Padgate Cottage Homes
Warrington Union opened what was known as the Padgate Industrial Schools in 1881.
The initial site was based on a quadrangle with, at each corner a home for 50 children - the two on the west for boys and the two on the east for girls.
On the south side was the school and classrooms and on the northside was the surgery, stores, offices laundry, piggeriers, stable and outbuildings.
Each of the four two-storey homes has, on the ground floor a kitchen, dining room, workroom, pantries, bathroom and toilet and two sitting rooms for the officers. Upstairs were three dormitories for the children, and bedrooms for the officers. [1].
The school later became known as Padgate Cottage Homes. In
1911, 200 children were living there [2].
In 1950, the cottage homes had another name change and became known as Padgate Hall but this was shortlived as, in 1953, the homes closed [3].
We are very grateful to Julia for these memories:
"My mother, Mrs Dorothy Walshaw, was appointed as House Mother at a short stay home in Warrington in 1955. Her job was to close Padgate Cottage. The handful of children who remained lived in House 4. We lived in the superintendent’s house. I was very young but I remember the fun we had in the gym and dressing up performing plays in the theatre. On bonfire night, there was a big party with lots of fireworks. Miss Snell, the children’s officer came down and we all had to be on our best behaviour. Some of the children had presents and were taken out by their GI fathers from Burton Wood Air Base.
"We were only there a few months and then the children were moved to 278 Longshaw Street, Warrington.
"We left a lot of things there including my dad’s wartime medals."
Do you have memories
of Padgate Cottage Homes
or Padgate Hall
you would like to share?
We would love to hear from you.
LOOKING FOR RECORDS?
Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to track dwn any archive records of Padgate Cottage Homes. The archive service at Warrington Library have no records and we have not found anything held by the National Archives. If you know of records related to the cottage homes, please let us know. Many thanks.
To apply to Warrington Council to see if they hold any information about your own time in Padgate Cottage Homes, please see their website page on this.
You will need to complete their application form and send it to:
The Access Social Care Team
PO Box 848
Warrington WA5 0WX
Telephone: 01925 444239
See also our section on Accessing records.
[1]. The Warrington Guardian Year Book 1901 p 89
[2]. http://www.warringtonpartnership.org.uk/43.html viewed 22nd June 2011
[3]. http://www.communigate.co.uk/chesh/padgatecottagehomes/index.phtmlviewed 22nd June 2011
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