In 1887 Thomas John Barnardo wrote,
"Up
till the year 1884 the "baby question" met me at every turn in the
course of my work, and no answer to its insistent beseeching was
possible. I might rescue a family of little girls from circumstances of
direct distress, and the Ilford Homes gladly welcomed them; but how
about the baby brother? I need hardly say that I had already placed a
baby in every one of the cottages at Ilford, the "mother" of which felt
equal
to such a responsibility; but this opening was soon exhausted, and then
what was to be done? I have learned that God never sets His people a
problem without keeping the answer in waiting, and just when my path
seemed hedged with thorns, a way was unexpectedly opened through the
kindness of a friend of long standing, one who has since then gone to
his rest, the late Mr. Theodore Moilliet. This gentleman, who owned
property at Hawkhurst, offered me the villa of Hillside, consisting of
two small houses, with the accompanying land, as a free gift to be used
for the benefit of the Homes. At that very time my fundamental principle
of never refusing admission to destitute cases was in imminent danger of
breaking down with regards to the babies. As I have said, most of the
Ilford cottages were furnished with a baby, and it seemed impossible to
provide for the rescue of several urgently needed cases just then under
my observation. How joyfully and thankfully I accepted this timely offer
at Hawkhurst can easily therefore be imagined. The gradual extension of
my work brought an even larger number of cases within my purview. When,
as during the period under notice some 7,000 children come under my
notice for investigation in a single year, it would, indeed, be strange
if not more than thirty babies at anyone time required institutional
care. Hence the old trouble began to reassert itself not very long after
the opening of the original Babies Castle. It was difficult to
accommodate sixty babies where there was room for only thirty, as it was
to accommodate thirty where there was room for none; and soon an urgent
call arose once more for enlarged space at Hawkhurst. Babies - above
all, neglected babies - cannot be dealt with rightly through the mere
efforts of Institutions not specially devoted to their rescue. Hence it
was definitely decided, after much inconvenience had been experienced,
to erect, on the land given, as already described, a new Babies Castle
which should gather in all the waifs whom I find deserted and maimed on
the very threshold of life."
Construction
began on a new two-storey red brick building in the spring of 1886, and on
9th August it was formerly opened by Her Royal Highness, The Princess Mary
Adelaide, Duchess of Teck, accompanied by her daughter princess Victoria
who was later to become Queen Mary, the wife of King George V.
In May 1959 a
local Townswomen's Guild expressed 'considerable surprise' at the large
number of 'coloured infants' at the Babies Castle. They warned that unless
they could be assured that no white child was being refused admission as a
consequence their support of Dr. Barnardo's would cease but they were
reassured and the matter blew over. Clearly they had never bothered to
read Thomas Barnardo's aims, known as "The Nine Nos"...
1.
No destitute child refused
2. No Race Barrier
3. No Creed Clause
4. No Physical Disability
5. No Age Limit
6. No Money Promise
7. No Voting
8. No Waiting
9. No Red Tape
By 1965 the
number of children in care at the Babies Castle had so reduced it was
decided to finally close the orphanage. It was re-named 'Hawkhurst Castle'
and became a private old people's nursing home, but in 2005 it was sold
again for £1.7 million and planning permission was granted to turn it into
the inevitable "luxury apartments". At the time of our visit in
September 2011 nothing has been done and the house is in the inevitable
state of advanced decay. This is depressingly common - a listed building
is left to rot on land upon which developers would much rather bung up a
few ticky tacky boxes in order to make a fast buck.
To be perfectly
honest this was not a brilliant explore and the dodgy floors and absence
of floorboards upstairs make it potentially lethal. Access was simplicity
itself but there was very little of interest to see until we went into an
out building. Scattered across the floor and upon a medication trolley
were the complete records of a former pensioner who had been resident
there during the castle's time as a care home. We were very shocked to
find his bank statements, his doctor's reports, and even a copy of his
death certificate. It just goes to show that it's not only the NHS who are
careless with patient's records et all...
Below is a
selection of the photographs we took in and around the orphanage.
If you wish
to view any in a larger size then click the picture of your
choice...
The old sign down on the road... |
The side of the "castle"... |
Bay window and "parapet" over the main entrance...
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The castle's name...
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Ground floor corridor...
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The ubiquitous Lego brick...
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Stairs up to the first floor...
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Pretty glass...
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Corridor names...
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Dodgy bedroom corridor floors...
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That's a bit academic really! |
Trashed!
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Damp has dropped many ceilings...
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Stripy - quite appealing!
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The inevitable rampant chavvery... |
Blue bathroom...
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Pink bathroom... |
The rear courtyard from the first floor... |
White bathroom = the full set?
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One of many badly stained mattresses... |
Evidence of some work having been done? |
No, we just found a yellow one too! |
Do as you are told...
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Or Santa might not call...
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"Music For Pleasure" - Mantovani?
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More Lego up in the loft...
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And a stack of abandoned plates...
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There's always a shoe on every explore... |
Peppermint Patty's room?
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A kitchenette on the first floor...
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"Framed"...
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Going down...
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The out buildings where we later found patient's records...
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The kitchens proper... |
Thermos...
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A cosy bed time drink? |
Note to Mrs. Bates?
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Pizza anyone? |
Oh dear...
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The laundry... |
Necessary in view of that book...
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Common room...
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Dedication... |
Chandelier... |
Safe...
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Rotting... |
Any messages? |
Lonely teddy...
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Is this the pattern for teddy's natty jummy?
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Lets watch the news...
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Disabled access...
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King size diapers... |
I said, "make the bed, don't try to hide it"... |
Well appointed?
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Candle... |
Lamp shade... |
Out back...
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Not much cover for security... |
Stacked in the out building...
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Bed pan and trolley... |
Carelessly discarded patient records for one individual... |
Robert loves Hilda...
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Robert's death certificate...
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Redundant beds... |
Navigate back to the
main urb-ex index page... |
...and finally... |
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