Children's Homes

Thanks for that.

The Grange reception centre was a children's home in Keresley, Roxborough House was in Holyhead Road, that was mostly for older working children, Spencer Road had a children's home opposite King Henry's school, Stoke House was at Stoke Hill behind the old hostels and there was a very large Dickensian style institution out toward Rugby called Town Thorns which used to grow daffodils and sell them in Coventry in spring particularly around mother's day. There were many other small family type childrens homes.

Thanks so much for all the information.

Hi folks, I'm looking to trace any staff who worked at Stoke House Children's Home in the 1970s. Please don't provide personal details of people unless permission given. Thanks

Hello keith I have a list of names.

The Heritage Centre have done what they can do for me. My Mother and her brother were taken into care in 1922. This is where my information gets shaky. I believe her brother was housed in Plemont Villa / House home for boys near the London Cemetery 1922 before going off to Canada. I have been lucky, I have learnt a little from my cousin on the lad's arrival in Canada. Can anyone fill in the gaps in the early stages of the children's movement? I have copies of the court papers and there is no mention where they went. Maybe St Faith's Shelter or other Girls / Boys Homes. I have learnt there was a Girls home at the top of Hill Street but I don't know how to open their doors. It took a long time to squeeze information out of the Authorities because of the disclosure of information. I have to learn how the lad went to Canada and my mother was moved at the age of 6 to Bristol run by the Nuns (Workhouse?) for 10 years. I would like to fill the early gaps in the children's life so I can write it up.

Hi Tony, I completely understand the desire to not put names on the internet but it makes helping almost impossible. I think that it would be unlikely anyone could help anyway over events that were 100 years ago but even a newspaper search would require names.

During family research in the 1911 census I have found a relation, a boy aged 12, was at the Boys Scattered Home, at Plemont (?difficult to read the handwriting) Villa, Whitley otherwise known as the Home for Children under the Control of the Guardians, with Edith Birch in charge described as foster mother I think. I have not encountered this type of institution before, was it attached to a workhouse? or some form of corrective home for delinquents like an early form of borstal? Any information gratefully received.

There are several references on this site to Plemont Villa, including the pub section - became the Royal Oak Whitley. I'll pull yours and Tony1's comments into the Children's Homes topics in a few days.

Many thanks, Helen As ever your help is much appreciated. Geoff

The following information was barred from me for 100 years. Both my mother and uncle were in the control of guardians in 1921 after being taken into care by the court. My uncle was held at Plemont Villa before emigrating off to Canada at the age 11 years to work on a farm. Middlemore (Emigrating) Homes of Birmingham were responsible for moving children away from property and ill health around the world. My Mother was sent to Bristol age 6 years and was placed under the control of the Anglican Nuns, the place known as an Industrial Institution. My mother was taken out of the convent early after spending 10 years there. The children worked many long hours under very strict rules laid down by the Nuns. Some worked in the convent's industrial laundry others in the surrounding gardens (workhouse?). The produce was sold to the community, the clothes were also for the community. The way children were treated around the world we will never know.

I've been making more enquiries, notably through Ancestry and have discovered that William Albert MIles was a casualty of World War One. I had found him previously on the CWGC site but because of lack of information given there didn't realise it was him, no details of his family or even his age were given which is odd as the information is there if you dig enough. The names of his home address and all his relations (siblings as well as parents) and service record are all in a 24 page pack. He died in March 1918 aged 20.