There's a notice in this weeks Sheffield Telegraph that the old Fairthorn building in Dore is to be demolished.
It used to be a charity to get children from slum areas of Sheffield a bit of country air.
Does anyone have any memories of being resident there that could be included in a short article in a local community magasine?
Any other info would be much appreciated.

I seem to remember being on a show at the City Hall to raise money for this. Must have been 50 years ago.

I remember spending a couple of weeks at Fairthorn,
I used to go to Grimesthorpe School and lived on Earl Marshall
Road, quite a few children that lived round this area also went
to Fairthorne.

some of the kids from the wybourn went there

I spent a week at Fairthhorn in the early 1930,s From what i remember of it it was then at Redmires,right next to the moors I still remember a song we sang

Fairthorn by the sea
Fairthorn by the sea
Its lovely in the sunshine
just the place for me
Beware of Mr Clements
Beware of matron too
they will lock you in the garage
and slap your how do you do
It must have done me some good as my health wasnt very good those days am now 81 and fit as a fiddle

I went there in the 1960s, the rooms were colour coded pink, green, yellow and blue. I remember being in the green room
all the walls and bedding were green, then when we went to the dining room my group had green crockery and cutlery.
I loved the fresh air and the long walks that we went on.
Sometimes we could hear the fox hunters bugling and the hounds braying and we would run inside thinking that they were going to come into the playground. I also remember our parents coming to visit us they would leave us a postal order then we were taken to the post office to cash them ,we could buy presents and sweets with the money.
I have very happy memories of Fairthorn.

i remember going to fairthornes in the sixties best two weeks of my life my mother couldent afford to send us on holliday and it was the first time I had been away from home but the only time I was homesick was when I had to go home If I remember right i was also in the green room I remember the postal order from home ten bob felt like a millionaire I also remember they did an experiment with a steam driven engine that when you all linked hands and toutched it it would give you a tingle we used to be given chores to do each day like pollishing the silver or tidying up but we loved every minuet I also remember on the last day we used to have a concert I sang tin soldier by cliff richards and dressed up like one with a drum happy days


http://disabledfishingtalk.forumotion.com/index.htm

Fullwood was the 2nd homes i was placed in (5-6yrs).In the 30s poorer children were automatic placed in some type of home while mum was having her 1st or 10th kid this was for about 2wks, my first memory was at either 18months or 3yrs old being dumped sheets and all into a bath of ice cold water, the kind house mums were just trying to teach me not to mess the bed by ducking my head a number of times under the water

i can remember some kids from my school in the fifties going to fairthorn .we knew it as a kind of converlesant school. i can remember the collecting tins in our school for it for a penny you got a paper daisy to pin onto your clothes. one of our teachers was connected to fairthorn so we were always having jumble sales for them.

My time at Fairthorn goes way back to the forties. We had moved to Abbeydale from Tinsley after being bombed out and I was a bit undernourished as were many young kids because of rationing. I knew very little about country life then and liked being there in the fresh air, though I was very homesick at first. The only reason I didn't run away is I didn't have a clue on where to go. So I stuck it out, and was much better for it.

I remember going into Fairthorn along with my brother when my mum was having her third child in 1953, I can remember being put on a bed at night which was wheeled under another very high bed, I was very young at the time but this memory sems to stick in my head.

I sure recall the name.. Fairthorn But I don't think I was ever there but we did have a big family (and no money) so maybe it was one of my brothers or sisters who stayed there. I was in Ash house (Dore) for some months with rheumatic fever,and before that at King Edwards hospital (was that the name?) in riverlin valley

i rememebr my brother goin to this school around the early 70s i think it was, we were a very large family and couldnt afford holidays in those days, his name was howard, i cant remember much really about the place, i was only a tot huge grounds if i remember, i never understood at the time why my brother had to go there, i always thought it was because he was naughty lol

I spent a week at Fairthhorn in the early 1930,s From what i remember of it it was then at Redmires,right next to the moors I still remember a song we sang

Fairthorn by the sea
Fairthorn by the sea
Its lovely in the sunshine
just the place for me
Beware of Mr Clements
Beware of matron too
they will lock you in the garage
and slap your how do you do
It must have done me some good as my health wasnt very good those days am now 81 and fit as a fiddle

Interesting that you mention 'matron'/Mr Clements.

