Warstock Children's Home

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Date:Not Recorded

Description:In the late 1960s / early 1970s, there was much activity in terms of the development of children’s homes and, specifically, a growth in the number of new hostels for older children being opened.

Some of these were purpose built – like this one in Warstock which was opened as an eight bed unit in 1968. It was built in very much the same style as the other new hostels for working children at that time - Villa Walk, Acorn Grove, Allenscroft, and Frankfort Street.

Other hostels for working children were also opened in this time – but these were not purpose-built - including Sheridan Walk, Rednal Road and Hyperion Road which were all for girls only.

As a hostel for working children, this home was to be for young people who had left school but who were still in care. As such, they were generally aged between 16 and 18.

As with most of the other new hostels for working children built at that time, this had beds for eight young people. Unlike the other types of children’s home, the hostels for working children were single sex. The Warstock hostel was all girls.


Image: A promotional shot used by Birmingham's children's Department in 1967. At this stage, the Birmingham Children's Homes project does not have any photographs of this children's home.


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.