Wolverhampton Orphanage Assylum

[AnyaDarr]

I know this is a bit outside your arear but my great uncle went here in the late 19thC and I was wondering if anyone elses relatives were sent here and if yu ahve any informaiton about it.

 

[mikejee]

From Chris Upton's book on The history of Wolverhampton:
In 1850 an asylum for boys under 14 was established by John Lees , lock manufacturer, in the Old dispensary . Most of the first intake had been orphaned in the 1849 cholera epidemic. the Wolverhampton Chronicle described it :
The ground floor affords space for a board room, for apartments for the master and matron, and a dining room for boys at the back, suitably fitted and possessing the good old fashioned appurtenance of a reading desk, from which one of the older boys will read portions of scripture and invoke blessings on and return thanks for , the meals taken. There is also in the rear of the building a commodious lavatory, supplied with hot and cold water and having a large marble bath.
Mr Lees later purchased two and a half acres of land on Goldthorne Hill in 1852 and moved to the building on the new site. This accomodated 50 boys and 30 girls. In 1900 there were 250 children there and it was renamed the Royal Orphanage. Gilbert Harding (for those who remember him) and Eric Idle were once "customers" of the establishment.
A picture of the earlier orphanage is at https://www.blackcountryhistory.org.uk/bctest/ShowImage.aspx?alt=Queen Street, Wolverhampton&img=https://www.blackcountryhistory.org.uk/bctest/wolverhamptonimages/%C2%A9p0005825.jpg
and the later one at https://www.blackcountryhistory.org.uk/bctest/ShowImage.aspx?alt=Wolverhampton Orphanage&img=https://www.blackcountryhistory.org.uk/bctest/wolverhamptonimages/%C2%A9p0002164.jpg
The links don't seem to have come out as proper hyperlinks, but if you copy and paste the whole link (not just the bit in blue) you should get to the pictures
Mike

 

[AnyaDarr]

Thanks for this very informative. Apparently there is an archive going back to that time wiht all the submissions for entrances etc so I have written to the archivist. Thnaks for the links.

 

[Virusman26]

https://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/VictorianBuildings/Education.htm
A little history there. As for family connections, I cannot help. There is a chap searching for family here...........
https://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/genealogy/Batkin/Family.htm
but that is really all I can find. I hope it may help. Keep us posted,

Neil

 

[AnyaDarr]

I have e-mail the school but so far no answer. Will nudge them again next week!

 

[bryangeorge]

I am 77 years old, and was told many years ago that I was put in an orphanage in the Birmingham area as an infant. This would have been around 1944 onwards for a couple of years. My questions about this would be....1. Was the Royal orphanage Wolverhampton the only orphanage in the area at the time? 2. Would it have accepted children of about a year old? Thank you for any help in answering these questions! Bryan

 

[Alberta]

Bryan depending on which side of the city you lived would possibly decide which orphanage you went to, some children went to Sir Josiah Masons in Erdington, some to Father Hudsons in Coleshill.

 

[Pedrocut]

Father Hudson’s homes was mainly for children to be brought up in the Catholic Faith ?

 

[bryangeorge]

Bryan depending on which side of the city you lived would possibly decide which orphanage you went to, some children went to Sir Josiah Masons in Erdington, some to Father Hudsons in Coleshill.

Thanks for your prompt reply. I lived in Sutton Coldfield on Wyndley Lane by the Park, at the Rosary Tea Rooms. I went to an institution as an infant, very young, perhaps not much more than 1 year old. I believe I went there on a regular basis, for a year or two. I remember travelling by bus.

 

[bryangeorge]

Father Hudson’s homes was mainly for children to be brought up in the Catholic Faith ?

My father was Catholic, but mother was protestant. I was brought up as a protestant.