Was there a matron or nurse present at the place? I wonder what they were for?

And who was Mr Clements?

Can anyone describe the place?

How many floors etc, Did it have a basement?

Reading all the above is bringing up memories and I'm beginning to wonder if I was there too - but I'd have to have been very young.

My first Charity Fund Raising was for ' Fairthorne '. I always thought that it was at or near Redmires Dam but I was a little confused a short while ago, when I realised it was in Dore run by the Home Farm Trust.

My fund raising via Stand House Junior School on the Manor Estate, took place during 1945 and I collected hundreds of Jam Jars. I think they received 2p for the large ones and 1p for the small ones.

Reading the thread Fairthorne was near Redmires Dam at this time.
Could anyone say when it was transfered to the outskirts of Dore Village?.

I remember my brother saying that the place was "in the middle of nowhere". with just the outskirts of a farm nearby, and a long straight road in the distance. That was it as far as he was concerned.

I did a bit of voluntary work at Fairthorn when it was part of the Home Farm Trust in the 70's. If I remember correctly it took on youngsters who had learning/behavioural/mental health type problems, some quite severe. And I thought the deal was that they took the person on for 'life' as it were.

It has almost finished being demolished and rebuilt as 'luxury' flats (what other types of flats do they build these days?) by some building company in association with Methodist Homes For The Aged. Don't know what the age restrictions are but there is care available on site.

It is on the left as you get to the top of Townhead Road in Dore just as you go into the open countryside. Fantastic views.

Can anyone describe the place?

How many floors etc, Did it have a basement?

Reading all the above is bringing up memories and I'm beginning to wonder if I was there too - but I'd have to have been very young.What I remember is a large white house with a green roof set in quite a big country area. The staff were kindly but strict at the same time. I think it had two floors.

Reading the thread Fairthorne was near Redmires Dam at this time.
Could anyone say when it was transfered to the outskirts of Dore Village?.

I think we might be concerned with two different buildings here. I never went to Fairthorne (which I always understood to be at Dore) but my brother spent a week or two there in c. 1954 as he was under-weight. Fairthorne is described in its archive as a "convalescent home for children" - see http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/subjectView.asp?ID=O39078)

Fairthorn Lodge was evidently near the upper dam at Redmires, and kingfisher's 1930s memories of Fairthorne at Redmires might suggest that the Fairthorn institution was moved from Redmires to Dore.

I think we might be concerned with two different buildings here. I never went to Fairthorne (which I always understood to be at Dore) but my brother spent a week or two there in c. 1954 as he was under-weight. Fairthorne is described in its archive as a "convalescent home for children" - see http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/subjectView.asp?ID=O39078)

Fairthorn Lodge was evidently near the upper dam at Redmires - I think it must have been demolished but there is a photo here: http://www.picturesheffield.com/cgi-bin/picturesheffield.pl?_cgifunction=form&_layout=picturesheffield&keyval=sheff.refno=y00387

kingfisher's 1930s memories of Fairthorne at Redmires might suggest that the Fairthorn institution was moved from Redmires to Dore.In retrospect, I'm sure that the home I described was at Dore.

As fairthorn was a converlescent home I may well have spent time there in the 40s as I was some months in a home and I did beleive that all of that time was in Ash House converlescent home at Dore situated down a small lane almost oposite Long Line on the other side of Hathersage road But Fairthorn runs very strong in my mind.. Would there be two homes in Dore? I cannot find any reference to Ash House on the Sheffield site but It was still there in the early 60s as I drove past it though I don't know if was still a home

I think we might be concerned with two different buildings here. I never went to Fairthorne (which I always understood to be at Dore) but my brother spent a week or two there in c. 1954 as he was under-weight. Fairthorne is described in its archive as a "convalescent home for children" - see http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/nra/searches/subjectView.asp?ID=O39078)

Fairthorn Lodge was evidently near the upper dam at Redmires - I think it must have been demolished but there is a photo here: http://www.picturesheffield.com/cgi-bin/picturesheffield.pl?_cgifunction=form&_layout=picturesheffield&keyval=sheff.refno=y00387

kingfisher's 1930s memories of Fairthorne at Redmires might suggest that the Fairthorn institution was moved from Redmires to Dore.

