Description:Shustoke Industrial School opened in 1868 in the premises of ‘The Shawberries’ a Georgian country house.
The industrial schools were originally intended to take in children who were destitute or in danger of turning to crime whereas the reformatories were intended for children who were already convicted criminals. The difference between the two types of schools quickly blurred however and Shawbury took in a significant proportion of boys from the courts.
The first master and matron of the school were Mr and Mrs CJ Vinall, followed by Frederick Horth.
In 1874, the house was extended with a new three-storey dormitory building. In 1876, the neighbouring farm was purchased so that the boys could farm the land and supply the school with fresh produce.
The boys, as part of their training for future jobs, farmed the land, carried out building work on the school, made their clothes, baked the school’s bread and did the laundry. Generally, the boys were committed to a fixed period of time at Shawbury by the courts, often staying until they reached 16 years of age.
By 1899, there were 156 boys in the school. At around this time Mr Craven Jones took over as master from Mr Horth.
1926 saw the name change from Shustoke Industrial School to Shawbury School.
Mr and Mrs Craven Jones retired in 1930 to be replaced by Mr and Mrs Mattock who, in turn, retired in 1953 to be replaced by Mr and Mrs Hammond. They retired in 1970 and Brian Owen took over as headmaster.
In 1935, the School changed policy to provide only short-stays for older boys. The time a child was in the school was reduced from a few years to just 6 to 12 months and admission was restricted to the counties of Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Leicestershire (although this area was later extended). It was at this time that Copeley Hill Hostel was opened – a place for the young people to go after they had finished their time at Shawbury. While there were a number of changes to the age range admitted to the school, in 1937 it was set at 14 to 16.
In 1948, the school added another neighbouring farm to its resources – Shawbury Farm.
The 1940s and 1950s saw a fall in the number of boys going to Shawbury. While the capacity was 100 boys, only 69 were accommodated on average in 1949, for example. The minimum age in place at the time was lowered from 15 years to 14 years and three months.
With a continuing decline in numbers in the late 1950s it was decided that Shawbury would offer both long-term training and short-term training and would now take in boys with mental health problems, family difficulties and learning difficulties. The maximum capacity of Shawbury was reduced to 75.
The next couple of years saw an upturn in demand for accommodation and the maximum intake was increased from 75 to 80 in 1958 and from 80 to 88 in 1962.
The daily routines of the boys at Shawbury can be found by clicking on the link below.
In 1980, the school was closed and later demolished. At the time of its closure, it had accommodation for 68 boys.
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Image: Shawbury in the 1980s. Photograph reproduced here with the kind permission of Susan K Moore.
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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.