[an error occurred while processing this directive] Montague House Boys' Orphanage, Blackheath, Kent
Ancestry UK

Montague House Boys' Orphanage, Blackheath, Kent

By 1886, an orphanage for boys was in operation at 9 Dartmouth Hill, Blackheath, Kent. The home had been founded in 1879 with its object being 'to board and educate the orphan sons of the respectable poor, and train them in tailoring and other industries.'

The orphanage site is shown on the 1895 map below.

Montague House Boys' Orphanage site, Blackheath, c.1895.

Montague House Boys' Orphanage from the east, Blackheath, c.1911. © Peter Higginbotham

Each applicant was carefully investigated and was only admitted when the annual payment was guaranteed. In 1890, this was £20 per annum, towards which every parent was expected to contribute if possible. Boys were admitted between the ages of 7 and 12 years, and were kept until they were 14. Cases that could be dealt with by the workhouse schools were not admitted. A boy could be accepted if both his parents were alive if, by the chronic infirmity of either parent, he was effectively rendered an orphan and thus a fit object of charity. In 1890, the home had an average of 47 boys in residence.

The home closed in 1925. Montague House is now in private residential use.

Records

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  • None identfied at present — any information welcome.

Bibliography

  • None identified at present.