This is the bit that interest me:
' Fairthorn Lodge was evidently near the upper dam at Redmires - I think it must have been demolished but there is a photo here: http://www.picturesheffield.com/cgi-...f.refno=y00387

kingfisher's 1930s memories of Fairthorne at Redmires might suggest that the Fairthorn institution was moved from Redmires to Dore.'.

I've always thought that Fairthorne initially was near to Redmires Dam. When it did move to Dore would be interesting to know.

In my National Service days (Late 50s) I'm almost certain that I met a fellow squaddie at Dundonald, Troon, Scotland with the name of ' Hillier ' or something like that. I'm almost certain that he said that he lived at the then ' Big White House ' which I was to learn later, in 1976, was ' Fairthorne ' at Dore.

Perhaps if Dick is still reading this thread that he started. He could solved this.
I think the bloke named 'Hillier' was a estate agent in civilian life.

Thanks for all this. But I still think that the Fairthorn home for kids who were undernourished, etc was in the Dore area, not near to Redmires dam. I understood that it had been converted to a care home for 'disabled' kids - what disability I don't know. This is the one I'm sure my brother went to.

You are correct about Fairthorn being at Dore (at least up to a few years ago) In its later years i think it was used as a care home for adults. I had a friend who had a mild form of downs syndrome (hope thats the right description) that lived there. Although i never visited there i always presumed it was on Dore road, although i also know there was a childrens home called Ryecroft on the same road. Why not ring social services im sure someone there might advise you.

The location(s) of the Fairthorne home is a question that could probably be answered by a visit to the Sheffield Archives, but being too far away I have had a look through the resources I have. And I would guess that the Fairthorne institution for children was founded at Redmires in the late 1920s or early 1930s, and that it moved to Dore in 1944. The 1925 Sheffield directory confirms the Redmires location of Fairthorne Lodge. It was at the end of the road along the western edge of the upper reservoir (the name can still be found on the Ordnance Survey map). This is the location suggested by the photo on the picturesheffield.com site. But in 1925 it must have been a private house, as the occupant was “Valentine Heywood, editor”. However, by the 1930s, Fairthorne Lodge at Redmires had evidently been converted to the convalescent home that kingfisher remembers. The National Archives website gives the dates 1944-71 for “Fairthorne Convalescent Home for Children, Sheffield”. So perhaps 1944 was the year when the home was moved from the Redmires building to the one in Dore, with the Dore building being named after the home’s former location.

This site: http://www.dorevillage.co.uk/newspast1f.htm confirms that the Dore premises are to be demolished to make way for retirement apartments, and mentions that "Home Farm Trust has operated Fairthorn since 1972, providing care and support for 36 adults with learning difficulties. Originally the building was used by a charity called the Fairthorn Association to provide short breaks in the clean air of Dore for children suffering from the effects of Sheffield smog".

By the way, Albert, I remember the name Hillier in regard to estate agents; as a Midland Bank messenger in the early 1970s I delivered letters to a firm called “Wilson, Hillier & French”.

The location(s) of the Fairthorne home is a question that could probably be answered by a visit to the Sheffield Archives, but being too far away I have had a look through the resources I have. And I would guess that the Fairthorne institution for children was founded at Redmires in the late 1920s or early 1930s, and that it moved to Dore in 1944. The 1925 Sheffield directory confirms the Redmires location of Fairthorne Lodge. It was at the end of the road along the western edge of the upper reservoir (the name can still be found on the Ordnance Survey map). This is the location suggested by the photo on the picturesheffield.com site. But in 1925 it must have been a private house, as the occupant was “Valentine Heywood, editor”. However, by the 1930s, Fairthorne Lodge at Redmires had evidently been converted to the convalescent home that kingfisher remembers. The National Archives website gives the dates 1944-71 for “Fairthorne Convalescent Home for Children, Sheffield”. So perhaps 1944 was the year when the home was moved from the Redmires building to the one in Dore, with the Dore building being named after the home’s former location.

This site: http://www.dorevillage.co.uk/newspast1f.htm confirms that the Dore premises are to be demolished to make way for retirement apartments, and mentions that "Home Farm Trust has operated Fairthorn since 1972, providing care and support for 36 adults with learning difficulties. Originally the building was used by a charity called the Fairthorn Association to provide short breaks in the clean air of Dore for children suffering from the effects of Sheffield smog".

