The Barnes' Home

Pressure

Owing to the increased demand for places, the Ardwick Green school was still compelled to send from their doors the unfortunate children for whose reformation and education the institution had been especially established. Such was the level of concern that, in January 1869, a request was sent to the City Council to build a second Industrial School. 

The committee were looking to build another school in a more rural area capable of accommodating 200 children and providing outdoor activities such as spade work, gardening, some farming and so on.

Shortly after this became known, Mr Robert Barnes called at the Industrial School and, in a conversation with the Governor, signified his desire “to pay for the contemplated new building, with its furniture, and as many acres of land as may be required”. The offer was gratefully accepted by the committee.

New School

The land required for the new building was purchased at Heaton Mersey. The building, when completed, was to be called “The Barnes’ Home Certified and Industrial Schools”, Heaton Mersey. It was formally opened on 2nd August 1871 and immediately took some pupils from Ardwick Green.

      1872 – 184 children were under instruction at the schools.

      1873 – 324 children were under instruction at the schools (109 at Ardwick and 215 at Barnes).

Younger ones were sent to Ardwick because they were not strong enough to manage the more physical work required at Heaton Mersey.

The Ardwick site retained only younger boys and girls, with some of the boys being transferred to Barnes as they became older.

Ardwick 1873: 46 girls and 63 boys, making a total of 109.

In 1871, following the death of Rev. Bryan, the Rev. T.T. Camm took over as superintendent of the Ardwick school, with Mrs Camm as matron.

St Joseph’s Industrial School for Roman Catholic Boys, 1871

This school was founded by Father Thomas Quick and was certified on June 14th, 1871, to accommodate up to 350 boys, aged from 10 to 16 at their date of admission, in premises at 8 Richmond Grove, Longsight, Manchester. Part of the site, which was off the main Stockport Road, also housed St Joseph’s Industrial School for Girls. Roman Catholic boys went St Joseph’s whilst Protestant boys went to the Manchester Industrial School at Ardwick Green.

New name: The Manchester Certified Industrial School, 1874

The word Ragged was dropped from the school’s name and the institution became known as the “Manchester Certified Industrial School”. In 1876, 82% of the children admitted could neither read nor write, but twenty years later the proportion was just a little over 8%, indicating the effects of the Education Acts.

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