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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Northamptonshire => Topic started by: rosiebud on Wednesday 02 September 09 20:23 BST (UK)
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Does anyone know where I can find out more information about a home in Northampton where unmarried mums went to have their babies, who were then later adopted?
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Hi
What year? Do you have the birth cert showing the address of the home in question
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THE BIRTH WAS IN THE APR MAY JUNE QUARTER OF 1949. I DON'T HAVE A COPY OF THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE. ROSIE
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Hi Rosie.
I am not 100% certain but I think there used to be a Mother and Baby Home
on the Barrack Road, Northampton.
Hopefully some one with more knowledge will be able to clarify for you.
Sandy
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Hello Rosie
There is a house on the corner of Barrack Road (as Sandy mentions) and the entrance to the Racecourse. This may have been a mother and baby home but I cannot be sure. I think this house was later used as a hostel for homeless young people.
Janet
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Not the same place Janet as I was thinking off. :(
It was more in the centre of the houses near the Hotels.
I only wish I could remember it's name.
The place you mention was the Poplars, I visited my sister there
years ago when she became homeless, horrible place owned by
the Borough Council for homeless families awaiting re-homing.
Sandy
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Now you have reminded me of the name, Sandy! I used to live in Semilong and often passed 'The Poplars' on my way into the town centre.
Janet
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Many thanks to you both Sandy and Janet for your replies. Regards. Rosie
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You are welcome Rosie.
Janet as you know I used to live in Northampton Town ;D,
well St. George's Avenue, that is why I remember it also,
maybe we passed each other. :)
St.Saviour has come to mind, does it ring any bells.
Sandy
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No, it wouldn't as I hadn't got a clue what it's name was . There must have been an awful lot of those places around in those days. Thanks again Sandy. Rosie
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Hi again.
After just reading a book with some details about the
Diocese of Peterborough, it said that they had an
adoption agency at Langham Place, called Spencer Leeson house.
This would have been on what was also named as on the Barrack Road.
Above the door there could have been an inscription saying
"Abandon hope all ye who enter here" ?
Ring any bells Janet.
Sandy
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I know the row of houses but I don't remember an inscription. It could be I never looked! :D
I wonder if an old street directory might help, though I think the Local History room is closed at the moment while they move it all downstairs.
Nice to hear from you, Sandy. Hope you are well.
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Hi Rosie
In 1962 while a schoolboy I did a grocery round for a small grocers shop (Merrimans) in Harleston Road, St James, Northampton.
Just up the road from there was a home for unmarried mothers, it was on a corner with I think Holyrood Road. It was nearly opposite to Spencer School.
I do not know much about the place as it was always kept as a secret from me.
I hope that helps
Peter
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Hello Rosie
There was a Home on Harlestone Road called Elmleigh. It was almost next door to the Nazareth House Children's Home but unconnected. My mum worked there as a cook for many years. I remember going in with her on occasion and some of the girls being very young. They came from all over the country and mum used to say that they were being hidden away there through shame!! I think it was a private Home so many of the girls came from wealthy families. This would have been very early 60's. It was owned by a family called Glover.
Elmleigh is still there and looks the same from the front but I think it is a private residence now.
Thornbird4
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I taught at Spencer School in the 1960s.There were various institutions of this kind, in St James and Dallington. There was also one for girls in local authority care because their parents were unable to care for them and another known as the naughty boy's homeI have taught them all.
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Hello. I was born at St Saviours Home for Unmarried Mothers in 1961. The address is 103 Harlestone Road, Northampton. It is now a convent although the nuns are very welcoming! It was featured in Long Lost Family in 2011. I have set up a f/b page for St Saviours Mother and Baby Home very recently to allow people to tell their stories/find each other. Not sure if I'm allowed to post that one here? sorry if not!!
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A list of homes in the Northampton area:
There were a number of Unmarried Mothers Homes in the Northampton area:
Elmleigh.
114 Harleston Road
Northampton.
(It was run and/or used by the National Adoption Society)
St Saviour's
103 Harleston Road
Kingsthorpe
Northampton.
