Childrens Home Portslade

[funkymum]

I believe my father was in a childrens home and the address was Upper Shoreham Road, Southwick, Shoreham, Portslade.  I have taken this info from the 1911 census.  The home was "run" by a Louie Pennington-Bickford I gather from the historica directories.

However, I can find no further information about this home and assume it was a private home.  I have contacted both East and West Records Office for assistance to no avail.  Can anyone here help me out and point me in another direction?

Thank you

[kizmiaz]

Hi Funkymum and welcome to Rootschat

It says on the National Archives site that there was a childrens home attached to the Steyning Union Workhouse (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/hospitalrecords/details.asp?id=529&page=55), so this is probably the home you are looking for.

It says on this website (http://www.workhouses.org.uk/index.html?Steyning/Steyning.shtml) that there was a childrens home named St Wilfrid's, but I don't think this is the right one. The one you want was possibly a building in the main Workhouse site

Hope this might help

Glen

[funkymum]

Thanks for your response.  However, do you think that what I believe is a privately run home by the Pennington-Bickford family would be a b uilding in the workhouse?  A document that I have states "they established a respite home for local central london children at Portslade, Essex.  Do you think they are connected?

Gill

[funkymum]

Pressed the button too soon!  I also have found out that the building went onto become an old people's home but was closed in probably the 1970s.

Regards

[cein]

Hi Funkymum,
My Mom was born at the Steyning Union Workhouse and the address on her birth certificate is 2 Upper Shoreham Road, Kingston-by-Sea.  Perhaps this is helpful to you.
Cein

[funkymum]

Hi Cein

The address of the home on the 1911 census is a bit long winded but is shown as:

Upper Shoreham Road, Southwick Shoreham, Portslade by Sea

With my limited geographical knowledge it sounds like they have picked several names from the area and put them into one address.

I have also found out that the home was run by a Mrs Louie Pennington-Bickford as a respite home for children from London.  I assume, therefore that it must be a private home.

Thanks for your info, it might be connected in someway who knows, thats all part of the fun of the searching, however I am getting a bit worn down with this one I have been looking so long and keep coming back to it.

Regards

Gill

[M.Ann]

Hi there funkymum,
I am from Portslade- although I now live 150 miles from there! I am trying to visualise where this home could be. Does the 1911 census give a number of the premises and could you approximate it to a landmark or intersecting street on this long road from the enumeraters schedule? You need to locate where the dwelling was of course though a lot of the buildings on this road are much later than 1911. Portslade is in East Sussex but Southwick is in West Sussex and merges into Shoreham. Steyning is on the other side of the Adur River west of Shoreham. I wonder if a Kelly's directory might help you or any other docus. e.g. an electoral roll- bearing in mind it would be the lady's husband or other male occupant  who would be the reg'd. voter since women could not vote at this time. The onset of WW1 will of course complicate your search but keep trying You will crack it eventually!! M.Ann

[spinalman]

Hi,  I run a history website for Shoreham in Sussex.  You may want to post there as they are quite knowledgeable.

http://www.shorehambysea.com/shoreham-by-sea-history-portal.html

http://www.shorehambysea.com/forums/index.php?showforum=14

Upper Shoreham Road is quite a problematic address.  From other web sources this seems like Portslade is the probable location, not Shoreham.  Geographically there are separate towns - West to east, Shoreham, then Southwick and finally Portslade.  The Workhouse (now Southlands Hospital) had (and still does) an Upper Shoreham Road address for all births there.. but is firmly in Shoreham (although was called Steyning Union!).

There was an orphange at St. Wilfreds/ Ham Road Shoreham. 

Yours sounds like it was firmly in Portslade. BUT Upper Shoreham Road does not exist in Portslade - it may have been renamed decades ago, but it is very likely to be Old Shoreham Road now

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?client=safari&q=portslade&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&hl=en&hq=&hnear=Portslade,+Brighton,+East+Sussex,+United+Kingdom&ll=50.838779,-0.221829&spn=0.00437,0.013443&t=h&z=17

[OneBigFamily]

Hi Funkymum

There was a Reverend William Pennington-Bickford whose death was registered in Worthing Sussex, aged 66, and there was also a Louisa Pennington-Bickford whose death was registered in Worthing Sussex aged 76.

Both of their deaths were registered in 1941.  The London Gazette online search showed The Reverend had a connection to London.

There was an obituary for Louisa - if you can find out how to obtain it, it might provide more information.

Leavenworth County, Kansas: Leavenworth Times Obituary Index, 1936-1941
about Louisa (Mrs.) Pennington-Bickford
Given Name: Louisa (Mrs.)
Surname: Pennington-Bickford
Publication Date: 7 Dec 1941
Event: Death
Page Number: 1
Notes: London, funeral today
Source Information:
Leavenworth County Genealogical Society, comp. Leavenworth County, Kansas: Leavenworth Times Obituary Index, 1936-1941 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2003.
Original data: Leavenworth, Kansas. Obituaries from the Leavenworth Times, 1936-1941. Leavenworth, KS, USA: Leavenworth Times, 1936-1941.