Josiah Mason's Orphanage

[Moor End Lad]

Hello, is it possible to post the photo? My father and his brothers were at SJMO around 1936 ( my dad was 9) to? They where John, Peter, Michael Gruchy.

It's on my list of things to do, but it isn't technically quick and easy, because the photo is about 2 feet wide. I'd somehow have to scan it in pieces and then photo edit the pieces back together. Not going to happen in the short term.

 

[Vivienne14]

Awaiting the visit of the Lady Mayoress to the School. Viv.


Source: British Newspaper Archive

 

[RobinCanada]

View attachment 86798
A view from orphanage tower 1899 courtesy Sir Benjamin Stone Collection

I have looked at all of the photos you have posted of the Sir Josiah Mason Orphanage and I am looking for a photo of the school as it was from 1948-1953 when I was a day student, prior to the new school Yenton Primary??? being built at the front of the original buildings. I am writing a book on my life through edit to remove advertising. so that my present grandkids and their kids can see what their Poppa did growing up. Can you or anyone else connect me to photos of that era??
Robin

 

[pjmburns]

Not sure if these would be what you want but there are a few photos on the Phyllis Nicklin Site dated 1964

Title/Abstract/Keywords matches "mason orphanage" - ePapers Repository

epapers.bham.ac.uk

 

[Vivienne14]

Robin good luck with your book. I’ve removed the site reference in your post #243 as we don’t encourage advertising on this Forum. Viv.

 

[RobinCanada]

Sorry I did not realize that it would be taken as an AD as it was not meant to be. I am now 80 and my family wants to know more about my growing up years and this is a way of doing it.
Robin

 

[RobinCanada]

Not sure if these would be what you want but there are a few photos on the Phyllis Nicklin Site dated 1964

Title/Abstract/Keywords matches "mason orphanage" - ePapers Repository

epapers.bham.ac.uk

Thank you PJM those photos will work fine as I recognized them immediately; now if you asked me what I had for dinner last night I could not remember but my memory from 70+years ago is firing on all cylinders. Mr. Shillito brings back memories on one occasion painful ones!!
Robin

 

[Moor End Lad]

Bernview, thanks for posting up your photo, which looks down along the course of Orphanage Road. It took me a while to realise what that object in the immediate foreground is: it is of course the top of the safety railings around the top of the tower. In 1964 I was in Yenton class 4.1, and I remember a death-defying workman with a gas torch removing those railings as a precursor to demolition.

 

[Two]

Josiah Mason Orphanage. (No Date)

 

[Moor End Lad]

That's a wonderful old photo. It pre-dates the building of the dining room extension and classrooms.

 

[Two]

Sir Josiah Mason's Orphanage, Erdington, Birmingham. (No Date)

 

[Marchesgirl]

I have found this thread so interesting and loved seeing the photographs. I found out recently that two very distant cousins lived at the Orphanage after their parents died. Harriet and Jane Dunn, born in 1861, were twins and the youngest of 8 children. Their mother died in 1863 aged 39, followed by their father in 1866, aged 42. Their eldest two sisters went into service, the two oldest boys went to live with two maiden aunts and the youngest boy was admitted to the local Bluecoat School (I haven't discovered what happened to the third girl).

Harriet and Jane were living at the Orphanage in 1871 and both subsequently went into domestic service. Jane stayed local, working in Erdington in 1881 and Edgbaston in 1891. Harriet was much more widely travelled, working in Teddington, Middlesex in 1881 and Huddersfield 1891.

I think they must have stayed in touch with their wider family as, in 1901, they are back living together with the two maiden aunts who had taken in their brothers over 30 years previously, where they remained until their deaths.

 

[gruchy]

It's on my list of things to do, but it isn't technically quick and easy, because the photo is about 2 feet wide. I'd somehow have to scan it in pieces and then photo edit the pieces back together. Not going to happen in the short term.

 

[gruchy]

Here is the school photo from 1936. Sorry about the quality. I had scanned it into three separate pics and enhanced it, but the files are too large to upload to this site.

 

[Moor End Lad]

That's a very welcome photo Gruchy, but it would be even better if we could have it at higher resolution. You may be able to reduce the file size by converting from colour (which is unnecessary) to greyscale. Also, JPG files can be compressed from 100% accuracy to say 80% without noticeable loss of clarity, but with significant file size reduction.

 

[gruchy]

How are these?

 

[Moor End Lad]

Those are clearer Gruchy, but I still don't recognise a soul. I'll try to scan and post the 1938 photo over the next few days. I can provide a handful of names of faces with that.

 

[Two]

Birmingham Public Libraries Postcard of Mason's Orphanage - 1895.
(This was probably posted a while back but lost in the hack.)

 

[Two]

1869 Print of Josiah Mason's Orphanage - Taken from the Illustrated London News (Saturday 11th September 1869).

 

[gruchy]

I just received these postcards. Some of the photos I have seen before, I thought I would share as they are of good quality.

 

[Astoness]

I just received these postcards. Some of the photos I have seen before, I thought I would share as they are of good quality.

smashing photos...thanks for sharing them

 

[mw0njm.]

I just received these postcards. Some of the photos I have seen before, I thought I would share as they are of good quality.

smashing photos but how sad.

 

[gruchy]

This photo was in with the postcards of Josiah Mason's Orphanage. It has no names or dates. I was wondering if it could have anything to do with the Orphanage or school.

 

[Two]

Josiah Mason's Orphanage - c1925.
​

 

[gruchy]

Josiah Mason's Orphanage - c1925.​

View attachment 174026​

Thanks for the pic!

 

[Two]

Josiah Mason's Orphanage - (No date).
​

 

[Moor End Lad]

I've never seen the above picture before, which dates from after the day school extension was built. I guess that it was taken from Grange Road, but I can't make out what the signpost says.

 

[Gayna]

Hi.. I'm so glad I found this page..

I have found this thread so interesting and loved seeing the photographs. I found out recently that two very distant cousins lived at the Orphanage after their parents died. Harriet and Jane Dunn, born in 1861, were twins and the youngest of 8 children. Their mother died in 1863 aged 39, followed by their father in 1866, aged 42. Their eldest two sisters went into service, the two oldest boys went to live with two maiden aunts and the youngest boy was admitted to the local Bluecoat School (I haven't discovered what happened to the third girl).

Harriet and Jane were living at the Orphanage in 1871 and both subsequently went into domestic service. Jane stayed local, working in Erdington in 1881 and Edgbaston in 1891. Harriet was much more widely travelled, working in Teddington, Middlesex in 1881 and Huddersfield 1891.

I think they must have stayed in touch with their wider family as, in 1901, they are back living together with the two maiden aunts who had taken in their brothers over 30 years previously, where they remained until their deaths.

Hi.. This is soo interesting to read... I've been trying to find out about a Beatrice Mary Arthur who was in the Orphanage from about 1882.. She was given up although both her parents were alive and had more children. Would you have any information???

 

[Biscayne]

I was a pupil at Yenton juniors when the orphanage was demolished. The entire school was ushered into the playground to witness the demolition of one of the towers. The dust was unbelievable - even back inside the school there was a haze that remained for the rest of the day. I probably have some at the bottom of my lungs to this day!