(Run and/or used by Leicester Diocesan Board of Social Responsibility
C of E diocese Peterborough)
Spencer Leeson House
11-12 Langham Place
Northampton.
(Run and/or used by Peterborough Diocesan Family and Social Welfare Council)
9 St George's Avenue
Northampton.
(As above)
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RE Thornbird4
My name is Mary McBlaine and I was a resident of St Saviours in the 1970s when I was a teenager - I loved my time there and have fond memories of the place and the lovely staff - I would dearly love to get in touch with anybody who worked there or lived there at the time and I wondered if you would be able to help me, please.
The staff I remember are Mrs Jones the Cook, Mrs Marriott a Carer, Anne Davies Carer, Mrs Harrison who ran the Home who had a black Labrador, Mrs Ridgeway (I think).
Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated.
Thankyou very much
Mary
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I'm trying to trace my sister who was born here but don't know where to start ;(
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It has been implied to me that some families still looked after daughters who were pregnant but unmarried........I'm not sure how common this was but the event in question I have been told about was 1917-1918.
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Hiya my mum pat lane was a mum in the home and had a son there shes been looking for all the girls from the home please if any body knows of my mum please message me x
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Hello my mum's names was pat lane plwase can some one mag bk x
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21 or 22 manor road Kingsthorpe was another one. I know because I was born there in 1952
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Dear All Who Reach These Pages,
Thank you for reminding me which mother and baby home I went to. I couldn't remember the name (blotted it out?). It was the private one affiliated with the National Adoption Society and run by two middle aged women who both came from very moneyed backgrounds. I noticed that one of the messages here spoke about the young women in this home (Elmleigh on Harlestone Rd.) coming from wealthy families. And some certainly did. But others like me most definitely did not.
Not that my parents were any more willing to accept my pregnancy or their first grandchild than those among the richer levels of society.
My reason for going to Elmleigh was two-fold: I was and am an atheist and the only other mother and baby homes I knew about were Christian; and at Elmleigh I had a choice of how long (up to six weeks) I could stay, caring for my baby. Of course that choice was, in my case, severely limited by the cost, every day in the home adding to the total which had to be paid.
To allow me to pay for my time there, the expenses related to my baby's time there and the pre-adoption medical tests, the two women found me living-in work away from the home. In all I had three jobs. All three employers had to contribute to the N.I. to ensure that I got the maternity benefit because those monies also all went towards paying the bill. It took every penny I earned together with the whole of the maternity benefits to pay that bill.
The women who ran the place were very considerate, but when I asked them how I might manage to be able to keep my son, given that my parents had refused to help, they had no response beyond my needing to do what was right for my child. Providing healthy children for adoption was, at root, the reason for their existence. Providing low income mothers with advice on how to keep their children was not their real goal.
I was there in 1969 and my son was placed for adoption - in Guildford, Surrey.
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Hi, I can confirm the ex-mother & baby home in Harlestone Road was called Elmleigh.
I worked there as gardener & general repairman 2.5 days per week from 1971 to 1974.
My employer was extremely 'well heeled', a Lady Glover, from Pychley House near Kettering. She owned a string of racehorses & land.
I can confirm I found the place very friendly & well run, and people from wealthy backgrounds & 'ordinary' folk alike resided at the home. It definitely wasn't cheap; I distinctly remember most folk had to work in various jobs to 'fund' their stay, if that makes sense. It was run by 3 VERY wealthy women, who, although very courteous & polite (to me), seemed to me would not stand for any nonsense or disagreement from anyone i.e. What they said goes, full stop. It was definitely - rightly or wrongly - a business, the sole purpose providing healthy babies for adoption - probably to wealthy couples who were unable to produce a child of their own.
