Beechholme was a children's home in Fir Tree Road,

Banstead Banstead is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It is south of Sutton, south-west of Croydon, south-east of Kingston-upon-Thames, and south of Central London. On the North Downs, it is on three of the four main ...

, Surrey. It was founded in 1879 as a Residential School for poor children from the slums of Kensington and

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and run under a Village system. A self-contained community, the home consisted of twenty four, large, detached houses on both sides of a long, tree-lined avenue. The houses were named after tree and shrubs - such as Beech, Oak, Cedar, Acacia and the like - each one run as a ‘family’ unit, autonomously managed and quite independent of its neighbours. Each house was managed by 'house parents'. Within the grounds, there were administration buildings, a nursery school, primary school, sewing rooms (complete with seamstress and assistant), a cobblers shop, a full-time team of gardeners, a chapel and playing fields, etc. Conditions at Beechholme were harsh, but typical of private residential schools of the same era. Later, children came from other parts of London and the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

took over responsibility, followed by

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. In 1974, the children's home was closed and the property sold. All buildings were demolished and the site re-developed in 1975 as the High Beeches Estate. The Beech Holme Pavilion was built on the old site, and now is the location of the Beeches Montessori Nursery and local children's football clubs. The

London Metropolitan Archives The London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) is the principal local government archive repository for the Greater London area, including the City of London: it is the largest county record office in the United Kingdom. It was established under its pr ...

hold records of the children who resided at the school. Former residents of the home include the television presenter Dilly Braimoh, who produced a television programme on Beechholme and its former residents.

External links

Beechholme children's school in Banstead
Banstead History website

by Peter Eliot (archived)
Kensington & Chelsea School District
workhouses.org.uk 1879 establishments in England 1974 disestablishments in England Adoption, fostering, orphan care and displacement Defunct schools in Surrey Educational institutions established in 1879 Educational institutions disestablished in 1974 {{philanthropy-org-stub