Education of the blind in Kent at beginning fo 1900s

[norwayjane]

My relation George Sidney Walter Bull (known as Sidney) b. 1904 Medway, Kent was blind/partially sighted. In 1909 he was in the workhouse in Chatham and was transferred to Strood Workhouse "By order of removal from Medway Union".

I've been looking at the Elementary Education (Blind and Deaf Children) Act of 1893 which sets out the obligations to provide an education for partially sighted people so I'm assuming Strood may have had better education facilities.

Sidney was transferred from Strood in 1911 to what looks like "S Home Lympstone". I cannot find this Special? Home and can it be Lympstone? which is a long way from Kent! Can anyone shed any light on this?

Thank you

"SidneyBull1911.jpg

[Janet]

Lympstone is a village near Shoreham in Kent, which is not far from Sevenoaks so could esailyhave gone from Strood to Sevenoaks area.

I am sorry but I cannot make the image bigger to look closely at the original image so I amunable to see it properly but others mifht be able to.

Janet

[Janet]

I have tried google searches for the above but not getting very far. There are places of a similar name near Deal Kent and there was a special school in Dover at one time. Your best bet is to get on to the North Kent County Archives. They should be able to help you with this query.

http://www.kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-community/libraries/online-reference-library/family-and-local-history-resources

Janet

[Olde Crone Holden]

Can't read it either but could S stand for Scattered Homes? Many workhouses put children into Scattered Homes as it was thought more beneficial that children should grow up in the community.

OC

[Katarzyna]

I think Norway Jane thought it might be the Lympstone in Devon which would indeed be a long way to go.

[Janet]

I think Norway Jane thought it might be the Lympstone in Devon which would indeed be a long way to go.

Yes, Kat, I thougt that Norway may be thinking of that, which is why I tried another google search, but was not getting anywhere. I used to live in Kent and I have a memory of a place called Lymstone/Lympstone or other spellings, which was near Shoreham in Kent, not to ne confused with Shoreham in Sussex! I have an old map of Kent of this area but I am struggling to read it, even with a magnifying glass! I found Shoreham Kent just north of Sevenoaks but not Lympstone, although google suggests it is near Shoreham!

Janet

[Janet]

Norway,

Strood was a smaller place sandwiched between Rochester and Chatham. It is now part of the Medway Towns, but when I lived there the address was Strood Rochester, not Strood Chatham so he coud have attended school in Rochester, Strood or Chatham. Chatham is the biggest of the Medway Towns with a very good train and bus service between all three.

Janet

[norwayjane]

Oh Brilliant - thank you all so much. I was thinking that Lympstone Devon sounded completely ridiculous and I'd not been able to find any similar sounding places nearer to home. I've never heard of Scattered homes before either, so that's too is another snippet to add to the mental archive. I'm so glad he wasn't sent to Devon - no offence to the Devonians Brilliant. Thank You!

And apologies for the daft image - I'm just getting back on my genealogy bike and it's all a bit wobbly as yet.....

[norwayjane]

Message sent to the North Kent archives too Jane

[Janet]

I'm so glad he wasn't sent to Devon - no offence to the Devonians Brilliant. Thank You!

As an ex Devonian to Hertfordshire, no offence taken!

I hope you get what you want from North Kent Archives. Do let us know how you get on, as it has got me puzzled never mind you!!

As an aside, I did have one ancestor who had TB, and was sent to Torquay Devon from Northamptonshire, so it could happen, but most counties had their own blind schools in those days.

Janet