Penmaen Head, Colwyn Bay- The Gateway to Health

I've recently been exploring the history of the Charity's children's convalescent Home "Tanllwyfan" on Penmaen Head, Colwyn Bay. Described as 'the gateway to health' in the Charity's Annual Reports this was the second location for the Charity's children's convalescent home, the first opened in Lytham in 1883. The Lytham property however with only 20 beds hadn't been able to meet the high demand for places for those children not eligible for a permanent home with the Charity, but in need of respite after illness. The Old Colwyn property fit the bill with more space and land. The property had previously been a private residence and a boarding school before it came under the Charity's ownership and was opened as a convalescent home on 7 August 1915.

The 1936 Annual Report describes the home as having 41 beds, magnificent views of the sea and an 'abundance of sunshine and fresh air' with ample playing fields where the children 'develop gradually increasing appetites.' The property had over seven acres of garden and meadow. A brochure advertising the home describes that along with the view of the sea there were also views from the grounds above the house of the inland mountains. A road from the mountain led to the beach, reached in 5 minutes. A list of rooms and outbuildings in one of the Tanllwyfan registers from May 1928 lists four dormitories, stables for two horses, a cowshed and pigstyes and the property produced its own supply of milk, fresh eggs, vegetables and fruit.  For those children from the poorer areas of Manchester and Salford living in cramped accommodation this was a world apart. 

Periods of residence ranged from three weeks up to six even 12 months. Notes written for a speech given at a Garden Party fundraiser in 1933 show children who came to Tanllwyfan had been suffering from conditions such as ricketts, bronchitis, pneumonia, and flu. Poverty was the primary cause of many of these illnesses, examples of the children admitted show parents who were unemployed or on low pay with a number of children to feed. The Charity were keen to stress that Tanllwyfan was not a holiday home but a place for children to recuperate.

The local community in Colwyn Bay appears to have played a crucial part in supporting the home. Soon after the property was opened in 1915 a Ladies Auxiliary was formed with local members taking an interest in the children, visiting the home and offering to raise funds. A Local Council of Gentlemen was also formed to act in the home's interest. The ladies committee organised garden parties, collection boxes and later whist drives. They also provided Christmas presents for the children. Fundraising took place for renovations including a new Recreation Hall which was referenced in the 1937 Annual Report. The hall was necessary as the home was open all year round and space was needed for the children to play when the weather wasn't quite so fine.

During the Second World War the children of one of the Charity's Manchester homes, Bethesda were relocated to Old Colwyn staying until 1950. By 1946 plans were already being made to return the property to a convalescence home and extend the residence, providing additional accommodation for up to 80 or 90 'delicate' children for periods of three weeks or more. The home was re-opened once again as a convalescence home in June 1953. By 1955 the home was receiving children from Children's hospitals in the Manchester area. The 1955 Annual Report remarked that the home was being entrusted with more serious cases requiring special care and the 1959 report remarks on some illnesses caused by 'emotional upset and a sense of insecurity'. This was a noticeable difference from the kind of cases of the 1920s and 1930s should as bronchitis and pneumonia.

By 1960 with numbers decreasing in the home and generally improved health and living conditions the need for traditional convalescence homes had reduced. The function of the home was therefore changed to a facility for adolescent girls with challenging behaviours, an alternative to the use of Approved Schools. 12 places were initially available and with demand soon outstripping supply an extension was planned with boys also accommodated from 1968. The service continued until the mid 1980s.

From 1915 to early1960 however Tanllwyfan's sole purpose had been convalescence with the Annual Report calculating 17 762 children had stayed at the home during this period. Improving children's health while also providing the chance to travel by train, see the sea, and see farm animals, sometimes for the first time.