St. Margarets Unmarried Mothers Hostel - 262 Victoria Park Road Hackney

[Atlanta1]

hi,
I too am very interested in this hostel.. as you have read, my brother was adopted from this hostel.. no records seem to exist!!!  No Metro records etc.. most adoptions were done privately... need I say more please contact me!

[karenlesley]

I have read with interest the postings on this topic and can confirm that from my extensive enquiries there appear to be no records existing from St Margaret's.
I was born at St Margaret's in 1962 and was adopted a few days later. Although I have traced my birth mother, she refuses to reveal the identity of my birth father.
I believe that St Margaret's was a privately run fee paying establishment.
I'm looking for anyone who may have any connection with St Margaret's - having worked there or a parent or sibling perhaps?

[Atlanta1]

hi, its impossible to get any information about this place - was you adopted by foreign people - surely someone must have more information on this place? 
Please contact me via e-mail thanks

[maxbuddy]

hi im wondering if anyone can help me i recently at the age of 54 found out i was adopted have been in touch with all the relervant people and have obtained adoption cert, orig birth cert etcetc. but i would love to know anything about st margarets home for unmarried mothers in victoria park rd hackney, where i was born, my birth parents were married at the time of my conception but i have an idea they separated when i was born. birth mother is not alive now and i havnt yet found out aobut my father whether he is alive or not

[Atlanta1]

Hi
This place is certainly somewhere with a history and lost records!  Have you tried the Metropolitan Police who use to keep records? Please keep in touch and let me know what you have found out about this 'home'.x

[maxbuddy]

thankyou for replying yup will let u know if i find anything at all out. its funny because when i found out i was adopted the person that confd if for me was my aunt as i could not ask my mum who lives with us. she said all she knew was that my mum worked for someone who also ran an adoption agency and that is how she got me. but having found out aobut this place i think a little bit of what my aunt told me hasnt been told to her properly all those years ago as she told me it was a jewish adoption agency(my parents are jewish) but st margarets which is on my orig b,cert is defo not jewish lol well the address is the 262 victoria park rd. hackney

[Atlanta1]

This place, I feel, did a lot of private adoptions and records were not kept.  When I contacted the local council, relevant department, she said 'please dont say St Margarets', and was then unable to help me anymore!!!

[karenlesley]

Hi Max
What a shock you've had and no doubt a great deal of thinking to do.
After three years of writing I have just published my own personal account of my search for my birth mother, entitled COLEMAN, (Female). I am left without all the answers I need. It is my hope that by reaching a wider audience some information might come to light regarding the mysterious St Margaret's! I too was born there in 1962.
My book also raises issues, that you may or not be aware of, concerning the registration of adopted people in England and Wales and I am currently awaiting a response from my MP relating to this.
We all only have one entry in the birth register, therefore for adopted people we are listed under our birth name. This creates a situation whereby adopted people are left without a complete record of their life and death. i.e. if your future generations tried to trace you there would be no record of your birth relating to the family that you were brought up in and any further family tracing beyond you would be impossible.I believe that adopted people should appear for a second time under their adopted name.
Good luck to you for your continued investigations.

[maxbuddy]

right here goes i dont know it this is right or the right info but if it is right and someone has better investigation skills than me i may leed to something.
when i firt foun dout aobut my adoption i spoke to my aunt. who said my mother worked for someone in the 50.s who helped run, or ran or was involved with an adoption agency etcertc. the man or men owned a hat factory where my mother worked(adopted mother) the name of the place was markssmith
mr smith and mr marks. i have no idea where this will lead or if anything. but she was defo there in the 50.s and i was born in the 50.s o also made hats for the forces in ww2/ thats all i can find out.. so wil keep digging but have to be carefull as mum lives with me and she dosnt know i know aobut all this as shes 89 now.