Teesside Council Homes
The Borough of Teesside came into existence in 1968, taking in an area north and south of the River which included Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Billingham, Eston and Redcar. The new Teesside Borough Council took over the operation of a number of children's homes previously run by the North Riding County Council and Durham County Council. Teesside's children's accommodation evolved a little over the following years — in 1972 it comprised:
Location | Places |
---|---|
Broomlands, Middlesbrough | 15 |
Beechwood, Middlesbrough | 10 |
Berwick Hills, Middlesbrough | 10 |
Park End, Middlesbrough | 10 |
Whinney Banks, Middlesbrough | 10 |
Thorntree, Middlesbrough | 10 |
Loxley, Middlesbrough | 8 |
Pallister Park, Middlesbrough | 10 |
Easterside, Middlesbrough | 10 |
Croft Avenue, Middlesbrough | 10 |
Fulthorpe, Stockton-on-Tees | 10 |
Saltersgill, Middlesbrough | 10 |
Princess Avenue, Stockton-on-Tees | 10 |
Windsor Road, Stockton-on-Tees | 10 |
Northumberland Road, Thornaby | 10 |
Eston House Residential Nursery, Eston | 10 |
Hartburn Lodge Residential Nursery | 10 |
Farndale Road Remand Home, Middlesbrough | 10 |
Following the local government reorganisation that took place in 1974, Teesside became part of the new county of Cleveland.
Children's establishments run at some time in their history by Teesside Council.
County Durham
- Family Group Home, 4 Gainford Road, Billingham
- St Peter's School for Boys, Main Road, Gainford
- Castle School for Boys, Front Street, Stanhope
- Family Group Home, 37 Princess Avenue, Stockton-on-Tees
- Family Group Homes, 44-50 Windsor Road, Stockton-on-Tees†
- Hartburn Lodge Residential Nursery, Harsley Road, Stockton-on-Tees
North Riding of Yorkshire
- Cherry Tree House Family Group Home, 27 Clynes Road, Grangetown-on-Tees
- Loxley Park Family Group Home, 1 Loxley Road, Thorntree, Middlesbrough
- Beechwood Family Group Home, 13 Sandford Close, Middlesbrough
- Middlesbrough Remand Home, 18 Farndale Road, Grove Hill, Middlesbrough
- Broomlands Cottage Homes, 2 Cambridge Road, Middlesbrough
- Pallister Park Family Group Home, 22 Gribdale Road, Middlesbrough
- Saltersgill Family Group Home, 22 Hoyland Road, Middlesbrough
- Eston House Nursey, 236-238 High Street, Middlesbrough
- Fulthorpe Family Group Home, 3 Hartburn Lane, Middlesbrough
- Park End Family Group Home, 4 Roxby Avenue, Middlesbrough
- Whinney Banks Family Group Home, 40 Whinney Banks Road, Middlesbrough
- Cumberland House Boys' Hostel, 5 Chelmsford Road, Middlesbrough
- Berwick Hills Family Group Home, 50 Darenth Crescent, Middlesbrough
- Easterside Family Group Home, 54 Caversham Road, Easterside, Middlesbrough
- Croft Family Group Home, 58 Croft Avenue, Middlesbrough
- Thorntree Family Group Home, 6 Greenford Walk, Middlesbrough
- Byland Family Group Home, Byland Close, Redcar
- Grosmont Family Group Home, Grosmont Close, Redcar
- Thornaby Home and Residential Nursery, Thorntree House, Bassleton Lane, Thornaby-on-Tees
† indicates homes at some time also run by a county council.
Records
The involvement of local authorities in the running of children's homes dates from 1930, when they took over the running of the poor relief system previously administered by Boards of Guardians. Surviving records for council-run children's homes may be held in each council's own internal archives. Prior to 1991, however, when a legal requirement was introduced for councils to retain records of children leaving their care, the survival of such records is very variable. Contact details for local authorities in the UK can be found on the website of the Care Leavers Association (CLA). The CLA also provides guidance on accessing childhood care files, which are normally only open to the individuals they relate to.
Locating local authority records has been complicated by the various local government reorganizations that have taken place in recent times, such as the abolition of the London County Council in 1965, and the major nationwide restructuring in 1974 in which many administrative areas were created, amended or eliminated.
Older records may sometimes be placed with the relevant county or borough record office. Many of these repositories have online catalogues of their holdings and also contribute to the National Archives' Discovery database. Note that records containing personal data usually have access closed for a period of fifty years or more.
Older material relating to Teesside Council homes may exist at:
- Teesside Archives, Exchange House, Exchange Square, Middlesbrough TS1 1DB.
Some records relating to council-run homes, for example inspection reports (though not resident lists etc.), are held by The National Archives (TNA). A closure period may apply to these records.
Bibliography
- Higginbotham, Peter Children's Homes: A History of Institutional Care for Britain's Young (2017, Pen & Sword)
- Urquhart, Gloria (2020) Nobody's Child: The True Story of Growing up in a Yorkshire Children's Home
- Cooke, Allan Institutionalized in a Children's Home: Skellow Hall 1950-1963 — a true story of a child and children in a home (2012, Authorhouse)
- Cummings, Les Forgotten: The Heartrending Story of Life in a Children's Home
- Limbrick, Gudrun The Children of the Homes: a century of Erdington Cottage Homes
Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.