There were a lot of people who came & went - many more than you would imagine. In the late 1970's I believe it was turned into student accommodation & then in the 90's sold & converted into private residences/offices. From what I remember one of the women who ran it, perhaps she was an accountant, hardly ever came out of the 'office' - the first door on the right after entering from the main outside doorway - she was always doing the books & on the telephone. This room was opposite the main kitchens, ground floor, and there was a payphone on the wall outside. I am almost certain it was a privately run business, but I am not 100% sure, & I have read somewhere on this forum that it was run by National Adoption Agency. Well I have lived in Bournemouth on the south coast for the past 32 years, but I was visiting friends in Corby last summer & drove past to have a look... It is still there & the exterior of the building looks exactly the same, however, some of the vast garden & lawns have disappeared & are now parking spaces for cars. Best wishes to all who read this, & I hope your memories of this place are good & not bad.
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Hello James Mac,
Thank you for confirming my perception of Elmleigh's true purpose. Mind you, at the time I didn't understand that the aim was providing babies for adoption. In my naivety, I assumed that it was there to help single mothers have a place to stay, give birth and make the decision whether to place for adoption or not. Only on looking back over these past few years have I come to realise that Elmleigh and its owners had no interest in helping the mothers keep their babies. Therefore, there was no advice on where to go for help (social services for those of us who were low income, working class young women). Of course, there might not have been any. But we ought to have had the opportunity to discuss the possibilities or impossibilities with people at social services.
Elmleigh was affiliated with the National Adoption Society, but certainly didn't belong to NAS.
As I only ever met and spoke with two women - including Lady Glover (thank you for reminding me of her name) - I had no idea that there were three in ownership.
The longest I could afford to stay at Elmleigh with my son was fourteen days. Prior to his birth I spent no more than a week in total in the house, again because every day-night there carried a fee. I arrived with two shillings (as a florin piece) and left with no more than that, after I had bought my train ticket.
My feelings towards Elmleigh are completely coloured by the fact of having to leave my son behind. It was a nice enough place and the women who ran it treated me kindly (but then, I didn't choose to keep my baby). And, of course, I paid my bill.
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Dear Hardrada
I can fully understand that your opinion of Elmleigh is coloured by the fact you left alone, after your stay there. To be honest with you, I was rather young & naive & didn't really understand it all; but I came to fully understand after around 6 months. Initially I was always told by my immediate boss, a pleasant middle aged (at that time) man called Mr Greenwood, to 'don't ask so many questions' and 'mind your own business' whenever I enquired about anything. When I say it took me around 6 months working there to fully understand, I mean this was just my own perception of things i.e. I was aware of virtually all girls leaving without their new born, and also many 'flash' cars turning up & I assumed these were wealthy families who would adopt the children. I must say I am 99.9% sure, to this day, that this was a private business, & was certainly run like one. I am really not sure how NAA have the name attached.
I must also say I was not in the main house very much at all during my employment there, we spent most of the time outside (working) or at the old stables round the back of the house. What I do know for a fact is that NOTHING was ever provided for free there. I remember I was given a hot meal every day, around 4pm (it was brought out to me in the stable house) & I thought this was great. When I received my first pay packet though - we were paid fortnighly every 2nd Friday in those days - I discovered the cost of the daily meal had been deducted from my wages. This continued throughout my period of employment.
Finally, I was thinking hard after reading your post, & I remember the other 2 women (in addition to Lady Glover) were called Francis (I cannot for the life of me think of her surname) - she used to rarely leave the small office; I could always see her through the window at her desk & on the phone; and a Mrs Clarke who was from a village near Kettering, I think (& I cannot for the life of me think of a forename, if I was ever told it). She had greyish hair & was middle aged then. All 3 spoke very well, very well educated I assumed, and extremely wealthy.
With best wishes & I hope any old information I have remembered has been of some help to you.
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Dear James Mac,
Thank you again for bothering to recall more details. The second woman sounds to have been Mrs Clarke and she gave every appearance of being a close friend of Lady Glover as well as from the upper middle classes if not the petty gentry.
The NAS was involved because they managed the adoption side of things - at least they did my son's. So far as I'm aware, paying to adopt (buying babies) was strictly illegal. But I don't doubt that those with the means made donations to the home or others like it.