By the way, Albert, I remember the name Hillier in regard to estate agents; as a Midland Bank messenger in the early 1970s I delivered letters to a firm called “Wilson, Hillier & French”.

This puts it all in a nut-shell.
Probably, my first charity fund raiser was to help 'Fairthorne' to become establised in its new surroundings after being transferred from Redmires to Dore.
I'll write a short letter for publication in the 'Dore to Door' community newspaper, published quarterly, asking if anyone locally as any further information.
I knew Fairthorne was/is a residential home for people with learning dis-abilities. Many of those who previously lived at the main building, now live at 'The Elms' in Dore and others living in various places in Sheffield, some in the inner city area.
The main objective for those who lived at Fairthorne was to ensure that they maximised their abilities to work and intergrate within the community and this was, in the main, very successful.

I went there in the 1960s, the rooms were colour coded pink, green, yellow and blue. I remember being in the green room
all the walls and bedding were green, then when we went to the dining room my group had green crockery and cutlery.
I loved the fresh air and the long walks that we went on.
Sometimes we could hear the fox hunters bugling and the hounds braying and we would run inside thinking that they were going to come into the playground. I also remember our parents coming to visit us they would leave us a postal order then we were taken to the post office to cash them ,we could buy presents and sweets with the money.
I have very happy memories of Fairthorn. i was there in the 60s,,i was there when mr clements,fell and hurt his back,,he was in bed for a few weeks,,

Fullwood was the 2nd homes i was placed in (5-6yrs).In the 30s poorer children were automatic placed in some type of home while mum was having her 1st or 10th kid this was for about 2wks, my first memory was at either 18months or 3yrs old being dumped sheets and all into a bath of ice cold water, the kind house mums were just trying to teach me not to mess the bed by ducking my head a number of times under the water

Was the home at Fulwood at the Fulwood Annex or was it at what eventually became a remand hostel for young girls situated close to Lodge Moor and called,' Moorside House '.

Where was the home where your mother lived at that time.? - flyer?

Was the home at Fulwood at the Fulwood Annex or was it at what eventually became a remand hostel for young girls situated close to Lodge Moor and called,' Moorside House '.

Where was the home where your mother lived at that time.? - flyer?

Albert, are you thinking of "The Moss" on Limb lane Dore ?. That was a secure unit for girls, sorry to confuse matters.

Albert, are you thinking of "The Moss" on Limb lane Dore ?. That was a secure unit for girls, sorry to confuse matters.

No. Some years ago I sponsored half a dozen young woman to do the Christian Aid Walk. They were spending a little time at Moorside, which is off Blackbrook Road, Lodge Moor for hopefully their future benefit. They certainly enjoyed taking part in the walk and I often think about them when I'm around that area.

I think that the one's at Moorside were for those sins only posible for a woman. (Usually being guided by a bloke). Those staying at the ' The Moss ' were different.

I can't add much to what's been posted here Albert. I was originally hoping to get some material for a piece in Door to Dore but never wrote anything so I'm happy to leave it to you.
I've lived in Dore all my life and didn't know that Fairthorn had started at Redmires.
Most of the childhood memories of it being in the middle of nowhere, down a long lane and next to moorland would certainly apply to both the Dore Fairthorn and Redmires.
The deciding factor would be if anyone remembers it being next to a large dam. That couldn't be Dore.
When we were children at Dore school we used to collect money for the "poor" children at Fairthorn. I remember collecting tops off soap powder packets. I don't know how they were turned into money, it must have been some promotional gimmick.
Ash House was a convalescent home, my brother was in there for three months in 1958 after he'd had TB. I understand it was originally the Shentall grocers familly home. The council sold it in the 1980's and it became an old folks home.
The Moss used to belong to the Wilson snuff familly. The council bought it in the 1940's and used it as home for naughty girls. We used to say it was the prep school for Moorside.
In Fred Pass's book "Were's me Dad" he describes being put in a childrens home near Manchester somewhere. I don't know why they wouldn't have sent him to Fairthorn because he sounded to be just the sort of kid they sent there.

