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Royal School For The Deaf - Church Road, Edgbaston

Think these two got lost from the posts that weren't recovered from January / February 2016.

Audley St George's Place in January 2016.






Today - March 2016






50% of the first phase has been sold.

Will this be ready in time for Autumn 2016 or not?
 
image.jpeg I think there must have been an earlier building pre-dating that in post#21 as the 1828 image above suggests. Maybe this building was modified/extended.

Then there's an image of the later or modified building below.

image.jpeg

And two interior views; one of a shoemaking class.

image.jpg

And one of a tailoring class.

image.jpeg

Viv.
 
Viv
The representation on the c 1828 and c 1889 maps for the institution is not very comparable, but does look a little different. However Terry Slater's book on Edgbaston does state that the building was opened in 1814, but the later building was from the 1850s , and was extended in 1887 and 1897
 

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Viv
The representation on the c 1828 and c 1889 maps for the institution is not very comparable, but does look a little different. However Terry Slater's book on Edgbaston does state that the building was opened in 1814, but the later building was from the 1850s , and was extended in 1887 and 1897

Hello All, My dad went to the School from about 1925 to 1935. It would have been lovely to show him photos from that time. He also went to The Deaf and Dumb Institute - a social club in Granville street (it moved to Ladywood in 80 or 90's) most Saturday nights until he died at 83. The Institute was a place (a world) where I guess he felt he belonged and was comfortable.
 
Hi Peter. It certainly looks as though the children were cared for at the school. Viv.
 
Hi Peter. It certainly looks as though the children were cared for at the school. Viv.
Hi Viv,
Having heard from other people who attended the school around the same time as my dad it was said to be harsh and worse. However my dad rarely mentioned his days there and when he did he spoke of wonderful experiences and opportunities. Perhaps he felt lucky having previously been left in a work house as a very young child. Western Road work house.
 
I did wonder about that Peter. You hear terrible stories. Hopefully your dad was happy there. Viv.
 
Quick update on Audley St George's Place. Hard to see much behind the hoardings and trees. But took this photo.



It is due to open in Autumn 2016. But it is nowhere near ready from what I've seen from Church Road.
 
The retirement home Audley St George's Place still isn't complete as of January 2017.



Took this photo of the rear from the train.

 
All the buildings facing Church Road in Edgbaston appear to be completely refurbished and open now.

Views from the no 1 bus.





 
I remember using the swimming baths whilst at Edgbaston High until they built their own, so must have been between about 1962-64. They were tiled, in not very good state of repair, with "bridges" across so that the deaf pupils could lip read the teachers and there were spittoons at the side.
 
Michael and Henry Biddulph Deaf and Dumb Asylum.JPG
Here is an advert from Berrows Worcester Journal 18th October 1822.
It must of been quite daunting for the children to be publicly examined! Also it seems the children were entered into some kind of ballot to get a place at the School - how sad for those who didn't get in.
My Gt Gt Gt Grandfather Michael Biddulph Deaf and Dumb and then his brother Henry Biddulph.[
 

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View attachment 106101 I think there must have been an earlier building pre-dating that in post#21 as the 1828 image above suggests. Maybe this building was modified/extended.

Then there's an image of the later or modified building below.

View attachment 106102

And two interior views; one of a shoemaking class.

View attachment 106106

And one of a tailoring class.

View attachment 106109

Viv.


Royal School for Deaf Children from The Iron Room, Birmingham Library.
 
Deafness is a dreadful thing and must come to many of us in old age but how awful for children who are born deaf and have no idea what music and voices sound like. Nothing to relate to or build on or remember. It's the one disability where other people have little patience and get irritable when they have to repeat things as it's not a visible problem.
 
My uncle was branded thick at school.Turned out he was deaf he had a mastoid in one ear. I have a low voice and I have to sit on his good side and I still have to shout. He talks loudly too.
I have heard that if you lose or are born without one of the senses the others are heightened.
My mate received severe taunting when his band (Roadrunner) as they kept getting booked for the Deaf Club, that's what is was known as. Henry Fry Centre for the Deaf. The members really appreciated them and they said they could feel the vibrations in the sprung floor , He said they were superb dancers, lovely appreciate people and very tactile.
 
I wonder if there are any registers or photographs of the children who attended the schools? In a previous post I have said my father was at the school up to about 1935. (post 26 on this thread). This history is so important. He was one of the children that boarded there but went back to his children's home (Shenley Fields) probably at Christmas and other breaks. My father became a brilliant lip reader and also BSL user. Would love some info or written info from the school library or files in the day. Interesting that I became a psychotherapist working with the impact of early trauma
 
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