Wychbury Residential Nursery, Hagley Road, Stourbridge

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Date:1952 - 1979 (c.)

Description:Wychbury opened in 1952 as a residential nursery. The purchase of the building (at a cost of £7,500) was intended to replace the use of the Meadway Residential Nursery which was needed as housing. The new nursery could accommodate 22 children aged between 0 and 5 years old.

The nursery is some distance from Birmingham and was actually originally purchased by Dudley Council for their use as a nursery. Birmingham Council took it on when Dudley Council decided to locate their nursery elsewhere.

Wychbury Nursery closed at the end of September 1979. While the wholesale closure of residential nurseries took place after the Child Care Review Group made its recommendations in 1981, Birmingham Social Services had already made the decision to close the residential nurseries, including Wychbury, two years earlier and were in negotiation with the unions about it.

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Image: Plan of Wychbury House in 1952 when the decision was being taken by the Council to acquire it for use as a residential nursery. Courtesy of Birmingham City Council.
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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.