The material below is taken from the web page Unless otherwise indicated, content is copyright Peter Higginbotham and may not be re-published without permission.
Ancestry UK

Home of St Peter and St Paul, Balham, London

The Home of St Peter and St Paul was opened in 1925 by the Waifs and Strays Society at 14-18 Thornton Road, Clapham Park, Balham. It could accommodate 35 children aged from 6 months up to 7 years. The home acted as a receiving home for children coming into the Society's care for the first time. They were temporarily housed at the home until being placed into adoption or transferred to one of the Society's branch homes.

The Home of Saints Peter and Paul was built in the grounds of the St Winifred's Home and had previously operated in part of the St Winifred's premises. The new building was opened in May, 1925, by Lady Dale, with the Bishop of Southwark conducting the ceremony of dedication. The building was said to be 'planned on scientific lines with the object of curtailing as much as possible the spread of those childish infectious complaints which the new members of their families are liable to introduce. The buildings consist of duplicate blocks, each holding twenty children and so arranged that when one is closed the work of the other can go on unchecked.'

The location of the home is shown on the 1954 map below, by which date the St Luke's Home occupied the premises.

Former St Peter and St Paul Receiving Home site, Balham, c.1954.

Home of St Peter And St Paul, Balham, c.1925. © Peter Higginbotham

In 1929, the receiving home was relocated to King's Avenue, Clapham Park. The Thornton Road premises were then adapted for use as the St Peter and Paul Babies' Home. The babies' home was formally opened on June 14th, 1929, by Princes Helena Victoria, a grand daughter of Queen Victoria. It could house 34 babies under the age of two.

St Peter And St Paul Babies' Home, Balham, c.1932. © Peter Higginbotham

The home received a major donation from Sir Frederick Pascoe Rutter. His gift of £5,000 endowed the Mary Agnes Rutter Ward in memory of his late wife.

By 1938 it was felt that the building was no longer suitable and in January of the following year, the babies' home was relocated to new premises at Catford.

In 1949, the Thornton Road site became home to the St Luke's Reception Centre.

Records

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Bibliography

Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.