The Crescent School for Girls, Bristol, Gloucestershire
On 19th October, 1962, the Crescent School for Girls was formally certified to operate as an Approved School in premises at Frenchay Road, Downend, Bristol. The site had originally been constructed as a cottage homes development to house pauper children from the city. In 1930, Bristol City Council took over the operation of the homes and renamed them The Crescent.
The Crescent site is shown on the 1950 map below.
The Crescent site, c.1950. © Peter Higginbotham
Downend Cottage Homes from the south-east, c.1904. © Peter Higginbotham
The Crescent Approved School, which remained under the management of Bristol Council, accommodated up to 40 Senior Girls, aged between their 15th and 17th birthdays at their date of admission. The headmistress in 1965 was Mrs A. Slater.
In 1973, the School became a Community Home with Education (CHE). It was closed in around 1982 and the site was sold to developers. The buildings were demolished in 1983 and replaced by modern housing.
Records
Note: many repositories impose a closure period of up to 100 years for records identifying individuals. Before travelling a long distance, always check that the records you want to consult will be available.
- Bristol Record Office, 'B' Bond Warehouse (in the 'Create Centre' section from 3-Dec-2013), Smeaton Road, Bristol BS1 6XN.
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)
Links
- The Therapeutic Care Journal — has a number of articles relating to Approved Schools.
Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.
