Records of Hawthorne House Residential Nursery

BCC 10/BCH/9 Records of Hawthorne House Residential Nursery

BCC 10/BCH/9/1 Photographs

Material relating to the administration of Hawthorne House can be found in the records of the Children's Committee (BCC 1/CT/3 and BCC 1/CT/9) and Social Services Committee (BCC 1/DJ/4) of Birmingham City Council.

'The First Four Years: the report of the Children's Officer of the city of Birmingham for the period from February, 1949 to January, 1953' contains a section on Hawthorne House. Local Studies collection, ref. L41.31. 'Report on the work of the Children's Department of the City of Birmingham, three years ended 31st March 1967' contains a section on residential accommodation, including nurseries. Local Studies collection, ref. L41.31.

The National Archives holds records of inspections at Hawthorne House at BN 62/1145.

Items in this collection have restricted access for 100 years because they contain sensitive information about individuals under the DPA (1998)

During its period as a nursery the name of this building was spelt Hawthorne; it is now spelt Hawthorn. The change seems to have taken place at the time the Social Services department closed the nursery in the early 1980s.

Hawthorne House opened on 19 April 1948, although as the building was still being converted for use as a residential nursery it was initially only able to accommodate between eight and 19 children. By the end of 1950 there were about 36 children in residence, and from then on the nursery could provide accommodation for 40 children. The nursery attempted to replicate a ?family? style of living, with staff and children eating together, and children living in mixed age groups. By 1967 the Children's Committee had decided that children under five should not be accommodated in residential homes, instead being looked after in foster homes, but it was still over a decade before a programme of closure for the city's residential nurseries was embarked on. Hawthorne House was closed in 1982 as part of this programme.

The building is now Hawthorn House branch library.

Hawthorne House was administered by Birmingham City Council?s Children?s Committee (see BCC 1/CT/3 and BCC 1/CT/9) from its opening until the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 made children?s homes the responsibility of the Social Services Committee (see BCC 1/DJ/4).