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Does anybody know of a girls orphan home on Cambridge Road, Willesden, Kilburn? My great-grandmother was there in 1871, age 15 as an orphan. I can't find any record of this place anywhere. Rosemary

Jane de Brissac Frederica, the youngest of the family, never married, but she was all the mother they ever knew to hundreds of girls. As a young woman in her early twenties, she had left the comfort and luxury of her palatial home in Madeira, and had come to England and founded an Orphanage with her own private fortune. The children she had collected from the slums of London, which she visited alone and unattended, an unheard of thing for a young lady in the 1860’s. She would go down to the most appalling slums and alleys, where no policeman would venture alone, and in and out of tenements and yards of such poverty and squalor as are unknown in these days. She would find children starving and almost naked, and all those that were homeless or unwanted she would take into her care, In those days no provision was made by local authorities for children who had one parent living, or who simply were in bad homes, and it was on these that she concentrated. From small beginnings the Orphanage grew rapidly, till for many years she had over a hundred children, and a big establishment in Kilburn. At about the turn of the century, as public responsibility began to awaken, the numbers gradually lessened and she moved from Kilburn to a large house near Peckham Rye, where she lived till her death, housing on an average about forty children.

Alexandra Home For Girls, Kilburn 176 Alexandra Road, Kilburn, London (1906 - 1908) Alexandra Home became part of the Waifs and Strays' Society in 1906, though we believe it was running independently for sometime beforehand. The rented building was at 176 Alexandra Road and was capable of housing twenty girls (aged 8-14). Unfortunately we know very little about life in the Home as it remained open for just two years. The Society's magazine Our Waifs and Strays tells us that the Home hosted several bazaars to help raise funds. The magazine also mentions a Royal visit to Kilburn by the Duke of Argyll and Princess Louise on December 11th 1906. Along with many other local people, the girls of the Home gathered on the streets to catch a glimpse of their Royal guests. The location of the Home was not ideal for a long-term residence. The building was too small to meet the demand for places, and the Society disagreed with the 'sooty little garden over-looking the railway'. Alexandra Home for Girls was moved in 1908 to more suitable premises in Loughton and became St Ethelburga’s. The children now had a house with a good garden, and plenty of space to play.

Thanks for your replies. Looks like it's going to be a long search to find records from there. Rosemary

Mount Hermon Girls Orphan Home was at 47, 49 and 55 Cambridge Road, Kilburn.
It was founded by Mary Ann Cole, who died in 1887, when her cousin Miss Parry took over. Writing in 1893, Miss Parry said it had over 100 orphans and 597 girls had passed through since it started with just two children 27 years ago.
They moved to Sevenoaks Kent in 1905.

Dick Weindling