I can't add much to what's been posted here Albert. I was originally hoping to get some material for a piece in Door to Dore but never wrote anything so I'm happy to leave it to you.
I've lived in Dore all my life and didn't know that Fairthorn had started at Redmires.
Most of the childhood memories of it being in the middle of nowhere, down a long lane and next to moorland would certainly apply to both the Dore Fairthorn and Redmires.
The deciding factor would be if anyone remembers it being next to a large dam. That couldn't be Dore.
When we were children at Dore school we used to collect money for the "poor" children at Fairthorn. I remember collecting tops off soap powder packets. I don't know how they were turned into money, it must have been some promotional gimmick.
Ash House was a convalescent home, my brother was in there for three months in 1958 after he'd had TB. I understand it was originally the Shentall grocers familly home. The council sold it in the 1980's and it became an old folks home.
The Moss used to belong to the Wilson snuff familly. The council bought it in the 1940's and used it as home for naughty girls. We used to say it was the prep school for Moorside.
In Fred Pass's book "Were's me Dad" he describes being put in a childrens home near Manchester somewhere. I don't know why they wouldn't have sent him to Fairthorn because he sounded to be just the sort of kid they sent there.

Dick - You do your bit on the History of Fairthorne because I'm doing a bit regarding Totley Brook Open Space which to be of any use will have to be ready for publishing in the next edition.

If I wrote both only one would stand any chance of being published in next Jan or Feb edition.

It would also come better from you ' as you know all the local millionaire's by first name! '.

I stayed at Fairthorn in the early 50s. I was underweight at that time, (don't know quite what's happened since, I suppose having 3 children didn't help). It was walkable from Dore village, and we often went to spend our money at the local shops. You walked down a long steepish drive to the two storey house. Mr & Mrs Chumley ran it at that time, they had two children of their own. I had a great time there.

It's nice to see someone else's reminiscences posted on this thread, which has been "quiet" recently. For the record, an old friend of mine has confirmed that the Fairthorn children's convalescent home was first established in the 1930s at Fairthorn Lodge, which is in the wood just above the top Redmires dam. During the war it moved to Dore, keeping the Fairthorn name.

Was the home at Fulwood at the Fulwood Annex or was it at what eventually became a remand hostel for young girls situated close to Lodge Moor and called,' Moorside House '.

Where was the home where your mother lived at that time.? - flyer?

Sorry for the delay Albert, my computer on the blink,but if my memory is correct after 70 odd yrs, Fullwood annex was called Thornset Lodge (spelling doesn't look right) bus ride away fm F.C.H,but that was the second home i was placed in care,the 1st time was while mum was having baby 2-3 wks? We lived on Penistone Rd

i worked at Fairthorn(Home Farm Trust) from 1976-1988.Any names would be nice to hear from you.B. Lever was one i would like to find cheers shebba:)

Dick - You do your bit on the History of Fairthorne because I'm doing a bit regarding Totley Brook Open Space which to be of any use will have to be ready for publishing in the next edition.

If I wrote both only one would stand any chance of being published in next Jan or Feb edition.

It would also come better from you ' as you know all the local millionaire's by first name! '.

Albert, there was a guy called Pat who I believe attended Fairthorn and then stayed on as an odd job man. He was a little slow educationally but a very nice genuine and honest guy.

I ask because I saw him walking through the village a few months ago, he must be about 50 now and has a beard (come to think of it he had a beard 30 years ago)

Do you know him?

I also spent 2 weeks at Fairthorne (the one on the Moors) in the early 50's. My mum had been in hospital and I had taken my younger brother to the school clinic at Lowfields and was asked by the doctor if I would like to have a little holiday! I remember writing a letter home to my mum saying that it was a nice place but there wasn't a lot to eat (in those days I had hollow legs!) but my mum never got this letter! But after that, I kept getting urged to "have some more" so I can only assume that the letter wasn't sent. I can also remember being asked to go with another kid to Sheffield downtown to a doctor or something (can't really remember) as I was one of the big girls! I think that referred to my age and not my size as I was a skinny devil at that time (my how times change!) But I do remember enjoying spending the time out in the fresh air and thoroughly enjoying it. Thanks for resurrecting those memories. Brandygirl.

Hi
I was there remember walking up to the seven trees and cutting log with a larj dubble handel saw and the hospital corners when we made our beds.