Your having to pay for your lunches doesn't surprise me. Everything connected to being in the house had to be paid for, the doctor's fee for examining the baby plus any other related costs.
Lady Glover and her friends clearly had a network of acquaintances and friends who were willing to take in poorer young pregnant women and give them work, pay that all important NI contribution, and pay wages. Every penny of those wages had to be saved to help pay for the handful of days that I spent within the home before giving birth and the fortnight afterwards. Those savings joined all of the maternity benefits (if I recall right there was a lump sum and a weekly/monthly amount for about three months) in paying the bill.
To be honest and fair, Lady Glover and Mrs Clarke knew of my financial situation and when I had to leave a job, go into hospital for observation and bed rest, and then go back to the home for a few days (until they found me a less physically onerous job) they put me up in some kind of chalet or holiday home that was near the house (I think). For that I did not have to pay (but what I did for food I don't remember). Then Lady Glover's daughter and family gave me a job as cook in their apartment in London for about three weeks. It was an easy job with plenty of time for rest.
Of course, I still had to leave my son behind and that was the aim of the place.
You have really helped and I thank you for it.
Anne
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Dear James Mac,
Well, well. I have just been in contact with Northamptonshire County Council and they have just informed me that Lady Glover was the Chairperson of The National Adoption Society at the time (certainly in 1969 when I was there, possibly over the 1960s and early 1970s). Thus the very strong connection of Elmleigh to the NAS and very real, but not advertised (among expectant mothers, anyway) purpose of the home. All about Adoption.
Best regards,
Anne
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Ah, that makes perfect sense then... Chairman/Woman of the NAA would have had a fair bit of 'clout' in those days, I would imagine. Enough said.
Just a few other minor things I have remembered: Anytime I was required to go to the main house, it was mostly on the ground floor & main office; I rarely ventured to any of the upper floors, probably a few dozen times in total. I do remember in the main office they had small printed booklets, about half the size of an A4 sheet of paper, with a black & white photo of the outside view of the house on the cover, and various other smaller photos inside. This booklet was titled 'Elmleigh Residential Rest Home' (or something very similar), & I remember now, this is why it took me a while to realise the true purpose of the place - it mentioned nothing about adoption, or babies, basically the booklet made it look like some sort of 'holiday home'. They must have posted these to women, as there were boxes of them in the office & also in the main walk-in storage cupboard between the office & the main kitchen. I also now remember the head cook's name, it was a Mrs O'Reilly, if this rings any bells with you. Some days she used to bring out my daily meal to me, but most of the time I collected it from the back kitchen ground floor window. She was quite elderly then (c1971 ish) I remember, although maybe she just looked old to me (I was 19 then).
I also remember the very narrow, winding & steep backstairs, that went all the way from the main kitchen basement up to the top floor accommodation. I assume the house was home to a wealthy family with servants etc long before it became an adoption home.
I hope you can find as much information as you can, & that it is helpful to you. Does any place exist where you can check records, dates, names etc? Surely this can be done if Elmleigh was affiliated to NAA? Or will all of these records have been lost through the passage of time? Anyway, best wishes to you and hopefully some other people who stayed/worked there will read these postings & get in touch with you. I am sorry my memories are pretty sketchy & to be perfectly honest with you this was not a great time in my life, (nor one of my better jobs!) however in hindsight it opened my eyes to the world, in particular how the 'other half' live, & although I had no really bad experiences there (obviously I was not a young woman going there), it is not somewhere I remember too fondly. Best regards, James
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First let me thank you for your kind thoughts and comments. And for your additional memories of Elmleigh. As they say, every little helps.
I plugged Lady Susan Glover into Google and discovered that she had been, after the closing of Elmleigh and the cessation of the National Adoption Society, a director of four businesses. When she died (1994-1995) she left well over two million pounds. Clearly an astute businesswoman.
It does raise a question about Elmleigh and its status as profit or non-profit given that everything had to be paid for by the single mothers (or whoever paid for those with outside support). That along with her owning and running Elmleigh as a mother and baby home whilst at the same time being chair of the NAS raises - in my mind at least - ethical issues.
