Mr Birch's / Cornbrook Orphanage, Manchester, Lancashire
In about 1863, during the Lancashire cotton famine, Baptist minister William Birch made a promise to the dying mother of two fatherless children that he would see them cared for. Gradually, more children joined the circle that he was maintaining. At first, he provided them with a home by boarding them out to foster families. Eventually, however, a small house was rented and placed under the charge of a matron or 'mother'. A second house. In the 1871 census, the Orphanage was occupying 9-11 Cornbrook Road in the Hulme district of Manchester.
By 1875, the Cornbrook Orphanage, as it had become known,occupied 9-15 Princess Street, (presumably the same location given in the 1871 census) with between 25 and 30 children in each house.
The Orphanage site is shown on the 1891 map below.
Mr Birch's Orphanage site, Manchester, c1891.
Mr Birch's Orphan Homes, Hulme, Manchester, 1880s. © Peter Higginbotham
In 1894, when Birch decided to emigrate to New Zealand, the Orphanage land and buildings were handed over to the Manchester and Salford Refuges. The site was then sold and new houses were erected.
Records
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Census
Bibliography None identfied at present — any information welcome.
- Higginbotham, Peter Children's Homes: A History of Institutional Care for Britain s Young (2017, Pen & Sword)
Links
- None identified at present.
Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.
