There was also a Boys' Home in Eardisley. My granddad and his brother, who were both born in Ledbury, went there in 1901 after their mother died. I'm not sure whether it was still running in 1924 but I may be able to look this up for you in a book published by the Eardisley History Society.
When in 2005 I enquired about the orphanage to the Herefordshire Record Office, the senior archivist Mr. Rhys Griffith found records of an orphanage that was set up in Eardisley in 1885 by Lady Perry Herrick. However, the attendance records for this no longer exist. He replied to my email as follows:
“According to the Post Office directory for Herefordshire of 1900 there was an orphanage for 14 boys in Eardisley, which had been established in 1885. I have checked the indexes to our holdings but have found no references to the home. It would appear that no records have survived." (However it is listed in census returns).
Eventually Eardisley History Soc. told me that the Boys' Home was opposite the Tram Inn, in what is perhaps the village's oldest and grandest building, now known as The Holme. It was built as a Medieval hall house in the 15th century. In 2007 the owners kindly showed us around the house, and it is interesting to see that the bedroom doors still bear the room numbers that were painted on when it was an orphanage. The house belonged to the Perry-Herrick family, who were lords of the manor, and this is the source of the story handed down through my granddad's side of the family that his education had been paid for by the lady of the manor!