My best regards,
Anne
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Hi.
I believe my mum could have been born here. Do any of you remember a lady called daryl waters in 1964 ? I've been searching for my grandparents for so long now . Any help is greatly appreciated . I believe there were 2 birth homes on harlestone road so I don't know if it was this home or the other one. Thanks
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Dear ColetteBeanz,
I'm afraid that I was in Elmleigh on Harlestone Road in 1969, so would not have met a woman named Daryl (are you certain of the spelling? Daryl is usually a male name) Waters in 1964.
You say that you have been unable to find your grandparent(s). Did your mother get her original, full, birth certificate? Or even the original short certificate? Unfortunately I'm unsure about what access, if any, to the original birth/adoption records the children of an adopted parent are permitted.
Are you even sure of the birth year/place of your mother? I think that (but cannot swear to) on adoption the new, short birth certificate granted the adoptive parents has, as the place of birth, the location of the adoption order, usually where the court in their own district is situated.
In my son's case, for instance, I know that the adoption was formalised in Guildford Surrey in April 1970 (I still have the original of the adoption order sent to me by the court). So I should think that a new "birth" certificate was issued on or around that date giving Surrey as his birth county and the town in which his new parents lived as his birthplace. (I gather that only a short form certificate is issued and that has only the most basic of details: name, date of birth, town and county of birth.)
If - IF - you wish for some help in trying to find your grandmother and you have access to her name/your mother's original birth name and the year +/- 2, I would be happy to see if I could find her for you in the GRO indexes (I have subs to two very well known genealogical websites, so it is no trouble or expense).
I'm sorry that you have not been able to find your grandmother so far.
Best regards,
Anne (Reeves)
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Thank you so much for the reply . I rang the courts where she was adopted and they have located the files and are sending me the details. I'm guessing that will be the original full paperwork? I'm sure the lady said daryl waters but maybe I misheard . I believe my mums original birth name was Angela hill. She was born dec 1964 in Northampton . I can await the paperwork and give you the details then ? It makes me sad to think she was most likely forced to give up my mum. Were most the girls very young ? How young are we talking ? You're so kind thank you .
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I have the adoption certificate if that helps ?
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Dear Colette,
No problem at all. If you would rather communicate privately then perhaps we could use the Personal Messages on the Forum?
The court would be unlikely, on the basis of a phone call, to send you the full original paperwork. In fact they may not hold it. The website adoptionsearchreunion has information on where the records might be (everything depends upon how your mother was adopted, through what agency if any and so on) and also how you, as the child of an adopted child, might go about obtaining access to these records (especially the original full birth certificate, which will have your grandmother's name on it).
For instance, if she was adopted through the National Adoption Society, then you would have to contact Brent Council, (the person to contact and her email are on the adoptionsearchreunion website) because the NAS no longer exists and all of their records are held at Brent. (This I know because my son was adopted through this agency.)
Very possibly your grandmother had little or no choice about giving up her daughter for adoption. There was little or no state support for unmarried mothers and many parents wanted (as in my case) nothing to do with their grandson. His existence equalled shame, shame that I had brought on them.
The age of the mothers usually ranged from mid-teens (15-16) to mid-twenties. There would occasionally have been younger girls, of course, and so too women in their later twenties, perhaps even early thirties. But the majority of unmarried mothers-to-be were between 17-23, I would guess, by the 1960s at any rate.
Best regards,
Anne
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Hi Anne.
I've pm'd you
Thanks
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I was at Elmleigh Mother and Baby Home in November/December 1967. I responded to an article in Womens' Own magazine where they mentioned Lady Glover and how to contact her. Before I went into the home, I stayed with her daughter, Mrs. Spooner, at Hyde Park Gardens, and relieved for the cook (a disaster!) or nanny (3 children whose names I still remember) on their days off. They even took me into 'the country' (their place in Kettering) with them where I had to prepare a huge Sunday roast for as many people who might attend dinner. There were several pregnant girls working for the Spooners.
