Children's homes or orphanages in Sheffield

[SputnikBoy]

anlabystreet.Hi I am sputnics sister.i have been reading some of your threads .I know you sent a private message to him ,did he know you ? what number cottage were you in ?

 

Hi Glen. No, I don't recall anlaby, unfortunately. Not by name anyway.

 

A stoat with a bowel problem ...? Hmmm.

[Digideus]

Hi all,

 

Thanks for all this information. I just discovered that my great great aunt was a matron at Crookes during the late 1800's and this thread has been invaluable!

 

Elisabeth, feel free to get in touch about Lydgate lane orphanage. Thats where my G G Aunt was

 

Many thanks

[elisabeth]

ORPHANAGE LYDGATE LANE

Thanks for today's reply, Digideus. what ws the name of your grandmother who was the matron and what years did she hold the post? My husband's grandmother was Sarah Gray BUSH nee BARBER of a notable Sheffield family. She had lived with her uncle and aunt. Joseph Spencer was instrumental in changing the apprenticeship papers of poorhouse boys in Sheffield. I have an obituary telling about this. have you any Lydgate information for me? Greetings 2008, Elisabeth

[Digideus]

Elisabeth

 

Thats my Great Great Aunt!

 

Get in touch!

[Texas]

I remember the Dr Barnados on Pitsmoor Road, the kids would play on the lawn in front of the big house. But I'm intrigued by the Corbridge Memorial Home at 185 Woodside Lane. That would've been near the top, in fact just around the corner from Dr Barnados. Could it have been what became a doctors surgery, right at the top of the lane? I cant think where else it could've been.

[flyer]

I remember the Dr Barnados on Pitsmoor Road, the kids would play on the lawn in front of the big house. But I'm intrigued by the Corbridge Memorial Home at 185 Woodside Lane. That would've been near the top, in fact just around the corner from Dr Barnados. Could it have been what became a doctors surgery, right at the top of the lane? I cant think where else it could've been.

 

They say let it go,but after reading through these threads even after all this time it still hurts like hell:mad::mad:

[algy]

The book mune mentioned has been out of print for some time, but here's the section on Fulwood Cottage Homes

Fulwood Cottage Homes

 

During the same period as the children were going to Glen Howe Park, the Ecclesall Board of Guardians decided to collect together, from scattered homes throughout the city, the children in their care. They chose to have a group of stone-built semi-detached cottages constructed on land off Blackbrook Rd at Fulwood. The foundation stone was laid on Otober 9th 1903, and building was completed for habitation in 1905. This complex would be known as the Fulwood Cottage Homes.

 

There hasn’t been a great deal written down about the homes or the children, and there is no comprehensive collection of photographs available. The official records of these homes will not be available to the public until the year 1996, quite rightly so as the background to some of the children is quite sad. The records give dates of birth, names of parents, reason for entry and date, the dates of any illnesses needing hospitalisation and also the jobs they were sent to on leaving. Many will not wish to open up wounds to the why’s and wherefores which caused them to enter the Homes, nevertheless it was their Home, the Homes have become part of history and many would like to recall the happy times spent there. The Homes are now in 1988 being converted into luxury dwellings and I had the opportunity of taking two “Old Boys” around the complex, and inside some of the buildings before the opportunity disappears forever. Both boys had been admitted at different periods of its history, Harry Marshall and his sister Evelyn were admitted in 1914, and Barry Clark in the late 1940’s.

At first provision was made for 78 children in 9 pairs of homes, plus a cottage for the purpose of isolation of sick children, another for a store with the boys’ cobbling and tailoring shops above. A further cottage housed the girls’ sewing and knitting rooms. There was a lodge and a masters house with committee rooms and stables.

 

Later each home housed 14 boys or 14 girls in 2 dormitories and had a ‘Mother’ with her own room. In 1911 a laundry with a cottage was added, plus a further pair of houses. An attractive watertower was built below which were painters and carpenters workshops.

