Description:Home 4 was one of the first homes built in the Cottage Homes complex and was initially built to house 24 girls. It remained an all-girls home until the 1930s.
Miss Black was one of the earliest housemothers, and she was followed by Miss Gent who remained in post until the 1930s. She, in turn, was followed by Miss Southall in the 1940s.
In 1949, in an effort to reduce the feeling of institutionalisation, the homes were each given names instead of numbers. However, when the homes were built, most had already been given names - in the form of Such-and-Such Cottage – but these were too high up on the walls of the homes for children to see and tended to be ignored. Home 4 was called Jasmine Cottage and when the staff of the home were asked what to call it, they stuck with Jasmine. Initially it was called Jasmine House but the ‘House’ was generally not used.
In the 1940s, like all the homes that were all girls in the 1900s, Jasmine became mixed, taking in girls aged 3 to 15 and also young boys aged 3 to 6.
In common with general practice in the Birmingham Cottage Homes, the 1950s saw a move away from single women as housemothers. Instead, married couples tended to be appointed. The woman worked in the home full-time whereas the man would usually have an external job, earning his keep in the home in the evenings and at weekends.
Frances and Jack Bowes were appointed houseparents in January 1950. At this time there was a large sitting room, playroom, dining room, kitchen and bathroom (for staff and children alike) downstairs and the children slept upstairs in two dormitories – one for girls and one for boys. There were 23 children in total.
Frances takes up the story: "There we found ourselves with no training and with two assistants and one cleaner caring for the needs of 22 deprived children. Condensation rolled down the walls as dormitories and staff bedrooms were unheated. One small toilet for the staff on the landing and for the children, a pail outside the dormitory doors for use at night. Every morning these pails had to be emptied. For daytime use the children had outside toilets. Washing facilities for staff and children consisted of two baths and six wash basins located on the ground floor. In this room each morning there were eight to ten soiled bed sheets to be laundered, dried and ready for beds the following night. There were no washing machines and the only drying facility was a rack in the kitchen where there was a large range that had to be cleaned and relit every morning. The children were marvellous. We just had to muck in together and make the most of it. It was indeed a challenging time for you were there twenty four hours a day often up at night when a child was distressed, sick, needing a doctor or admission to hospital. The staff and children lived as a family unit. I remember the fun and traumas of close living. We had outings to the local swimming baths, to the parks and to the Malverns and Lickey Hill. We made our own entertainment and gave concerts in the local hall."
The Bowes left Jasmine in 1954 and moved to Elmdene.
In 1966, the homes became independent of each other and the Cottage Homes structure. Rather than relying on central placements and purchasing (dished out from the stores), Jasmine staff were responsible for taking in children and buying for them everything that they needed.
By 1970, Jasmine accommodated only 12 children (boys and girls) – half the number it was originally designed to house.
Jasmine closed as a children’s home between 1982 and 1986.
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Image: Ground floor (left) and first floor (right) plans of a Shenley Fields Cottage Home c 1890. All the Shenley Fields Cottage Homes were built to the same basic design although many changes took place in the years that followed.
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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.