Cottage Homes

[ethelsgt niece]

My Great Aunt Ethel (born 1882)  told me that as quite a young child she was abused by a stranger and as a result was "punished" by being sent away to a "home". I found her in the 1901 census aged 11 years as an "inmate" of a "Cottage Home" in Chigwell, Essex. (RG 13/1639 Unfortunately, the original image available on Ancestry.co.uk does not have any information other than the description "cottage homes" and that it was run by a Miss Steers (It does not even have the address!). A search on the net has provided the information that  there was a "Cottage Home (School)" on High Road & Ainsley Road in Chigwell run by a Miss Steers in this period.
What I would like to know is:
* Who ran the Cottage Home(s) in Chigwell
* What was the criteria for entry
* How long did the inmates stay - was it for a fixed term or until they reached school leaving age etc.
* Do the records for this home still exist and can they be searched
Ethel had older and younger siblings and they are at home with there parents in the 1901 census.
Any assistance appreciated.
I feel it's information such as this that is vital in "fleshing out" one's family tree rather than a list of names and dates.
Cheers, Ethels gtniece

[keldon]

There’s a Miss Mary H Steers listed in the 1890 and 1919 directories as Superintendent of Bridge of Hope, Home for Little Girls, in Chingford. Chingford is not far from Chigwell.
http://www.historicaldirectories.org

This report of charities indicates that the charity had 8 cottage training homes. Perhaps this is the same?

Bridge of Hope Mission     8 Cottage Training Homes at Chingford
"Refuge and Receiving Home, Betts Street, St. George's-in-the-East, E. -  Rescue and Preventive Work among girls and children -  Mission Work among the poor."   "£3324, expenditure £3677"   "275 in the Homes, night's lodging provided 1046"
http://www.victorianlondon.org/charities/charities.htm


Phil
http://www.historyhouse.co.uk

[ethelsgt niece]

Thank you Phil.
This looks as if it is probably the right institution.
The town is listed as Chingford and the sub registration district is Chigwell.
Only one thing that isn't quite right is that the superintendant's mames are given as Helen Maud Steers. The initials are the same and it looks too close to be a coincidence!
Ethel's family resided at a number of addresses in the East end of London which is where the receiving home was so that would seem to add up. The family fell on hard times at the turn of the century when there aeems to have been a recession. Ethel's mother was a furrier and her father a cabinet maker/joiner but both became unemployed.
Regards, Janet

[youwho]

Hi ethelsgt niece

I read with great interest your reference to Cottage  Homes as I have just found my husbands aunt also as a scholar on that same  1901 census, I just wonder if you have followed up Phil's  idea on the Bridge of Hope Mission for little girls with any results.  I thought it may have been a Salvation Army Home so I emailed them but infortunatley it wasn't one of theirs. 

Regards
youwho