Magdalen Asylum

[BordesleyExile]

Chris Upton's fascinating article links the Female Penitentiary to the Magdalen Asylum in lower Broad St & to a later location at Rotten Park:

https://www.birminghampost.net/life-leisure-birmingham-guide/postfeatures/2009/11/19/sex-in-the-victorian-city-of-birmingham-65233-25208423/
Pictures of the Magdalen Asylum & its successor at Rotten Park are proving illusive. Perhaps it was considered unseemly to refer to Birmingham's darker side.

 

[Aidan]

Most interesting. Hope we can find some more about it. https://www.birminghampost.net/life...-victorian-city-of-birmingham-65233-25208423/

 

[BordesleyExile]

Lloyd has provided info on the Edgbaston site see post 7
https://forum.birminghamhistory.co.uk/showthread.php?t=9924

 

[Stitcher]

Post copied to here from the Broad Street thread.View attachment 75294
Bishopsgate Street junction with Broad Street 1964.

 

[Stitcher]

Post copied to here from the Broad Street thread.
Glad you like the picture Viv, the building that has you puzzled is/was the Immanuel Parish Church. 'The Magdalen Asylum for destitute girls' operated from the premises in the mid to late 1800s. The Magdalen Asylum mainly helped prostitutes to get out of their way of life and on to better things.

 

[Vivienne14]

Reposting the link to Chris Upton's article in post #2 as that link no longer seems to be working. Viv.

https://www.birminghampost.co.uk/lifestyle/sex-victorian-city-birmingham-3937405

 

[Vivienne14]

The Asylum moved to Rotton Park in 1860, a building of simple and basic design by the architect Thomas Naden. In a later commitee meeting the new building was described as in "an open, healthy and pleasant locality" Viv.

 

[Vivienne14]

If I'm reading this correctly, the Asylum seems, over time, to have had other names: Hope Lodge and Kirkholme. (Extract below is from British History online Charities for the Poor):

The Magdalen Asylum And Mrs. Lloyd's Charity.
An association for the establishment of a Magdalen Asylum was formed in 1828 and premises in Islington were acquired in 1829. It was 'to be a temporary asylum for women, fallen into habits of vice, who profess themselves penitent'. A new site was bought at Rotton Park in 1861 and the new buildings opened in the following year.

By a deed of 1869 Mrs. Elmira Lloyd ....... gave £2,000, the income to be used for the benefit of the inmates of the refuge and probationary ward of the home. In 1920 the Magdalen Home Trust amalgamated with the Association for the Rescue and Training of Young Women to form the Birmingham Association for Unmarried Mothers and their Babies, and the home (formerly known as Kirkholme) became, as Hope Lodge, the principal home of the new association. Hope Lodge was closed in 1954 but the work of the association continued, and by a Scheme of 1954 Mrs. Lloyd's charity was to be used for the benefit of poor, unmarried women of Birmingham before, during and immediately after childbirth.


And there's a thread here about Hope Lodge.
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/hope-lodge-edgbaston.9924/page-2#post-347821
Viv.

 

[Vivienne14]

A photo posted by Motorman-Mike of the former (?) Asylum from the Hope Lodge thread. This was, in later years, Midland Red's head office.

Modern day view and aeriel view attached below. Viv.

 

[Vivienne14]

Having read around a bit more I'm wondering if the British History online info fully reflects the history of the asylum. I think the image in post #9 might be of a later building which the amalgamated organisation used in the 1900s. Has the amalgamation of the 'rescue' organisations (and their various premises perhaps ?) blurred the exact location of the Asylum at that time ? Anyone have anything they can add on this ?

For what I'm trying to get at (!), see post #39 here - an extract from the connecting histories site. https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/hope-lodge-edgbaston.9924/page-2#post-347821


Hope Lodge was situated onL Ladywood Rd (1906), then moved to Heathfield Road, Handsworth (1913) and then to Vernon Road (1919). So was this last move one where it joined forces with the former the Asylum ? The amalgamation according to the British History online quote in post #8 tells us amalgamation took place in 1920. But was the Asylum actually at Vernon road at this time ?
Viv.

 

[Vivienne14]

I can now confirm that the Asylum opened on Clarendon Road in 1862. See newspaper extract below. Vernon Road and Clarendon Road join at the point of the Asylum building, so over time both street addresses must have been used.

It therefore looks like the amalgamation brought into use the name "Hope Lodge" for the Asylum - derived from the Association for the Rescue and Training of Young Women. I expect the amalgamation gave the opportunity for a new, more optimistic name for the asylum.

Viv.

 

[Claire13]

I realise this is an old thread but I'm hoping to connect with someone who can tell me more about Magdalen Home in 1911. I came across this census document from 1911. My Great grandmother was at the home as an 'inmate'. How would I go about finding out why she was there? I know that the home had a few names and that it was used for both prostitutes and unwed mothers. I find the history fascinating. I've attached a photo for your interest. The address listed for the census at the time was Clarendon Road.