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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Hampshire & Isle of Wight => England => Hampshire & IOW Lookup Requests => Topic started by: KathrynBryant1 on Saturday 11 May 13 10:54 BST (UK)
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Hi, not sure if anyone can help please? In 1965 I was sent to a home run by nuns in and (if my memory serves me well) it was in Churt, Hampshire. You know how you have flash backs, well I remember being treated abominably by the nuns there especially when giving birth. I had my child with me, a boy, for about six weeks when my mother came to pick me up and take me by taxi to Southwark, London, where my son was handed over to his adoptive parents. Am wondering if anyone can name this place where I had my son please? I had heard some years ago that the building was converted into flats. I remember it being down a long, narrow, leafy lane and the grounds were extensive. Any help would be much appreciated.
Kind regards
Kathryn
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If you get no local help from this board,how about trying ....
Catholic Children’s Society, 49 Russell Hill Road, Purley, Surrey CR8 2XB
Tel: 020 8668 2181
www.catholicchildrenssociety.org.uk.
Good luck
Carol
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Hello, thank you for that information. Am just hoping that someone may be able to help on this site. Will give it a week and then if there is no further information I'll contact the Society you have given me the details of. It may well be that someone will read this post and they too may have been at the home.
Kind regards
Kathryn
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Hello, I've just found these details given below. So I think I have posted my message on the right board. Obviously these are the details of my son's birth but it's just that I would like to locate the home etc and if anyone else was at the home at anytime to contact me please.
Date of Registration:
Jul-Aug-Sep 1965
Registration district:
Alton
Inferred County:
Hampshire, Buckinghamshire, Isle of Wight
Kind regards
Kathryn
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Here's a list of all those places covered by the Alton district.
http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/genuki/reg/districts/alton.html
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Thank you Carol, you are most helpful.
Kind regards
Kathryn
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Although the placename Churt is familiar to me, it didn't 'ring any bells' as a Hampshire name. However, the link below will take you to its county location as Surrey, so you might get more success via that county forum on here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churt
Good luck!
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Alton is definitely in Hampshire, it's about 8 miles or so from Basingstoke. I always thought Churt was in Surrey, we used to have friends who lived there, although the link dee-jay has given you suggests it is on the Hampshire/Surrey borders so perhaps the home you went to was near to Churt, rather than in Churt.
A google search for a Catholic mother and baby home Churt, brings up a site about Headley with this paragraph:
Assisi
In Hammer Lane – Now a private house split into separate dwellings, at one time it was used as a Catholic maternity home for unmarried mothers – We are often contacted by people who were born here and are trying to trace their mothers – a useful contact for them is the Catholic Children’s Society, 49 Russell Hill Road, Purley, Surrey CR8 2XB – Tel: 020 8668 2181 www.catholicchildrenssociety.org.uk.
The start of Hammer Lane, Headley is only half a mile from Churt, so that looks like the place where you had your baby.
Lizzie
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I am a volunteer at the Curtis Museum in Alton and we do get queries such as yours and I am wondering if you might be thinking of the following:-
A picture of ‘The Cenacle’ can be seen at the end of an article on the history of the Grayshott war Hospital on the Grayshott Village web site at
www.grayshott-archive.org.ok/articles/GrayshottWarHospital.html.
The buildings were sold for redevelopment in 1999.
Another web site gives the information:-
Assisi [house name]
In Hammer Lane – Now a private house split into separate dwellings, at one time it was used as a
Catholic maternity home for unmarried mothers.
We are often contacted by people who were born here and are trying to trace their mothers.
A useful contact for them is the Catholic Children’s Society, 49 Russell Hill Road, Purley, Surrey CR8 2XB – Tel: 020 8668 2181 www.catholicchildrenssociety.org.uk.
The Sisters of the Cenacle moved to Netley:-
‘After 80 years in Grayshott, the Sisters of the Cenacle have moved to a smaller house in Netley Abbey, where they are continuing the ministry of individual retreats, spiritual direction and counselling.
The Netley Cenacle is situated by Southampton Water, close to the Royal Victoria Country Park and the ruins of the Cistercian Abbey.
The Sisters also take their ministry to the wider community in the form of courses in human and spiritual growth, retreats in daily life and weeks of guided prayer
For further information, please write to :
The Retreat Secretary, The Cenacle, 48 Victoria Road, Netley Abbey, Hants, SO31 5OQ.
