The Home of The Good Shepherd and Eastmoor Nursery
By Wendy Cope
Eastmoor Children’s Home, Clyne Common
An album containing poignant pictures of many of the babies and toddlers who lived at Eastmoor Nursery from the late 1940s, has been discovered by Gaynor Ryan, who has asked us to share them. The album also includes, her Auntie, Hanna Davies (Nan), who trained there as a nursery nurse for two years in the late 1940's and is seen in the picture above.
Gaynor would love to reunite those who were at the Nursery with more of these poignant pictures.from the album.
Contact the editors, who will forward any message to Gaynor Ryan
Eastmoor Childrens Home
GARDEN FETE
The Garden Fete was held by the Church of England Children's Society Home at Eastmoor, Clyne Common, between 1947 and 1949.
In addition to the those attending, nurse Hannah Davies (Nan) who is holding a baby and the,"tweenies" and toddlers - from left to right are: Canon W. D. G. Wilkinson, The Rt Reverend T. Illtyd Jenkin Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, Dr. E. W. Williamson, the Rev. Lynne Davies . . . The Venerable Archdeacon Harold Williams, the Matron, Miss Watson and Rev. R G Beemy.
JUST ONE MORE STIR FOR LUCK
JUST ONE MORE STIR FOR LUCK
With only a week to go to Christmas, Miss Marjorie Watson, of Eastmoor Nursery, Bishopston, has quite a problem on her hands the filling of 22 stockings.
The 16 boys and six girls, whose ages range from three months to four-and-a-half years, know all about Christmas and the unwritten law of asking Santa Claus for toys, and they also know that one of the "musts" for Christmas is the hanging up of stockings. It is going to be quite a headache filling them all, but working essentially on "home" lines the staff of the Eastmoor Nursery. are doing their utmost to see that Christmas will be exactly the same for their children as for those fortunate enough to spend it with their parents.
A Christmas tree complete with lights has been arranged, and to the joy of the toddlers Santa Claus is going to pay them a visit on the great day. They know already that there to be a Christmas pudding for the older ones saw to it that they gave the mixture a lucky stir to cover the bright new sixpences. It tasted good, too, to judge from their faces and sticky fingers.
Two of the kiddies unaware of the fact, will have a wonderful present-a mother and father, not only for Christmas but for all time. Both babies are being adopted this week and will raise the total adoptions in the last two years to 16. There are three waiting lists connected with Eastmoor, children. student nurses and foster parents. The foster-parents' list is a long one. So is that of the children waiting to be adopted. The snag "is suitable "partnering," for the demand for little girls far exceeds that for boys.
The nurses there are on a two-years course, at the end of which they sit for their Nursery Diploma.
Miss Watson, matron at 38 years of age, has very definite ideas on how to run the nursery. Trained in this country and in Australia, Tasmania and the West Indies, she knows everything there is to know about the welfare of children and believes that a happy staff and atmosphere is essential
The staff of the Eastmoor Nursery, 1948.
Children at Eastmoor Nursery, Clyne Common, take it in turns to give each other cart rides in 1954.
Raymond, has sent us this photo below, which shows him playing at Eastmoor in 1954 and says, “Unfortunately, I have no memory of my time there, but I have some correspondence which records that I arrived at Eastmoor Nursery around early December 1952, when the Matron was Miss Sansom and stayed to the end of 1955.
After studying the other photos on this website, I must say the home looked a very loving and well run place.”
Eastmoor Nursery, with nurses and children playing.
Eastmoor Childrens Home
Eastmoor Childrens Home
By Wendy Cope
The early years of this house are not well documented. The house stands on one of two fields called Moor Parks. It was probably built as a farmhouse, which was occupied by W. M. Jones and his family in 1871. He called himself a gentleman but was also a farmer. He advertised two black Berkshire boars for sale at 4 guineas each.
