Berkshire County Council Homes
Children's establishments run at some time in their history by Berkshire County Council.
- 19-20 Fettiplace Road, Marcham, Abingdon
- Summerhayes, Springfield Drive, Abingdon
- Ashleigh, Kennel Ride, Ascot
- Beenham Lodge Boys' Home, Beenham
- 11 Clacy Green, Bracknell
- 17-19 Cherbury Close, Harmanswater, Bracknell
- 33 Drovers Way, Bracknell
- Easthampstead Union / Berkshire Council Cottage Home, 76 Binfield Road, Bracknell*
- St Anthony's Hostel for Boys, 76 Binfield Road, Bracknell
- Cressex Lodge Hostel for Girls, Terrace Road, Binfield, Bracknell
- Windsor Union Cottage Home (Girls), Ashdene,St Jude's Road, Englefield Green*
- Cookham (Maidenhead) Union / Berkshire Council Scattered Home, Furze House, Cannon Court Lane, Furze Platt*
- 37 Park Way, Hungerford
- 136 Wessex Way, Maidenhead
- Bramerton Hostel for Girls, Bray Road, Maidenhead
- Fratons Nursery, Maidenhead Thicket, Maidenhead
- Redriff, Maidenhead
- St Edmund's, Ray Mill Road, Maidenhead
- Strathfield (or Stratfield) House, West End Road, Mortimer West End
- Laneswood Nursery, Mortimer West End
- 34-36 Kersey Crescent, Newbury
- Curridge Boys' Home, Curridge, Newbury
- Mother and Baby Hostel, York House, 50 Andover Road, Newbury
- Windsor Union / Berkshire Council Cottage Home (Boys), Albany House, Croft Corner, Old Windsor*
- Monksbarn Reception Home, 27 Cressingham Road, Reading
- 23-24 Bedford Lane, Sunninghill
- 77 Mount Road, Thatcham
- The Priory, Church lane, Thatcham
- Hazel Cottage, Wantage Road, Wallingford
- Wallingford Union Cottage Homes / Sinodun Cottages, Wantage Road, Wallingford*
- 54 North Drive, Grove, Wantage
- Burnell House Hostel, 27 Bolton Avenue, Windsor
- Wokingham Union / Berkshire Council Cottage Home, Murray House, 30 (later 48) Oxford Road, Wokingham*
- Watson House, 109 Colemans Moor Road, Woodley
* indicates link to pages on www.workhouses.org.uk.
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 Berkshire Council homes may exist at:
- Berkshire Record Office, Berkshire Record Office, 9 Coley Avenue, Reading, Berks RG1 6AF.
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.