Telephone Number: 023 8045 3718.’
Fax Number: 023 8045 3718
e-mail: cenacle.netley@ntlworld.com
Yours Jane
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There is also a parallel thread on the Surrey board here.......
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,646528.msg4933060.html#msg4933060
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Hi all, thank you so much for the wealth of information you have provided. Yes, am sorry someone contacted me and said they thought I ought to place this posting on the Surrey board as originally it was thought that Churt was probably in Surrey. Perhaps I should delete the other thread so as not to confuse everyone but not sure how to do this. By the way the link to the Cenacle doesn't work it just brings up a page that says is not available. You are all so kind and I thank you again for your time and help.
Kind regards
Kathryn
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Hi Kathryn
I was a baby born there in 1960. Assisi House, Headley Road, Grayshott. I have been to the house but it was converted into private flats and unfortunately I couldn't go inside.
I would love to "chat" to you further as I am writing a book (partly based around my own story) and if you are willing to share your experiences with me I would be very grateful. I was told by my natural mother that she had been treated well, and I never questioned that until I started looking at forums and seeing what others had posted. It sounds dreadful and as a mother myself, I cannot comprehend what you must have gone through.
I do hope you get in contact.
Many thanks
Carrie
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Hi Carrie, thank you for replying to my thread on this subject. I am going to PM you my private email address in case you wish to communicate that way. Did you take any pictures of the place as it is now, I would love to see how it looks. Am going to try and search for any as the place was then. You say you have read other stories about this place, would you be willing to share with me where those stories are? I work full time but will certainly share my own views on the place, I will do this next weekend when we have the Bank Holiday. In the meantime it would be good to read some of the other stories just for comparison.
Kind regards
Kathryn
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I was born at this mother and baby home in 1949. I was lucky, my mother kept me, although my father didn't want to know. My mother was working in (I believe she said) a laundry and was not allowed to be present at my baptism because she was (in their words) 'a bad girl'. I don't believe that she was even allowed to choose my godmother. Chrisann
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Hi Chrisann I am so glad to hear you were kept. Do you remember anything else your mother told you about that time and what happened in the home - I am doing some research for a book.
Many thanks
Carrie
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I'm afraid not Carrie. She didn't talk about it a great deal but I have the impression that it was an unpleasant experience. Good luck with the book - keep us posted re its progress. Chrisann
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Thank you. Understandably not many people want to talk about the dreadful experience they went through, but I feel it was an important part of history - one never to be repeated!
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Just wanted to put this title up to show which home we are talking about.
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By the way, it is definitely in Surrey but close to the Haampshire border. My birth (1949) was registered in Alton, Hampshire. Chrisann
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Same here - that's where my birth was registered. I do hope you had a happy life Chrisann.
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By and large, I have, Carrie. There have been ups and downs, but no matter what their circumstances most people experience those. I hope that your adoptive home was a kind and happy one and that you had a happy reunion with your birth mother. I eventually decided to seek out my natural father, but he had died just three months before my 'real' Dad, so I never found out why he had been willing to marry my Mum if she gave me up. I do know that he never married. Chrisann
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By the way, it is definitely in Surrey but close to the Hampshire border. My birth (1949) was registered in Alton, Hampshire. Chrisann
Thanks for the exoneration! Many folks fail to recognise that Registration Districts span County boundaries, as do many of the 'Unions' of parishes for the Poor Law legislation of 1834.
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Hi my father who recently died was born in this home in August 1947. His mother gave him up for adoption around 1948. Oddly shortly before his death he found out he met his mother when he was 15 although the woman did not introduce herself as his mother but rather asked a lot of questions.
At the time he thought she was some sort of social worker although we now know it was some sort of arrangement his mother had to meet with his birth mum. This was only revealed to him months before his death. I have no idea how his mother could have got in contact with him around 1962 but this was what happened.
Anyways since my dad has now passed would I be able to find out any information about my grandmother. I know her name and I suspect she is long deceased if my dad was 67 when he died. I realise this is a long shot. Although an English home we are Irish. Did a lot of Irish girls go to this home. Reading the stories I feel bad for my grandmother and all the poor girls who went to this place.
