The material below is taken from the web page Unless otherwise indicated, content is copyright Peter Higginbotham and may not be re-published without permission.
Ancestry UK

Colwyn Seaside Home, Old Colwyn, Carnarvonshire, Wales

From 1883, the Manchester and Salford Boys' and Girls' Refuges operated a children's seaside convalescent home at Lytham in Lancashire. The home The home provided a short-term change of scene, with healthy air and food, for 'poor and delicate city children'.

In 1915, the home moved from Lytham to larger premises at 'Tanllwyfan', 510 Abergele Road, Llysfaen, near Old Colwyn, Carnarvonshire. The property's seven acres of land included a garden, playing fields, and a small farm where vegetables were grown and cows, pigs, chickens and a donkey were kept. The home could accommodate up to 50 children, aged from 6 to 16 years.

The rules for admission to the home are shown below:

1. Poor children who are duly recommended as needing a change of air are received fro a week or longer, according to circumstances, preference at all times being given to delicate cases resident in the district of Manchester and Salford; boys from 6 to 11, girls from 6 to 16 years of age.

2. A child afflicted with and infectious complaint is on no account admitted, nor any child in a helpless condition; all cases must be recommended on these forms and passed by the Committee of the Institution.

3. When there are vacancies in the Home, cases may be received from other towns, at the discretion of the Manchester Committee.

4. The child must be clean in person, and be provided with a complete change of underclothing and a second pair of boots.

5. The parents of friends of the child are expected to pay return rail fare and to make a weekly payment according to circumstances.

Colwyn Seaside Home, Old Colwyn, date unknown. © Peter Higginbotham

Colwyn Seaside Home, Old Colwyn, date unknown. © Peter Higginbotham

At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the home housed children with disabilities who had been evacuated from the Refuges' Bethesda Home in Manchester. From 1953 to 1958, the premises reverted to use as a convalescent home, then were used as general residential accommodation by the charity.

Tanllwyfan no longer stands and the site is now covered 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.

  • Former residents of the Together Trust — formerly known as the Manchester and Salford Boys' and Girls' Refuges and Homes (1870-1959) then the Boys' and Girls' Welfare Society (1960-2005) — may access their records, as can relatives of deceased former residents. For details on how to do this, visit the charity's Access to Information web page.

Bibliography

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