I found the home to be just what I needed at that time since I had decided not to keep my child. I was well treated, well fed and didn't have to pay anything unless I couldn't work (ie help cook & clean). I ended up on bedrest due to swollen feet & legs and did pay toward my keep. I felt my child went to a very good home although I've never had proof. I'd like to know about him but have not tried to trace him.
I feel Elmleigh saved me but it's still my secret. I am from America and have never told anyone.
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Elmleigh , ( 114 Harlestone Road , Northampton ) was my first home .. I was born in 1968 . It was my first home with my birth mother , who i believe was 26 years old at the time of my birth - I can understand a 26 year old still relinquishing in that era and i was amixed race baby , ( My birth Mother English and my birth father Indian )
I have a copy of a feeding schedule letter from Elmleigh , ( Can`t believe they had me on strsined dinners and cereal at 3 months old ! ) This letter marks my age at the time as 2 and a half months old - I`ce read it was harder to find homes for mixed race babies . There`s evidence my mother changed her mind about relinquishing me , it maybe another reason i was still at Elmleigh as most babies were off by 6 weeks of age .
Sre there any adoptees her who were also at Elmleigh in 1968 ? I was born in August so imagine my mother settled there sometime earlier during her pregnancy , We were there at least until the end of November .
My mother is dead but her name was Wendy Halliday if anyone knew her ...
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I forgot to add something about lady Susan Glover , who ran Elmleigh and who was chairperson of The National Adoption Society at the time . I kept all letters from NAS and clung to information in the letters as part of my identity and family history . the information was special to me as mhy only link to my birth mother , who i never met .
I live in Australia thouogh i was born & raised in the U.K . A British researcher found my mtjer and birth family who didn`t really want to know me but they told me tit bits of information abut my mother and i discovered the NAS letters told one lie after another about my mothers occupation and of her immediate family .
The researcher told me letters often embellished a babys history to make them look like they were from `good stock` . As a mixed race baby it was harder to place me but either way .. the NAS told my adoptive parents that my mother was a student nrse . she wasn`t . They said her brother was a graphic artist . He was a policeman . They wrote that my grandfather was an art teacher but he was a coal miner and so on . Apparently my Indian father was a doctor his family were described as professionals .. It really shows the level of cultural shame surrounding mothers and babies of the era , its amazing .
another member wrote here about her time as an employee at Elmleigh thank you so much for writing about your experience ! It gave me insight into the era and was really incredible to read x
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I was at 103 harleston rd in the early 70s. I t wasnt a mother and baby home at that time, it was a girls children home, I think it was called hollyrood house at that time. I would love to have contact with girls who was there when i was.
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Hi all ( + WELCOME TO ROOTSCHAT => PamD )
May I give you an update on something that has been worked upon for a very long time, (15+ years)? AND got a MAJOR STEP forward today>
One of my closest friends ( "CF") has been looking for his birth mother/family.
CF was born in the "Mother and Baby Home" [ Harlestone Road, Northampton ] in late 1964.
CF was adopted by a lovely couple who have treated him royally [ and may I say ] lots of love.
However, his real/original BirthReg name was not open to him until "recently".
His adoptive mother (Mum) died a little time ago, (Dad) is ill with Vascular Dementia.
With quite a bit of patience and a number of ( quite a few! ) false/incorrect leads, etc., etc.,
we ( another pal of his and I ) have completed the jigsaw.
The current address, and telephone number, of his birth mother is now known . . . . . final steps being discussed.
History = VERY YOUNG mother, YOUNG father.
CF put out for adoption.
The YOUNG couple eventually marrying a "small number of years" later, and more children
( couple, however, apparently not currently together )
CF now has W + 4xK + 3xGK [ ALL very lovely!!!!! ]
Let us hope that it is a positive outcome . . . . . it is a wonderful family to inherit. :-)
Even after all this, it is not always a positive reaction/result, as another recent previous situation proved. :-(
Mother traced/deceased. Grandmother "traced", "connected", "not interested" !
