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Series

Resettlement Agency: Camberwell Resettlement Unit: Records (CBW Series)

Catalogue reference: AST 45

What's it about?

AST 45

This series contains records of the Camberwell Resettlement Unit including minutes, correspondence and press cuttings.

Full description and record details

Reference

AST 45

Title
Resettlement Agency: Camberwell Resettlement Unit: Records (CBW Series)
Date

1977-1993

Description

This series contains records of the Camberwell Resettlement Unit including minutes, correspondence and press cuttings.

Held by
The National Archives, Kew
Former department reference

CBW series

Legal status

Public Record(s)

Language

English

Creator(s)
  • Department of Health and Social Security, Camberwell Resettlement Unit, 1968-1988
  • Department of Social Security, Camberwell Resettlement Unit, 1988-1992
Physical description

53 file(s)

Access conditions

Open unless otherwise stated

Immediate source of acquisition

From 2002 Department of Social Security

Accruals

Series is accruing

Selection and destruction information

Records selected under PRO selection criteria 2.2.1.5 as it shows the processes for dealing with homeless men before the resettlement unit's closure in 1985 and also future plans with charities and other bodies to handle the effects of its closure.

Administrative / biographical background

The Camberwell Resettlement Unit was the largest Reception Centre for homeless men in the country. It was originally built in 1879 as a workhouse with 500 beds. Estimates vary greatly regarding its bed capacity during the 1980s, from 550 to 980 (a peak figure as high as 1,100 has also been quoted). The figure certainly fluctuated and it may also depend on whether figures for 'permanent' residents are added to figures for the overnight dormitory stayers.

The Camberwell Resettlement Unit closed in 1985 and the replacement scheme involved using small hostels run by voluntary organisations. The Department of Health and Social Security agreed to fund 555 bed spaces in London in partnership with the Housing Corporation and the Department of the Environment.

Record URL
https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C15719/

Catalogue hierarchy

Over 27 million records

This record is held at The National Archives, Kew

7,310 records

Within the department: AST

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Resettlement Agency: Camberwell Resettlement Unit: Records (CBW Series)