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I see it has been a few months a since anyone has commented on this thread but I am looking for any and all help in the search for my my fathers birth mother/family and birth story. I recently acquired his baptism certificate and was able to make out the words "St. Joseph's-Assisi Maternity Home" as the location. Through my search on the Internet this thread popped up. He was born there on July 25th 1953. I do not know anything about his birth mother, except some of the things my Nana (his adoptive mother) told my mom. She said his mother was from Ireland, possible last name Sutton and was around 16 years old. She was very secretive about all the details and burned mabt of the documents she had. She died years ago and kept all the secrets with her. I live in the U.S. and it's been very hard to find any info pertaining to his birth online. I welcome any and all help. Thank you so much!
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Hi Nicole. I've sent you a personal message.
Kind regards
Kathryn
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Hello, I was adopted and born in a home run by the Francisan order near Alton between Bordon and Hindhead
The home was located on Hammer Lane house Numbers were Assis 1,2,3. I visited this house in 1993 and traced my biological mother from here.
Paul W
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Hello everyone
I know it's been some time since there has been some activity
I was born at the home in September of 63 after my mother was pregnant and had fallen out with my grandparents she spent 3 months there until her aunt or cousin came to get her
The nuns apparently wanted me adopted but fortunately my mother and family were against it and in that time my grandparents also had a change of heart and took my mother and myself home
I have been to the home since which had been two buildings , the larger of the two had already been turned into flats but the house was being worked on for a private family .
I spoke to the builder- foreman on site and he told me a couple of things
One thing I find does not sit right with me is so much info seems to have been lost in fire
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Hello All,
It doesn't look like anyone has commented on this thread for a while, but here goes! I was born in Assisi House early July, 1968. My Mum's name was Margaret Kavanagh (Maggie) Like so many, I was there for six weeks and then fostered for around 18 months. I know that my Mum had an absolutely horrific time there, she was left for three days in labour and was told that she deserved to suffer because she had been so wicked. It's beyond my comprehension how people can treat another human being like that? I was one of the lucky ones, my Mum got to take me home (she met someone else and they got married, and are still together 48 years later!) I stopped asking her about it because of the look on her face any time I did. I would love to get more information about the house - see photos etc, or if anyone remembers my Mum? Thanks for reading!
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It's beyond my comprehension how people can treat another human being like that?
Seems to have been a per-requisite in those days. ???
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Indeed, my Great Aunt had a baby in Bessborough House in Cork in 1940, by all accounts that was indeed hell on earth, her baby was taken from her at six weeks and she was told she had died. We found out recently that this was not the case, she was sent to the US!
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I was born in the 1960's in Churt Hampshire at a catholic children's home. I believe this location referenced is where I was born. I was given the birth name of M T T. I was given up for adoption 6 weeks later. Trying to find who gave birth to me.
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Kari276
I believe you and I were born at the same house within 6 months of one another. Wonder if our mother's knew each other.
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Hello. I was born at the Assisi home in Hammer Lane in 1960.I’m glad there are at least a couple of Mums who didn’t have an awful time there. I’m just starting on tracing my birth Mum.
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Hi Kari276
My mom was named M T
It is my understanding she was 15/16.
Seems my biological dad used to drive her to school and got her pregnant.
I would be curious to know if our moms knew each other.
I was taken from my mom at 6 weeks. Given to my parents, who are British and Brazilian. I moved to Brazil at 6 months. I have never met my birth mother.
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#27 reply if you search on Roots there is a thread has to date 26 pages go back to page 1 and start reading as there are photos of the home and labour room . Sorry I did not know your mother but good luck with your search
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HI ALL, I STARTED A THREAD BACK IN 2013 REGARDING ASSISI. IT NOW HAS 26 PAGES OF POSTS AND REPLIES. THE THREAD IS ENTITLED Assisi Mother and Baby Homes If you type this into the search engine on Roots Chat then hopefully you will reach it. There's a wealth of information contained within these posts and replies. Any problems then don't hesitate to contact me.
Kindest regards,
Kathryn Bryant
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Hello! I’m trying to trace my husband’s half sister, Caroline, who was born in August 1966 in the Assisi home, Surrey, to Verena Sigrist. If anyone knew of someone there around that time I would love to hear from you! Thank you.
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Hello Annaok, do you have any other information, ie was Caroline adopted etc. Perhaps it's best to private message me when you have time. I was the lady who started this thread. Am willing to help if possible. Kindest regards, Kathryn