Caring for mind and body- the Working Lads Homes
Provision for boys in the Charity’s care once they reached working age came in the form of Homes for Working Boys, also known as Young Men’s Homes or Working Lads Homes. Established in 1873 just a few years after the Charity began, these homes accommodated 15 to 18 year olds who had been cared for by the Charity as children and were now in regular employment either in the workshops of the Charity’s Central Refuge or elsewhere in the city. No such provision was provided for girls who often went into domestic service. One home of 12 boys was first established in Grosvenor Street, Oxford Road but this was felt to be too far from the Charity’s centre of operations at Strangeways and the boys could not be supervised sufficiently meaning the home was soon moved to Lower Broughton. Four homes in this area had been established by 1877 each with around 15 boys apprenticed to various trades. The homes were under the care of a ‘father’ and ‘mother’. The boys paid towards their board but once they