Fairthorne was at Dore, I did not stay there myself but my sister Christine did in thr early 50s. Agirl called Sonia Wood was there at the same time as Chris and I remember visiting, Sonias dad gave us a lift home

Hi only just caught hold of this thread. I was at Fairthorn at Dore in the mid 1950's for about a month. I suffered badly with asthma and was very underweight. I was always gasping for breath and DianeN I remember Mr and Mrs Chumbley very well . We used to play ping pong table tennis) in the main room which was also used for the dining/come play room. I had previously been to Bents Green Open Air School for Delicate Children and that was a nightmare. But Fairthorn was lovely only a great pity that I was to ill to appreciate it at the time.

I went to fairthorn I think it was in about 60/61, it was great, yes they did have different coloured dorms etc, it was oct when I was there, I remember this because they did a bonfire for us as we wouldn't be there for the nov one, it was a couple that looked after us with the help of a few staff, we were all allocated a job we had to do each day mine was to clean the dorm & make the beds with hospital corners (they checked to see it was done right) they had competions to see which colour group got the most points, they also had a black labrador dog called nelson, there was also swings & a big slide etc in the field at the back (which we used to ask for the greased proof paper from the bread to polish the slide so we could go down faster) one time when we had done this they told us we were having a visit from some blind children, which after they had done their reading etc we had to take then to play on the swings etc, even though I was so young I was really concerned that we had polished the slide & they might shoot of the end because they couldn't see it, but it was ok in the end, I also remember one of the girls in our colour group had a false leg & when she took it off she used to wave her stump around which scared us, I could go on for ages about the time I spent there because I really did enjoy my time there & I did learn A lot. hope someone replies that might have been there at the same time to share good memories :thumbsup:

i love this thread it takes me back in time and each new post rings more memory bells of great times i was their in the 60s and remember the fox hunt someone mentioned in an earlier post and getting a 10 bob postal order from home and cashing it at the post office felt like a millionaire for a few days i was in the green room and one of my jobs
was pollishing the cutlery anyone remember the concert we used to do the day your parents came to pick you up to take you home ?

Yes, I remember the hospital corners (can still do them), and the concert. I recall dancing and singing "The soldiers of the Queen" and reciting 2 poems, "Two Ducks on a Pond" and "Crusty Bread" by E V Lucas. I still recite these poems (when I have had enough to drink), my children tend to think I am bonkers. I recall receiving stamps from my grandma, so that I could write back to her, don't know if it ever got as far as a postal order. The whole experience was a little bit like something out of an Enid Blyton Book. We played cricket for hours on end and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, a great adventure. I remember being responsible for dry mopping under the beds in the gold room. The blankets created fluff. Don't recall bedspreads or anything so modern as duvets, but then it was probably better than the army blankets we had at home. Although I must have missed home, I came away feeling that I had been thoroughly spoiled.

I showed this thread to my brother Roy; he spent two weeks at Fairthorn in 1956 when he was getting over the measles and was also underweight, "run down" etc. He also remembers the hospital corners, and the "coloured" dormitories - he was in the Pink Room. He says there were four dormitories, each with about six beds. A new intake of children arrived every two weeks; as far as Roy remembers they were all boys while he was there. One or two of the kids did nothing but cry the first couple of days and they went home. Roy found it a bit strange at first, but he soon got used to the routine and he enjoyed the programme of sports, playing cricket with the locals etc. They also went for walks over the moors and generally had a good time - he didn't want to go home at the end of his "holiday"!

Yes, I recall all girls when I was there. I wonder how boy's felt in those days about being in the 'Pink' room. I can imagine my grandsons going ballistic now, but did they mind then?

Does anyone remember what the basement (not really a cellar) at Fairthorn was like?

My brother had to peel potatoes there for days/ages, he wasn't very happy about that either!

He said it was painted blue or something.

I was at Fairthorne at Dore around 1947/48. Everyone was very good, but I was a very shy and frightened child, and could not understand why I had been sent there. I did eventually make some friends but the six weeks I was there seemed a lifetime. I do remember that it was very near the moors, and that we used to go for walks, and also to the shop in Dore.