In 1913 the Assembly Hall opened, on March 22nd, and a commemorative plaque installed listing the Ecclesall Bierlow Union Guardians for the Homes. This is now in the Kelham Island Museum.

 

The one thing the children were not short of was ‘fresh air’ as the location of the complex, on the edge of the Mayfield Valley is beautiful, healthy and very exposed.

The first Superintendent stayed about a year but the 3 that followed (with their wives as Matrons), covered the 55 years of the Homes existence. In 1906 Mr Alfred Deacon and his wife Eleanor, a former nurse, took up the positions and stayed for 20 years. Mr Deacon died in 1939 having raised 4 daughters alongside his foster children. How many boys would have known of the experiences and adventures of their stepfather in his youth? For 11 years he had been in the Royal Navy and done useful work in suppressing the slave trade in East Africa. He took part in the Benin River expedition on the West Coast of Africa and received the Ashanti Medal and Benin River Clasp, he was also present at the capture of M’well.

 

Mr Deacon’s successors were Mr & Mrs Lionel Hildreth who took over in 1926, Mrs Freda Hildreth also being a trained nurse. In the next 25 years of their administration, 1,600 children passed through the Homes and there would certainly be many changes such as holidays to the coast, and buses to take the children to schools further afield. Mrs Hidreth was born at Oughtibridge, and can still remember at the age of 94 the ‘Fresh Air Children’ coming to Glen Howe Park and how she served them sweets at her Aunty Annie Fairest’s shop. Some of the children from the Homes still send her postcards and she has 2 lovely albums with many photos of her ‘charges’ filling the pages. The Hildreths retired in 1951 and Mr & Mrs Harry Brook took over and stayed until the Homes closed in 1960.

When the last of the children left, again to go to scattered homes across the city, the buildings were used as a girls’ approved school and renamed ‘Moorside’. Finally in the early 1980’s Vietnamese Boat People were housed there.

 

Memories

 

Harry Marshall, who I mentioned earlier, was 4 years old when he first went to the Homes in 1914 and so many of his memories would be up to 1925, his sister Evelyn stayed on, married a local farmer Joseph Broomhead and was sewing mistress for many years. Each set of 14 children had a House ‘Mother’ who lived in, she would teach them to do work around the house. As boys grew older they would grow vegetables on the land within the grounds, and were trained to be gardeners, tailors and cobblers. Many were found jobs on farms when they were 15 yrs old. Mr Deacon would try to get his boys into the Army or Navy and was always disappointed when any had to go into the mines. The girls worked alternate weeks in the laundry and sewing rooms, making clothing and black stockings. Many of the girls went into service in the Ranmoor and Fulwood districts where they were very popular.

The children had a playground and used to enjoy sledging on the snowy slopes, one girl nearly losing a leg in an accident. Pride of place in the Homes would be the very large table around which 15 people could sit. In the kitchen by the side of the old Yorkshire Range were set pots in which the washing would go. At Christmas time the Christmas puddings would be mixed in these pots and the boys took turns to stir them. Christmas was a happy time, all being woken at 6.30 by the boys brass band as it went round the cottages. Each cottage had a Christmas tree and was decorated with streamers. In the early days the children received small gifts such as spinning tops and apples and oranges. In later years Uncle Timothy, Aunty Edith and the children of the Star Gloops Club raised money for the childrens’ presents. The Assembly hall was used for many events not least of which were the Christmas parties and concerts. Certainly in the 1950's there were 3 parties in December, 1 each week prior to Christmas 1 each for the 3 different age groups. 1 child would be chosen from each House to go and collect a group present from Father Christmas. Barry Clark remembers collecting a rugby ball on one occasion and nearly giving the game away when he recognised Mr Hidreth in the guise of Father Christmas.

 

Most of the younger children started school at Mayfield Valley School to which they walked, Harry remembers walking back during the war when a Zeppelin passed overhead. Later the children were sent to Nether Green and other schools, in later years children were bussed to schools as far away as Pomona Street. Most of the children were happy but as in most large families odd ones weren’t, and boys attempted to run away. They were usually caught, brought back, and punished.

