WHAT image does the word ‘orphanage’ conjure up in your mind? A sunny scene of carefree children at play in the grounds of a large ivy-clad house? Or a forbidding grey edifice whose cowering inmates were ruled over with an iron rod by a stern, starched matron.
In Children's Homes, Ilkley-based author Peter Higginbotham explores the history of the institutions in Britain that were used as a substitute for children’s ‘natural’ homes. From the Tudor times to the present day, this fascinating book is the first ever of its kind to survey the whole history of children’s homes. Packed with information on the homes and their inmates, the book answers questions such as: Who founded and ran all these institutions? Who paid for them? Where have they all gone?
Profusely illustrated with more than 100 archive photos, Children's Homes will be of interest to social, local and family historians by providing an essential, previously overlooked, account of the history of these British institutions.
Peter is an established author, best known for his work on the workhouse through six books (The Workhouse Encyclopedia, Grim Almanac of the Workhouse, Workhouse Cookbook etc.), his website workhouses.org.uk, magazine articles, and participation in TV programmes such as Who Do Think You Are? and Heir Hunters.
In recent years Peter been extensively researching the history of children’s homes, which he details in his website http://www.childrenshomes.org.uk
Children's Homes is published by Pen & Sword History, RRP: £14.99, ISBN: 9781526701350.
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