Description:Home 9 was initially a home for boys only and, as such was on the right side of the drive. Home 9 was a semi-detached house sharing a wall with the adjacent home. Opposite these two homes was the Superintendent’s house. The clock tower was between them.
By 1948, Home 9 remained as being for boys only with accommodation for 18 boys. In 1949 it was given the name Appledore. Appledore is a village in North Devon – is this what the home was named after?
By 1979, the number of beds had been reduced to 12 and both boys and girls were living there.
In 1986, Appledore was still functioning. However, it was no longer based in The Gardens but had moved to Meadow Road in 1983 and then to Serpentine Road [see separate entry for 'Appledore']. By 1989, Appledore, in its new location on Serpentine Road was no longer a children’s home.
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Image: Appledore was opposite the clock tower, Appledore is on the right of this photograph taken some time in the early 1990s, before 1996 when the clock tower was burnt down. The clock tower has since been rebuilt. Photograph reproduced here with the kind permission of Mike Beard.
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Source: This history was compiled by the Birmingham Children's Homes Project, an initiative to explore Birmingham City Council-run children’s homes between 1949 and 1990.