Bedfordshire Training Home for Girls, Bedford, Bedfordshire

The home is approached from Park-road North by a long gravelled cartway. The first impression on passing into the hall is one of brightness, airiness, and spaciousness. The wood-work is exclusively of pitch-pine. The walls are coloured pale terra cotta duresco, and harmonise well with the dark terra cotta Minton tiles, with black and primrose edging. To the right is the Committee Room. On the left is the matron's room. Passages lead the laundry and to the domiciliary and living apartments. The dining hall is an ample, cheery, well-lighted and ventilated room. It has its piano, and on the walls are photographs of girls — former residents in the Home. The floor is cork-lined, the walls durescoed a warm red tint above a 4ft. 6in. dado of pitch-pine. The adjoining kitchen is reminiscent of the old farm house — a large kitchener with ovens side, useful cupboards, and a dresser, with its complement of shining dinner and tea services. There again the colour scheme is light blue, and the appointments generally show thoughtfulness and care. A roomy scullery is attached. These two rooms are floored with 6-inch red tiles, and the walls of plain brick, lime-washed. The larder and coal barn and other offices are the same liberal scale.

The hand laundry, which runs the entire length of the south of the building, is built and equipped upon the latest most approved lines. A soft-water tank of the capacity of 9,000 gallons accepts the rain water from all parts of the roof, and a pump in the laundry fills a cistern with it, and from this the water runs by gravitation into the coppers and washing troughs. When the rain water runs short, the town's supply can substituted. There are two large coppers. Twenty washing troughs are affixed to the walls, and each is fitted with its taps for hot and cold water. A sudding and rinsing machine, and a hydro for extracting water from clothes without passing them through mangles and thus saving the annoyance of broken buttons, are amongst the equipment. As an ante-chamber to this, the receiving room is fitted with sorting bins. The ironing-room has a drying closet, heated by furnace, and containing eight "horses," which are run out single rails for the necessary charging and changing process. This will only be used to supplement the drying ground when the weather makes it imperative. The iron heating stove accommodates 35 irons, at a time. The last stage in the clothes' journeyings is the packing room, which again is suitably fitted, and opens out into the yard for delivery.

The first floor is reached by a staircase of pitch-pine, with walnut stained treads covered in cork-lino, and is occupied by two bathrooms, linen cupboard, the bedrooms, and dormitories.

Outside there is provision made for flower beds, and a strip of land the full length of the property from north to south will be utilised as the kitchen garden.

The architects are Messrs. Usher and Anthony, and the builders. Messrs. A. J. Dawes.