Children North East/History

When Children North East was formed in 1891 as the Poor Children’s Holiday Association, Newcastle was not the vibrant, cosmopolitan city it is today. There was no Millennium Bridge (indeed no Tyne Bridge), no Sage Music Centre and no bustling nightlife on the Quayside or Bigg Market. Although things were beginning to improve, much of the older part of the city was very overcrowded and unsanitary and still the squalid home of the poor.

Two local gentlemen, Mr John H Watson and Mr J T Lunn were among many people who showed concern for the conditions that their fellow human beings were living in and got together to organise a trip for some 120 children to the seaside at Monkseaton in July 1891.

So enjoyable was the trip that the local newspapers of the day printed an account of what had happened and money started to roll in to provide the trips - the next year over 6500 children enjoyed a trip to the seaside. From 1893 onwards, beginning in May and continuing until the end of September, each week groups of between 400-800 children were taken to the coast.

As the seaside trips continued it soon became apparent that there were a lot of children who, although they deserved a trip, were not able to take one because they were considered too weak and frail to endure the rigours of such an energetic outing. It was decided to look at the possibility of sending these children on longer breaks to the country and many kind-hearted people in Northumberland opened their doors, free of charge, to enable them to have a lengthy stay in pure, fresh air.

The PCHA was concerned with the moral as well as the physical welfare of the poor child and so night shelters were opened at Percy Street Newcastle and Bottle Bank Gateshead to provide a roof for children who were homeless and living rough. In 1894 a street vendors’ club was opened in Percy Street with the sole purpose of encouraging the children to end their precarious and often illegal means of making a living and encouraging them to do something better.

The committee of the Street Vendors’ Club soon became aware that some members were sleeping rough on the city streets and one freezing January evening some of the boys begged to be allowed to stay overnight in the club. An appeal was launched and soon £200 was raised to furnish Percy Street with 84 beds. Volunteers combed the city streets at night to find little urchins huddled in doorways and they brought them back to the club for a meal and a warm bed. However, what was to be done with these boys as Percy Street was not suitable for long-term residents? So began a working relationship with other organisations such as Dr Barnardos, The Waif & Strays, The Pandon Homes and the Cripples Homes.

Of course there were also girls out there on the streets, so in 1897 a Girl’s home was opened at Shotley Bridge with the intention of offering the same opportunities as to the boys.

In 1904 it was noticed that there were no facilities for the treatment of children suffering from tuberculosis and that there was an urgent need for a children’s sanatorium, in conjunction with a farm colony, which would provide training for the boys and fresh produce for the sanatorium. After a huge appeal, The Phillipson Farm Colony and Children’s Sanatorium opened in 1907. It was the first of its kind in the country.

The sanatorium was extended a number of times and received many important and distinguished visitors including, in 1926, HRH Prince Albert, Duke of York who opened a new wing for patients suffering from surgical TB and also the Sunlight Building where treatment was effected using ultra violet rays filtered through panes of glass. 95% of patients were later to be discharged from the sanatorium free of the disease.

In 1947 the sanatorium was taken over by the newly created National Health Service.

All during this time the PCHA continued developing its Children’s Homes. In 1913 Edward Brough House was opened in South Shields which provided not only holidays by the seaside for poor children, but also gave some children a permanent home.

1914 to 1930 saw the opening of the Luke Bell Servant Hostel in Gateshead, The Vine Street Mission in Gateshead, another Brough Home in South Shields and the Francis Nicholson Memorial Holiday Home, Orphanage and Home for Tired Mothers in Whitley Bay.

1933 saw the opening of the new headquarters at 66 Percy Street. A great deal of thought had gone into the planning of this new building. Up to 700 children could be accommodated in the main hall, the Thomas Bainbridge Memorial Hall. It also had a fully equipped gymnasium, various classrooms and offices. The top floor provided semi-permanent accommodation for up to 116 young boys, with the flat roof being used as a play area.

By 1950 the days of absolute and abject poverty were over and the need was now for longer stay homes rather than seaside holidays and outings, although these continued until 1965. As a result of this shift of emphasis the Association changed its title to The Poor Children’s Homes Association and in 1965 the latest home at Beverley Terrace in Cullercoats opened - The Eustace Percy Home.

The 1960’s were a time of many changes, one of which was a further name change to The North East Children’s Society. The Philipson Farm was sold, which left the Society with the headquarters in Percy Street and the four children’s homes in Gateshead, South Shields, Whickham and Cullercoats.

As time went on new legislation was introduced and changes had to be made to keep up with the times. The old Whickham home was sold and replaced with a purpose built Children’s home. Cullercoats was adapted to suit but a survey showed that the Gateshead Home needed to be replaced and a site was found at Westerhope where a home for 14 children was opened in 1972. The South Shields Home was unable to be adapted and was replaced in 1975 with a new home in Forest Hall.

In 1972 the Percy Street home of the Society was closed to make way for the building of Eldon Square

During the first half of the 1980’s Residential Child Care Provision changed dramatically. Greater emphasis was placed on supporting families and encouraging the care of children to take place within the family circle. Where children needed admission to residential care it became policy to foster all children under 10 and, where possible, older children were fostered also.

Nationally, these changes were reflected in the closure of more than half of the country’s children’s and community homes. The home at Whickham became a Residential Short Stay Family Centre but local authority cutbacks brought about the closure of the home in 1985 and Forest Hall closed soon after. Westerhope closed in 1989 and in 1991 Cullercoats also closed.

During this time our services for children changed quite dramatically as we moved away from the residential care to the range of community based projects we run today, so in 1987 the Society adopted the name Children North East.

Children North East now manages a number of diverse, region wide community based projects from Northumberland to Teesside and although our service has changed from the early days of seaside trips, our aims are just the same - to enable children and young people to reach their full potential and to ease the pressures that life’s inequalities can bring. To read about the work of our projects please click on the appropriate link within the project section.

Registered Charity Information
Children North East is a registered charity and is a Company Limited by Guarantee.
Registered Charity No: 222041
Company Reg No: 90288 England
Registered Office: 89 Denhill Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE15 6QE

Patrons:
HRH The Duke of York KG, KCVO, ADC
Her Grace, Elizabeth, Duchess of Northumberland

Hon Life Members:
Mr E Dunn, Mrs A R Lunn, Dr D M Russell, Mr B M Wyllie,
Mr A Stonehouse

Vice Presidents:
The Rt Hon The Viscount Ridley TD, JP
Mr L R Lunn

Trustees:

Chairman	- Mrs C E Weightman
	- Mr J Dean
	- Mr G Cook
	- Mr S Richardson
	- Mr P Parker
	- Ms C Lowthian
	- Mr G Little
	- Mrs A Forbes
	- Mrs A Livesey
	- Mrs M S Dixon
	- Mr S Bell

Chief Executive and Company Secretary:

Mr Tom Adams

Senior Staff Team:

Mr T Adams	- Chief Executive
Mrs C Southam	- Head of Service (Family Support)
Ms M Taylor	- Head of Service (Young People)
Ms J James	- Head of Service (Community)
Mr J McLeod	- Head of Finance
Mr R Olley	- Head of Service (Father Work)
Mrs C Flynn	- Fundraising/PR Manager
Mr J W Smith	- HR/Training Manager