie Everybody's Children: the story of the Church of England Children's Society 1921-1948 (1950, OUP)
- Stroud, John Thirteen Penny Stamps: the story of the Church of England Children's Society (Waifs and Strays) from 1881 to the 1970s (1971, Hodder and Stoughton)
Links
- Hidden Lives Revealed — the story of the children who were in the care of The Children's Society in late Victorian and early 20th Century Britain.
- The Children's Society
Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.
