Children's Home Records
Religious Organisations
Children’s homes were operated by a number of religious groups and organisations. Records from the Church of England's Waifs and Strays Society and the Methodists' National Children's Home have already been referred to on a previous page.
Many Roman Catholic children's homes were organised within Catholic diocesan areas and run by a branch of the Catholic Children's Society, perhaps in conjunction with a particular religious order. Where the (often now renamed) Children's Society or order is still active, it may hold records for the homes they operated. Alternatively, records may have been placed in the relevant Catholic diocesan or county archives. A list of Catholic diocesan and related links is given below.
Some Catholic religious orders that ran homes are listed below.
- De La Salle Brothers (Brothers of the Christian Schools)
- Irish (Edmund Rice) Christian Brothers — email enquiries to: archives@edmundrice.eu
- Community of the Sisters of the Church
- Daughters Of Charity Of St Vincent De Paul
- Poor Servants of the Mother of God
- Sisters of Mercy
- Sisters of Nazareth
- Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur
- Sisters of the Good Shepherd (UK) — email enquiries to: gssarchives@aol.com
- Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Anyone researching Catholic ancestors in the UK may also be interested in the Catholic Family History Society.
Anglican religious orders that ran homes for children and young adults included:
- Sisters of St Margaret, East Grinstead — most surviving records now at Pusey House, Library, Oxford with an online handlist available. A few records also at West Sussex Record Office.
- Community of St Mary the Virgin, Wantage — email enquiries to Archives' Sister. Records for some establishments are at various local archives.
- Sisters of St John the Baptist, Clewer, Berkshire — Records now held at Berkshire Record Office
- Community of St Peter, Horbury, West Yorkshire — Records now held at West Yorkshire Archive Service, Wakefield; some also available on
Ancestry UK
.
- Sisters of Bethany, Clerkenwell
Homes were also run by other faith-based organisations including:
- Baptists
- Church Army
- Free Church
- Methodists (other than the National Children's Home)
- Quakers
- Salvation Army
Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.
