LONDON DIOCESAN COUNCIL FOR WELCARE

The records are listed in three groups; first, those of the central organisation, and second, those of separate local organisations, arranged in alphabetical order. Within an entry for a particular organisation, minutes are noted first, followed by annual reports and other types of record. Reports from various associations outside the London area are included in the same sequence, though presumably they were acquired and kept for reference only. The third main group is of miscellaneous material.

This list is compiled from original lists of three deposits made on different occasions; the reference numbers, therefore, do not run in sequence.

• <corpname>London Diocesan Council for Wel-Care</corpname>
• <corpname>London Diocesan Council for Pentitentiary, Rescue and Preventive Work, 1889-</corpname>

Deposited in the Greater London Record Office, County Hall, London, SE1 7PB on 30 July 1969 11 June 1970 and 20 May 1975, (A c.69.63, Ac.70.51 and A c.75.31)

The London Diocesan Council for Penitentiary, Rescue and Preventive Work was founded by the Diocesan Conference of 1889 at the suggestion of Bishop Frederick Temple. There already existed in the Metropolis numerous homes and refuges for 'fallen women' and 'endangered girls' and much of the initial work of the Council was to achieve some sort of co-ordination. Amongst early subscribers were Mr Gladstone and Princess Christian, but the rapid expansion of the organisation, from ten homes in 1893 to fifty homes and twenty-four local societies in 1900, was largely owing to the work of the Ladies' Committee.

The 1914-18 War left a growing feeling of depression among the workers who were finding the girls increasingly difficult to influence and more independent, but grants from the Ministry of Health helped tide over an awkward period whilst the emphasis and balance of the work slowly changed with fewer, and better, homes and more outside workers. This policy of enlightenment took a further turn after the Second World War. Where previously the mother's right to keep the child and the father's duty to maintain it had been stressed, more thought was now given to the baby, which meant that adoption played an increasing part in the work.

With the issuing of a circular by the Ministry of Health in 1943 laying statutory obligations on the Local Authorities to provide for unmarried mothers and children, the whole movement became more closely united with the welfare services. Regular grants were paid by the L.C.C. under the clause securing co-operation with existing bodies, whilst the Diocesan Council made strenuous efforts to increase its own private income, firstly through the Women's Offering Fund and then through a periodical contribution according to the Diocesan quota.