I would always say " Search, Find, Connect ", [ prepared to discuss positives/negatives ] ( soapbox now away )
Ray
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I was 17 years old when I was sent away to Northampton at 5 months pregnant, by my parents who were living in RAF quarters in North London. I stayed at Elmleigh for the duration of the pregnancy until my son was born in Northampton General Hospital in 1980. I was unable to go through with the adoption so kept my son. I remember Lady Glover turning up possibly once a week - I always remember her number plate GLO 1 and thought how posh she must be. I have no recollection of having to work during my stay other than possibly assist with meals and laying tables. I have no idea whether my parents had to pay for my stay - they were not particularly well off and I had always assumed it had been arranged via social services? I am now 54 years old.
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my son was collected from ELMLEIGH in October 1979 after a phone call from Lady Glover. We had already made an application to NAS, having already adopted a boy through them in 1975.
Everything was above board and this gift of a new son was a massive blessing to us all as a family. There was no pressure to donate or any other kind of financial incentive.
We all have known very little about my sons birth mother or his birth father or the family background and my son has had no response to his attempts to trace his birth mother at all.
It seems wrong that any person should not have the full details of his/her family background. After all, medical history should be the adopted persons right.
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I spent a short time in Elmleigh as an unmarried teenage mother. Although I find it hard to remember the actual dates, I do recall my daughter's early fetal movements and she was born summer 1980, so sometime between 1979~1980.
At that time there was an older posh-speaking lady playing housekeeper. She brought her adult dependent son in with her and I think he gardened. She came across as helpful, though at times bless 'er I recall her micro~managing the simplist of cooking tasks to be efficient. There was an older married mum~to~be there who was always drinking tea. She said she was there to give her unexpected last child up for adoption. Also a new teenage mother arrived with her new born (she had been taken totally by suprise by her child's existence and birth). She seemed to be going back to her parents home shortly afterwards with her son. I stayed in a huge downstairs room at the back of the house. The walls were painted orange (I think it might have been a converted garage). I was to use the smallish spiral type, a servants back staircase up to the bathrooms. The bathrooms only gave out a small amount of hot water. The home just seemed so stripped back to the past and quite austere. Of an evening the TV played host to "Tales of the unexpected" and I would go to bed early, wake early and listen to the birds singing. I was happy to be reunited with my mother before my daughter was born, and although we were looking forward to bringing baby up, she died at a few days old. The past has gone, the future isn't here yet, today is always the moment to live in, peacefully and fully.
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Wow! I can't believe I've found this about Elmleigh! My mother worked at this mother and baby home when I was about 9 years old in 1977. She was a kind of "in house" mother and we lived in a couple of rooms in the home and my mother was the one that the pregnant girls would come and wake up if they went into labour during the night when no other staff were around. I can remember the cook at the home was called Mrs Thorpe or Thorn and her daughter, who was a similar age to me, was called Emily. I can't remember any of the names of the very young mothers but I can remember being very intrigued by all these young mums and I used to lay awake at night listening to some of them crying through the night because their babies had been taken away from them or hearing parents rowing with the teenagers about the disgrace and shame they had brought on the family by getting pregnant out of wedlock etc. I don't know how long we lived there for but I have never forgotten the time. There was a children's home next door and I went to school locally somewhere with Emily and some of the children from next door. Memories.
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I have only just found this thread but in view of all the recent publicity around Forced Adoption, it would be good to get in touch with others that have been in this situation, particularly at Elmleigh in Northampton.
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Miss J B Baker (Social Worker)
Miss D M Dye (General Secretary)
Mrs Clarke (role unknown; assumed senior as she transferred me, as a baby, to my foster mother)
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I think that in the 1950's / 1960's there was a home for unmarried girls in Holyrood Rd, off Harlestone Rd. Northampton.
