Ancestry UK

St Mary's School for Roman Catholic Boys, Gravesend, Kent

The St Mary's School for Roman Catholic Boy was established in about 1926 at Parrock Road, Gravesend, in the premises of the former Milton Mount College. It accommodated up to 245 boys aged from 3 to 14 at their date of admission. The School initially received boys transferred from a School at Mottingham. As at Mottingham, St Mary's continued to act as a Certified School, receiving destitute boys who would otherwise have been placed in a Public Assistance Institution. The establishment was run by the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul.

Another influx came in around 1932 with the arrival of boys from St Mary's Home, West Grinstead, which was being deployed for other purposes.

During the Second World War, the School was evacuated to Lord Clifford's estate at Ugbrook, Devon.

In around 1970, the site was sold for redevelopment and the building was demolished soon afterwards. St Mary's moved to new, smaller premises very close by on Glen View where several mixed family group homes were opened. It was later converted to a nursery and family support centre.

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.

  • Diagrama (formerly Cabrini), 49 Russell Hill Road, Purley, Surrey CR8 2XB. Cabrini holds records for children adopted through:
    • Cabrini Children's Society
    • Catholic Children's Society
    • Southwark Catholic Children's Society
    • Southwark Catholic Rescue Society
    • Portsmouth Diocesan Catholic Child Welfare Society

Bibliography