Plan of the site of Marston Green Cottage Homes from 1928 showing the individual homes and the other facilities.

Description:These homes were know as known as “cottage homes” because each site was made up of a complex of individual houses or “cottages” and each house was home to about 30 children. Cottage homes were a separate community of children with their own schools, church and playing fields, and the children who lived there were isolated from the outside world. Cottage Homes were built in a rural area as this was thought to be healthier for the children than living in an overcrowded town centre. It was also felt that it was better for the children to be removed from the “bad” or criminal influences of other poor people, families and friends. Similarly, the children sent to Canada and Australia through the Middlemore Emigration Homes Scheme were primarily being sent to remove them from the “bad” influences of friends and family in the inner city.

Like the other homes in which poor children lived, the boys were taught trades such as carpentry or shoemaking. Girls were taught domestic skills like sewing and cooking. Some of the items they made were sold to raise money.

Questions to think about: What are the different places that are part of the home that you can see on the plan? What do the places tell us about how the home was organised and the activities that took place? Why do you think a country area was thought to be a good thing for the children? How is it different living in the city or the countryside? What might it feel like to move from the city to the countryside or even to another country?