Description:For the Victorians orphans invited both pity and fear. They were pitied because they lacked family, but were feared because of what they might become as adults if they did not receive care, discipline and moral guidance. Initially, children who were orphaned, like Dickens’ Oliver Twist, grew up in the local workhouse. The second half of the 19th century saw the establishment of charitable organisations such as Dr. Barnardo’s and the Waifs and Strays Society (later the Children’s Society) that placed children in orphanages away from the corrupting influence of adults. However, the definition of who was an orphan was not clear. We may be inclined to think of an orphan as a child whose parents have died. However the word was also used to describe those who had lost only one parent, and those who had been deserted by their parents.
George Holland entered Marston Green aged 3. Like most of the children there he left aged 15 to enter Domestic Service. We know from the register that his father was in prison and his mother was dead. His 4 year old illegitimate sister Gertrude is also named. Children’s homes, like other Victorian institutions, kept detailed records on each child. Children at Marston Green were placed in separate cottage homes on the same site. Each cottage would have a ‘house’ mother. George and Gertrude were separated.