Childrens Society (?) single mothers etc (General)

by slowhands , proud of his ancient Dean Forest roots, Thursday, July 05, 2007, 00:47 (6353 days ago) @ forestbhoy

Hidden Lives http://www.hiddenlives.org.uk/

Hidden Lives is a Big Lottery Fund project developed for those interested in British social history. It explores the history of children who were in the care of The Children's Society in late Victorian and early 20th Century Britain.

At the time they were one of the poorest and most unprivileged sections of British society. The website provides case files of children in the care of the Society from Victorian and Edwardian times.

There are many refernces to Wales including history of children's homes such as Edward Nicholl Home For Babies (Llandaff), St Deniol's Home For Boys (Arthog), Mumbles Home For Girls (Swansea), St David's Home For Boys (Dolgellau), St Cadoc's Home For Girls (Caerleon), St Garmon's Home For Boys (Betws Garmon) and St Giles' Home For Boys (Wrexham).

There are also many photographs portraying life during this period. The website also contains learning material for schools.

Edward Nicholl Home For Babies, Llandaff
Llandaff, Glamorganshire

(1918 - 1922)

There is not a lot of information about this home as it was only open for a few years and is therefore infrequently mentioned in our records. The Home was dedicated and opened on July 30th 1918 by the Bishop of Llandaff and Major-General Lee, and could house twenty-five babies, each less than one year old.

The Home was the brainchild of Lord Tredegar and Edward Nicholl who in 1917, started the 'South Wales Scheme'. The plan was to build three homes in South Wales - one for boys, one for girls, and one for babies. Tredegar and Nicholl offered to donate three acres of land and £25,000 to the construction of these homes, under the condition that the Society contributed £20,000 to secure the future of the scheme. Mrs Robinson, the Honorary Secretary, immediately started fundraising and in only three years had collected enough money.

This Home was only intended to be open for a short time, as the bigger scheme was to raise more money and relocate the babies' Home to Cardiff. In 1922 they achieved their goal. The larger Cardiff Home could accommodate fifty babies, and quickly earned the nickname the “House of Smiles” because the children were so very happy in the new Edward Nicholl Nursery.