Olive House Girls' Industrial Home, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire
The Olive House Girls' Industrial Home was established by the Waifs and Strays Society at Hemel Hempstead in 1884. It was officially certified as an Industrial School on October 7th of that year, allowing magistrates to place children there for offences such as vagrancy, begging, living in a brothel or associating with prostitutes, or having committed an imprisonable offence while under the age of twelve. The home's premises, on George Street, Hemel Hempstead, had previously been used as a school. In its new role, the home could accommodate 20 girls aged from 8 to 14.

Olive House Girls' Industrial Home, Hemel Hempstead, 1884. © Peter Higginbotham
Girls at the school were given a basic education, plus activities such as singing and exercise in the from of physical drill. They were also taught needlework and knitting. The older girls assisted with the work of the house, kitchen and laundry.
An official inspection in 1892 found that 'the house and premises are small, and defective in accommodation. They are made the most of, but are really unsuitable as an industrial school.' It was also reported that between February and June, the school had suffered a severe attack of scarlet fever, with most of the victims having to remain on the premises while being treated. As a result of this episode, a new sick room was added to the building in 1894.
Continuing problems with the George Street building led to the home relocating in 1900 to a larger premises that had been bought at Shipton under Wychwood in Oxfordshire.
The George Street property is now a private house.

Former Olive House Home, Hemel Hempstead, 2014. © Peter Higginbotham
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.
- Index of the Society's first 30,000 children's case files ordered by surname.
- Index of the Society's first 30,000 children's case files ordered by date of birth.
- The Children's Society Records and Archive Centre is at Unit 25, Springfield House, 5 Tyssen Street, London E8 2LZ (email: archives@childrenssociety.org.uk). Files for children admitted to its homes after September 1926 were microfilmed in the 1980s and the originals destroyed. Some post-1926 files had already been damaged or destroyed during a flood. The Society's Post-Adoption and Care Service provides access to records, information, advice, birth record counselling, tracing and intermediary service for people who were in care or adopted through the Society.
- The Society has produced detailed catalogues of its records relating to disabled children, and of records relating to the Children's Union (a fundraising body mostly supported from the contributions of children).
Bibliography
- Bowder, Bill Children First: a photo-history of England's children in need (1980, Mowbray)
- Church of England Waifs and Strays' Society [Rudolfe, Edward de Montjoie] The First Forty Years: a chronicle of the Church of England Waifs and Strays' Society 1881-1920 (1922, Church of England Waifs and Strays' Society / S.P.C.K.)
- Higginbotham, Peter Children's Homes: A History of Institutional Care for Britain's Young (2017, Pen & Sword)
- Morris, Lester The Violets Are Mine: Tales of an Unwanted Orphan (2011, Xlibris Corporation) — memoir of a boy growing up in several of the Society's homes (Princes Risborough, Ashdon, Hunstanton, Leicester) in the 1940s and 50s.
- Rudolf, Mildred de Montjoie Everybody's Children: the story of the Church of England Children's Society 1921-1948 (1950, OUP)
- Stroud, John Thirteen Penny Stamps: the story of the Church of England Children's Society (Waifs and Strays) from 1881 to the 1970s (1971, Hodder and Stoughton)
- King, Steve, and Gear, Gillian A Caring County?: Social Welfare in Hertfordshire from 1600 (2103, University of Hertfordshire Press)
Links
- Hidden Lives Revealed — the story of the children who were in the care of The Children's Society in late Victorian and early 20th Century Britain.
- The Children's Society
Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.