Sea-side Convalescent Home for Delicate City Children

Sea-side Convalescent Home for Delicate City Children, Lytham (1883-1914)

Tanllwyfan, 510 Abergele Road, Old Colwyn (1883-1984 )

The Sea-side Convalescent Home for Delicate City Children was first established in Lytham on 30 Jun 1883. The home provided children, not eligible for admission to the permanent homes, a recuperating agency by the seaside for several weeks. Due to the large numbers of applicants for the 20 beds available however, larger premises were sought, £5000 was raised and on the 29th December 1914, a new home was purchased in Tanllwyfan, Old Colwyn from Mrs. Gertrude M. Wright. This was opened by the Lord Mayor of Manchester, Alderman Daniel McCabe on the 7th August 1915, stood in its own gardens and fields of seven acres and could accommodate 46 children. The large grounds provided playing fields for the children as well as a small farm. The home continued as a recuperating agency until 1939 when Bethesda was evacuated to Tanllwyfan for the period of the War. The house reopened as a Convalescent Home in 1953 for five years when the building was once again taken over by Bethesda pending completion of the rebuilding of the school at Cheadle. In 1960 the Convalescent Home was closed down and alterations were started for the conversion of the building to a training hostel for 'difficult adolescent girls' aged 15 and above. The Hostel was opened on the 26 July 1961. In 1962 a further extension was added to the building and under the Children and Young Persons Act 1969, Tanllwyfan was categorised as an assisted community home with education on the premises where it was operated by the Society with Denbighshire County Council and then Clwyd County Council under an instrument of management. By 1971 it was designated as a special home for boys and girls in the junior age range, available to the North Wales counties. The home was to be closed in 1981 but remained open until 1984.

This series includes papers for; Lytham, Tanllwyfan Committee Minutes, Tanllwyfan Administrative and Management Records, Tanllwyfan Property Records and Plans, Tanllwyfan Policies and Returns, Tanllwyfan memorandum and Reports, Tanllwyfan Educational Reports, Tanllwyfan Plans, Tanllwyfan Maintenance and Repair, Tanllwyfan Events and Fundraising and Papers relating to the children.