Ancestry UK

Greenacres, Calne, Wiltshire

On October 24th, 1944, the Greenacres, a Approved School for Junior Girls was certified for operation at Curzon Street, Calne. The premises could accommodate up to 51 girls below the age of 15 at their date of admission. It was later redesignated as an Intermediate School.

In 1973, the School became a Community Home with Education (CHE) under the control of Wiltshire County Council. An attempt was made to transform Greenacres from a 'run-of-the-mill' CHE to a planned therapeutic environment. Isabel Menzies Lyth, who had worked with the Cotswold Community, being employed as a consultant. The Home is believed to have closed in about 1982.

The premises are now occupied by the Springfields Academy, a school for children with special educational needs.

Records

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  • Wiltshire and Swindon Archives, Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, Cocklebury Road, Chippenham SN15 3QN. Has School records (1944-73) including: Admission registers; Medical registers; Case books; Magdalene reports (1963-65); Photographs of inmates; Typescript history of the School.
  • The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU. Has various reports and other documents.

Bibliography

  • Higginbotham, Peter Children's Homes: A History of Institutional Care for Britain's Young (2017, Pen & Sword)
  • Hyland,Jim Yesterday's Answers: Yesterday's Answers: Development and Decline of Schools for Young Offenders (1993, Whiting and Birch)
  • Millham, S, Bullock, R, and Cherrett, P After Grace — Teeth: a comparative study of the residential experience of boys in Approved Schools (1975, Chaucer Publishing)