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Ancestry UK

Kingstown Cottage Home for Little Children, Kingstown, Co. Dublin, Republic of Ireland

The Kingstown Cottage Home for Little Children was established in 1879, largely due to the efforts of Miss Rosa Barrett. As well as offering residential places, it was one of the first establishments to provide daily crèche facilities for the young children of working mothers.

The Home's first premises were on York Road, Kingstown (now known as Dun Laoghaire), near Dublin. In an effort to improve its facilities, it subsequently moved to Patrick Street, then back to York Road, occupying a property know as Tivoli Cottage in 1882. Plans for a large, permanent building were then made and a site was acquired at the junction of Corrig Road and Tivoli Road, Kingstown

The building was designed by W. Kaye Parry and, as its name suggest, aimed to create an establishment that was more like a home than an institution. The large large two-storey house could accommodate up to 50 children, aged under 6 at their date of admission. The intake of the Home was restricted to the children of married Protestant parents, whose mothers were dead or or obliged to earn their living by domestic service. A weekly payment of 1s. to 2s.6d. was requested for each child.

Kingstown Cottage Home for Little Children from the north-east, Kingstown, 2014. © Peter Higginbotham

Kingstown Cottage Home for Little Children from the north, Kingstown, 2014. © Peter Higginbotham

Kingstown Cottage Home for Little Children from the north-west, Kingstown, 2014. © Peter Higginbotham

Kingstown Cottage Home for Little Children from the west, Kingstown, 2014. © Peter Higginbotham

Kingstown Cottage Home for Little Children from the south-east, Kingstown, 2014. © Peter Higginbotham

Over the years, the Home was improved. Electricity was installed in 1932, and the whole building updated and refurbished in 1947, which required its closure for a period.

By the end of the 1970s, with a steady decline in the demand for residential places, the number in the home had fallen to around twenty. The Home was subsequently closed. In 2014, the property was standing empty.

The charity that ran the establishment, today known as The Cottage Home, now provides a variety of residential and family support services.

Records

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Bibliography

Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.