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This might be useful for someone
http://www.childrenshomes.org.uk/list/Northamptonshire.shtml
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Dear all, following the news programmes today and much talk about adoptions and mother and baby homes, I began to look into Elmleigh House where I was 16 years old, pregnant and sent here by my family as they were horrified at my becoming pregnant. My parents told family and friends that I was at Agricultural college, until I was able to return home. I was here in Jan-March 1980. It has been very interesting reading these posts. I must admit that i’m now nearly 60 years old and I feel so naive at the prospect of my baby possibly being sold to wealthy people who could not have their own children. My memories are of the lovely gardens with very tall trees and squirrels. I remember someone I called matron who used to sit in the office. It was to her that we went to get our allowance, i do not remember how much it was, but the rest of the money paid for our stay. I remember sharing cooking and cleaning duties, cleaning the windows with newspaper and vinegar. I remember some of the young mothers keeping their babies and living in one room. When I arrived I was in an attic room and as I got bigger I moved to the ground floor. I remember the lounge and tv and a picture on the wall, it was of a very young child with tears from his eyes, not a photo but a painting. I copied this myself and still have it. I only remember one young girl who became my friend. Her name was Helen and she called her baby James, she had her baby after me and she came from London. I would love to hear more about Elmleigh. I also went back to visit once when I was working in the area in early 1990’s i would have been and by then it had been split into two residential properties.
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Hi Traceyelizabeth, I was born in St Saviours too .. April 24th 1960
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Please can anyone remember a woman called Hilary who was there at Elmleigh in November 1963 ? .
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As of my previous post the lady may have gone under the name of Hilary or Clare or both ?.Thank you.
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I was in Elmleigh during 1980/81. What went on there was children for sale arranged by L G. I spent a lot of "time" (unknown to anyone) in her office & spent a lot of time reading the files & paperwork.
The DHSS paid £55.00 weekly. The House received £50.00, we got £5.00 per week to buy shampoo, soap, anything we needed. It did not go far. A lot of young women were forced, talked into giving up their babies. I kept mine which infuriated LG She kept on at me all of the time but I never gave in. She made huge profits by what she did which I did & do not agree with.
S from Rhyl in Wales, if you are on here, I hope you are well. Your son was so beautiful & I know it broke your heart to give him up.
I stayed after my little girl was born for 5/6 months when I gratefully left there.
Hello to anyone that was there at that time. Love to you all ❤️
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Hi Wendy
That is horrific. I had no idea this was going on. I was in Elmleigh from late jan to april 1980. My parents were horrified that i was pregnant, i knew they would make me have an abortion so i hid my pregnancy until i was 7 months knowing that i could then let my child go for adoption and have the opportunity of life. At the time it was the most responsible thing to do for my child. I remember the office, i remember getting my small allowance. I was put in the attic room when i arrived and moved to a lower room later, my previous post details more. My parents did not give me the option to keep my child. After i had her in northampton general, i cannot remember the timescale but i went to say goodbye in the nursery room before i left and she had already been moved elsewhere. I returned home to my parents house and carries on with my life. My experience has been pushed into a box to allow me to carry on with my life. I have a 28 year old son, he it unaware of my experience. My child has not made any advance in finding me, i only live about 4 miles from my parents home in the day. Do you think all this selling needs looking into, like the magdalen laundry or should it just be left quiet. It would probably disturb many adoptees lives if this was all brought up, i have not attempted contact with my daughter as i felt it may upset her family life.
Thank you for posting Wendy x
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Hi Wendy. Having read the above post it needs courage now , and in authority to look into this . I feel the pain .Huge love to the ' survivors ' of these atrocities. X .
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The name was Glover at Elmleigh. I do not think there is anything anyone can do. The DHSS knew what was going on there, so where do you take that information?
I am so sorry you did not get to say goodbye to your daughter, I feel your loss. Sadly, there were so many young women in the same situation. I feel so lucky to have kept my daughter. Lucky in the fact that my parents were totally indifferent to whether I lived or died. They were abusive, mentally, physically & verbally so I made sure my daughter stayed with me. I had my family then. Please have courage, strength & love in the knowledge that you were not the instigator in your daughter not being with you. You are not to blame in any way. I wish you all the best in your life ❤️
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Doing some research for a guy. He was born in december 1959. His birth cert shows 21a manor road, northampton. His moms name was (removed ) How do I go about finding more about her?