In the early days the children walked a lot, in the 1`940’s and 1950’s the children were taken on annual holidays, camping by the coast particularly to Marsk and Withernsea. You could always recognise the boys from the Home as each was given new clothes to go on holiday with, khaki shorts, shirt, sandals and a snake belt. Because of rationing the boys had sweet coupons which they changed at the kiosks on the promenade. Favourite sweets were ‘Barnard Sticks’. Later children went as far as Folkstone and Peel in the Isle of Man.

On Friday evenings the children would each receive a token from their ‘Mother’ which they would take to the store to exchange for sweets. There were swings and slides within the grounds, sports days were held on the central grassed area and on May Day there would be the usual May Queen Festival. The boys were forbidden to climb the bottom wall on the boundary which led to the YMCA football field, but as Barry says it was worth the risk of being found out because if the players were short of a man yo could get a chance of playing with a real team.

 

In both World Wars many of the ex boys & girls served their King & Country. There were 2 Rolls of Honour in the Assembly Hall of all who served from the Homes in all sections of the forces. There is a picture in the local Studies Library of the plaque for the 1st WW. The other naming over 150 men& women is held at the Kelham Island Museum . The Hall has been stripped of its stage & Rolls of Honour and is being converted into 5 small but delightful dwellings. The sound of the Sheffield Transport Band will never be heard there again, nor the happy chatter of the audiences but at least from th historical point of view the exterior of most of the buildings is to remain the same.

 

Mr Deacon’s daughter Catherine, now Mrs Watts, remembers what a good childhood she had with so many friends to play with and get up to mischief with. She feels sad such a happy place is no more and comments ‘ It did cross my mind that if it were turned into an old people’s home I could happily go back and finish off where I started.’

 

There have been many re-unions in the past but these have ceased, many of the ex boys and girls feel they would like to renew old acquaintances, perhaps this could be arranged in the near future?

 

For the Love of Children, Marjorie P. Dunn

[Ms_Tetley]

Thank you so much for posting that algy ... My grand mother grew up in Fulwood cottage homes along with her sister and brothers... I know she left their to serve in the wrens during the second world war ..she became a sargent .. we have been told before about the plaque down at kelham Island .. I know My grandmothers name is on it .. Daisy williams .. I think I might have to go down there and get a photograph of it!

 

Thanks again x

[flyer]

Sorry algy but those words written in that book are far to sugar coated for me, for the most part F.L C was hell on earth for most kids ,i was in fm39-46 and not once taken to the sea or anywhere ,so far to many lies, I think on looking back the big difference was in what house mother you got saddle with, because although i got a savage nasty brute & took lots of beatings for her fun,the same goings on in 1 and 3 with Millner in 3 being the worst,I do remember when commenting on this to school pal he told me he had a kind house-mother, i was quite shocked as i never heard of such a thing he was around house 7 or 8.of all the comments on different threads re F.L.C its very rare to hear a kind word said about that place and as i said befor it still hurts

[algy]

Sorry algy but those words written in that book are far to sugar coated for me, for the most part F.L C was hell on earth for most kids ,i was in fm39-46 and not once taken to the sea or anywhere ,so far to many lies, I think on looking back the big difference was in what house mother you got saddle with, because although i got a savage nasty brute & took lots of beatings for her fun,the same goings on in 1 and 3 with Millner in 3 being the worst,I do remember when commenting on this to school pal he told me he had a kind house-mother, i was quite shocked as i never heard of such a thing he was around house 7 or 8.of all the comments on different threads re F.L.C its very rare to hear a kind word said about that place and as i said befor it still hurts

 

Not my words, just quoting. I know from comments on a previous thread that it reads a bit Enid Blyton-ish, but I was trying to save people a fruitless search looking for the book. It would have said the same either way.