Devon House of Mercy

[HollyB]

Thank you!
Did you access the booklet from the Bovey Tracey Heritage Centre by any chance?
I am thinking of going down and giving it a visit

[slightlyfoxed]

No Sorry  but if you go to your local library you may be able to order it. try the library catalogue- on line OR the British Library may have a copy which can also be  ordered from your local library - BL integrated Catalogue..also on line.

[Mowsehowse]

Fascinating thread!!

You have the patience of a saint "slightlyfoxed", and your photos make me feel homesick for Teignmouth, and Bovey where my older son gave daffodils to Princess Diana many years ago..

 

[slightlyfoxed]

 

[divingfred]

Just wondering if Aks is still using the site. Back in 2008 I see there was a discussion on the Devon House of Mercy and Aks was trying to find out about her Great Grandmother Martha S Froude. She was on the 1871 Census as was my Great Grand mother Mary Ann Barwick.
Am wondering what info was finally discovered. Were they free to leave at age 21.
I am trying to find out why my relation was in the House of Mercy and if there was a child involved.
Many Thanks in anticipation

[Aks]

Hi Fred (hope that's correct),

I'm very happy to make your acquaintance! The short answer is that I haven't found out very much. I had exactly the same supposition as you, but I've only been able to glean some general information about the place. It seems that there are no surviving records from this period. I have a scan of a magazine article about the place I can send you (I'll PM you about that.)

Another interesting read is the book "A Cornish Waif's Story: An Autobiography" by Emma Smith (pseudonym) published by Truran Books. (See also http://www.westbriton.co.uk/Woman-s-story-cruel-childhood-authentic-account-life-raw/story-11430842-detail/story.html). This book does not directly cite the Devon House, but it is apparently the place she refers to that she is in at a certain point in the story.

Alan

[slightlyfoxed]

Almost certainly a young woman who was unfortunate enough to have an illegitimate child.
You might find the answer in the census records.

Bovey Tracey 1870

The DEVON HOUSE OF MERCY, for reclaiming fallen women, was established here in 1861, and was formally opened in a temporary residence in 1863; the foundation stone of the present building was laid by the Earl of Devon in 1865; it contains accommodation for 72 inmates, and is supported by voluntary contributions; the members of the Clew sisterhood have the management of it.

Devon House of Mercy for Reception of Fallen Women - The Bishop of Exeter, visitor; the Hon. And Rev. C.L. Courtenay, warden: Rev. F. Ensor, hon. Secretary

1902 entry
Devon House of Mercy, The Bishop of Exeter, visitor ; the Archdeacon of Barnstaple, warden ; Rev. Charles- John Penrice B.A. sub-warden ; Rev. Prebendary Harry- Tudor M.A. hon. sec. ; Henry T. Ferguson esq. & E. Harding esq.

2009   Investigations into Abuse by RC Church institutions run by priests and nuns -includes Sisters of Mercy,

Very similar to the Roman Catholic nuns etc of the Magdelen laundries which exploited young girls who had illegitimate children in Ireland.
The chap who was looking  for his great grandmother might know more I can ask him.

[Aks]

Thank you, Slightly Foxed, for your much better description of Devon House than mine. (I think I should change my screen name to something like completely flummoxed!)

What was the result of the investigations into Abuse by RC Church institutions as regards Devon House?

I have to say that I'm not convinced that someone's being in Devon House necessarily implies that there was an illegitimate child involved. Indeed, if you read "Emma Smith"'s story, she appears to have been considered to have been a woman of loose morals, or something like that, even though it was clearly not the case. Such was the judgement of the time on girls who found themselves with nowhere to go, or so it appears to me. Interestingly, and sadly I feel, it seems that for Emma, this was about the only place where she experienced any sense of family during her youthful existence.

Alan

[slightlyfoxed]

The description wasn't mine...!
I did not follow this at all after the initial research and I thought I had some other research but I seem to have lost it in a computer crash.