Ancestry UK

Westminster London Borough Council Homes

Children's establishments run at some time in their history by Westminster London Borough Council.


 

Buckinghamshire

  • 1 Wordsworth Road, Britwell, Slough
  • 105 Wordsworth Road, Britwell, Slough
  • 2 Dove House Crescent, Britwell, Slough
  • 22 Lansdowne Avenue, Slough
  • 242 Lynch Hill Lane, Britwell, Slough
  • 270 Long Furlong Drive, Britwell, Slough
  • 35 Wordsworth Road, Britwell, Slough
  • 88 Lynch Hill Lane, Britwell, Slough

Hertfordshire

  • Killickdown, Heathbourne Road, Bushey Heath

London (N/NW Postal Areas)

  • Residential Nursery, 30 Abercorn Place, St John's Wood NW8
  • 17 Lapworth Court, Chichester Road, Paddington W2
  • 34 Atherstone Court, Bourne Terrace, Paddington W2
  • 34 Dartington House, Senior Street, Paddington W2
  • 64 Lapworth Court, Chichester Road, Paddington W2
  • 82 Atherstone Court, Bourne Terrace, Paddington W2
  • 99 Bourne Terrace, Paddington W2

Middlesex

  • 229 Long Elmes, Headstone Lane, Harrow

Surrey

  • Hampton Cottage, Oakdale, South Holmwood, Dorking
  • Nelson Cottage, Oakdale, South Holmwood, Dorking

Sussex

  • Larchwood, Sandy lane, Crawley Down


indicates homes at some time also run by a county council.

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 Westminster Council homes may exist at:

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