In September 1875, the Cambrian carried an advertisement indicating that Eastmoor Park was to let. It had dining, drawing and breakfast rooms, kitchen, back kitchen and dairy and upstairs were nine bedrooms. Outside were stable and coach-house. It also carried a right of common on Clyne Moor which enabled the owner to graze animals on the moor. In May 1878, the house was advertised for sale by order of the mortgagees and the auction took place later in the month. The 1881 census records two small farmers in the area, John Rich, a market gardener with 4 acres at East Moor and William Davies, milkman and gardener with 3 acres at Moor Park but the main house was most probably empty as there was no entry for it..
At the time of the 1891 census it was the home of Thomas Jenkins, a wholesale grocer, and his family, but by June 1892 there were new tenants. John Glasbrook’s wife gave birth to a son there. The Glasbrooks were colliery owners and industrialists.
Eastmoor Nursery, Clyne Common, 1952.
The site of Eastmoor was very isolated, high above other houses, its only access being from a long lane off the road across the common and by the end of the century it had ceased to be a family home. It was more suited to its next function as a home for girls aged from about 13 to 23 providing shelter for those in need of care and rehabilitation. It was opened in 1898 as the St. David’s Diocesan House of Mercy and called The Home of the Good Shepherd. It was run by five sisters of the Community of the Name of Jesus, an Anglican order, with sister Dorothy Walker in charge. In 1901 they were aided by two assistants, a cook, a laundress and a general servant, while a school governess and a mental nurse were also staying at the house. There were then 13 girls in residence, mostly from South and West Wales. The girls were trained in housework and laundry work and jobs in service were found for them when they left, kitted out with new clothes.
An unfortunate incident took place at the home in May 1903. Bridget Lewis, 21, an orphan from Pendine in Carmarthenshire who had a mental problem, was found dead, having presumably strangled herself with her bed sheet. The inquest held at the house decided that no blame was to be attached to Mary Kilford who had attended her or to anyone in the home.
In 1926 a chapel was built on to the house and in 1929 a large dormitory was built for the girls and the house was connected to the Swansea water main. Electricity was also installed when it became available. All this work cost money. An occasional legacy and many fund-raising events helped to swell the funds. Sales of work and garden fetes at the house were regular with the girls providing entertainments and hand made goods. The first fete away from the house was in 1928 at Sketty to help publicise the work. In other years it was held at Oystermouth parish hall.
The institution continued to minister to young women until 1939 when the nuns were becoming too old to carry on. By this time the management of the house was the
responsibility of the Dioceses of St. David’s and Swansea and Brecon. The dioceses were also responsible for the orphanage at Thistleboon which was facing the same problem of an aging head but also had an ancient building. It was decided to discontinue the work with young women, enabling the nuns to retire to Builth, make alterations to Eastmoor and transfer the children there in the care of The Community of St John the Evangelist, Sandymount, Dublin. This was done and all went well for a time but an inspection by a board of health inspector demanded that at least five State Registered Nurses be employed at the home. This was unaffordable by either the community or the diocese.
In 1946 the running of Eastmoor was transferred to the Waifs and Strays Society, now renamed The Children’s Society. In the next two years they decided to move the older children to other homes and keep Eastmoor as a nursery. The late 1960s saw a fall in demand for nursery places and changes in social policies and in 1970 extensive alterations were made to the house to cater for unmarried mothers and their babies and an annexe was built. For a time, day care for local children was provided but the isolation of Eastmoor from the main population resulted in this facility being moved elsewhere. Again, changing attitudes and a move toward community projects resulted in the closing of the home in 1980.
Eastmoor then became the Swansea and Brecon Diocesan Resource Centre. Meetings, retreats, and study courses were held there, printing facilities were well used, youth groups camped in the grounds, accommodation was provided for a member of the clergy and some rooms were available to college students. However, in 1996 the centre was closed and the house sold. It was converted into flats. More recently the owners applied for planning permission to build two blocks of flats adjacent to the house. By 2010 the house had been demolished and the ground cleared but nothing new had been built.
LATEST
February 2024 - Building is taking place on part of the site.
PHOTOS from OHA Archive included include -
The staff of Eastmoor Nursery in1948.
The official opening of Eastmoor Nursery in 1949.
Children at the nursery in 1954.
Clergy who had served there. Anthony Pierce, Clarice Smith, Geoffrey Davies, Geraint Hughes, Vernie Evans, Pat Blake.