Description:This was built as a family group home or ‘scattered home’ in 1952 on the newly built California municipal housing estate in Bartley Green.
The home was part of a programme of new children’s homes, each built on Birmingham's newly developing housing estates, which were to be small family homes – a move away from the larger children’s homes favoured before the Second World War. These homes were designed to be a small ‘family’ unit in a house that looked like any other with live-in house-parents. The house was designed for eight children, which may have included any children of their own that the houseparents had.
The first of these homes was completed in 1951, and a further 11, including this one, were built in the following decade. Another children’s home was built at no. 52 at the same time.
In 1967, the neighbouring house was purchased, no. 38, and the two houses were knocked into one to make a larger children’s home with 12 beds.
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Image: A promotional photograph from 1967. Unfortunately, we do not have any photographs of this children's home.
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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.