I went to fairthorn I think it was in about 60/61, it was great, yes they did have different coloured dorms etc, it was oct when I was there, I remember this because they did a bonfire for us as we wouldn't be there for the nov one, it was a couple that looked after us with the help of a few staff, we were all allocated a job we had to do each day mine was to clean the dorm & make the beds with hospital corners (they checked to see it was done right) they had competions to see which colour group got the most points, they also had a black labrador dog called nelson, there was also swings & a big slide etc in the field at the back (which we used to ask for the greased proof paper from the bread to polish the slide so we could go down faster) one time when we had done this they told us we were having a visit from some blind children, which after they had done their reading etc we had to take then to play on the swings etc, even though I was so young I was really concerned that we had polished the slide & they might shoot of the end because they couldn't see it, but it was ok in the end, I also remember one of the girls in our colour group had a false leg & when she took it off she used to wave her stump around which scared us, I could go on for ages about the time I spent there because I really did enjoy my time there & I did learn A lot. hope someone replies that might have been there at the same time to share good memories :thumbsup:
---------------------------
29th sept-08----
hi gl2004, although i did`nt go to fairthorn myself, i was in an
or`phanage with brothers/sisters, and listerning to your happy times.
we did just the same duties like you and others.
peeling spuds( potatoes) by the bucket-gouging out the eyes-and
making the beds and the hospital corners, many many jobs.
i am so glad to have noticed this site and reading up on the stories,
you all sounnded so happy and i do feel for all.
you said when you left, you felt spoiled and so did i but that was 1940/54.
good on you and for all others.
i have a little history of fairthorn you might to read, i will write it in
messages--could be long.

Brian1941 - I'm sure we would all be interested to read your history of Fairthorn!

fairthorn story has been told but would like to add.
the school teachers of sheffield gave much to their pupils and went on to
provide day homes and convalescent homes for poor and the sick children, the
first being in 1923 in the old first world war army huts at lodge moor,
they only stayed there just over a year for in 1924 they bought their first permanent
home >>fairthorn green<< at redmires dam. the name was derived from a group of
houses nearby. this must have been quite a desolate place to take children who
were used to living in confined and somewhat seedy conditions. some may have
even found the wild open space frightening, even though the house on the bottom
corner of the long causeway had a slight seaside outlook. children usually went
for six weeks holidays to the home. fairthorn was in operation for seven years until
along with others residents around the dam they were evicted, because sewage
was seeping into the dam. it took three years to find a suitable piece of land and
construct a new home which they moved into in 1934. they chose the less isolated
but beautiful area overlooking the blackmoor plantation on the edge of dore village,
at a cost of £ 5,000, the amount they received in compensation from the water board.
this new house was also called fairthorn and was used until 1971 as a convalescent
home until it was sold. it was now home farm trust for the mentally handicapped.
hope you enjoyed-----more later.

This doesn't sound much like the 1st home I was sent to (mum having a baby)it seems to be a much nicer place, so were was that home in Sheffield that kids got sent to for very short stays

I went to Fairthorn in 1958- it was a white building and I was in the blue room. Girls went one month and boys the following month but never together. There were funny square baths which we were made to go in at the beginning of our stay and we were weighed too and a nurse checked our hair for head lice. I remember a large room with chairs all round it and having my Mum and her friend Mary and lots of other relatives come to see us at the weekends. There was a playground outside my window with roundabout, swings and see saw etc. and one morning we woke up to sheep all over the playground.

I remember the tuck shop where you could buy coke or 7up and sweets and biscuits. I was made the outdoor girl so I had to clean up the plates etc and put remains in the bins. I always wore an apron and not wanting to eat in those days I would fill the apron and empty that too! I weighed 3 stone 6 lbs when I went there - very underweight - and I weighed the same when I came out though I have made up for that since!!

The people who ran Fairthorn at the time were the Chumbleys which I think had a spelling of Chalmondley or similar and there was a boy about my age called Peter who showed me how to fish using worms we dug up and we were taught how to play cricket.

We were taken on long walks and I remember my wellies hurt my heels so I couldn't go on many walks. I made a friend called Jane or Jean who thought she'd been put there because she was dying and I remember feeling very sad for her but she was just underweight like me.

Marjorie Dunn has also made a book about Fairthorn.

My Mum went there too when she was young and she said they had "posh people" taking them out and giving them gifts and clothes. She was also in the blue room and remembered it being a white building.