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| Menlove Avenue on 3rd May 1924 showing 'Woolton Vale' reform school on the left. |
In the photo above, the pavement on Menlove Avenue actually passes under Robert Gladstone's former mansion. Pedestrians walked through a tunnel excavated below the billiard room. The house did not belong to the Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, as the owner, Robert Gladstone, was actually a second cousin of the Prime Minister and was an important Liverpool merchant, Chairman of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, freeman of the city and a founder of Liverpool University. Gladstone Dock on the Mersey was named after him.
Robert Gladstone was born in Little Woolton in 1834 and his house, named 'Woolton Vale' was built in 1869 on the site of an old tavern called the 'Folly Vale Tavern'. At the time the house was built the road was part of Vale Road, which was actually called Folly Vale Lane until 1870. Menlove Avenue did not yet exist but grew from the widened and straightened Folly Vale Road. Folly Vale was an area next to an old quarry near Strawberry Field. The Menlove Avenue dual carriageway was constructed in 1910. In the photo the new tram tracks are being laid which extended the tram system from Calderstones to Woolton High Street along this route. By 1901 Robert had retired, aged 67 and he passed away in 1919 at the age of 85.
His third son, also Robert Gladstone was born at Wavertree on the 6th of May, 1866 and professionally, he chose to be described as an author engaged in historical and early legal research. He remained a bachelor, and until his father's death lived with the family at Woolton Vale. He then settled at the Angel Hotel in Dale Street, and engaged rooms at Bluecoat Chambers for his work. He died in a Liverpool nursing home on the 15th of March, 1940, after a brief illness.
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| Menlove
Avenue showing the Woolton Vale Remand Home on the right. |
By the time of Robert's death, Woolton Vale had become officially the 'Woolton Country School for Boys', a Remand Home which
could accommodate 36 boys, some as young as seven years old, inner city
kids who were there for various misdemeanours such as theft,
anti-social behaviour and even truancy. John Lennon informs us that
there were two famous houses near where he lived: " One was owned by
Gladstone: a reformatory for boys, which I could see out my window, and
Strawberry Field, just around the corner from that, an old Victorian
house converted for Salvation Army orphans". Living in such close
proximity to these two places it is easy to imagine that John, himself
the product of a broken home, taken into care by his Aunt because his
parents were unable or unwilling to look after him, felt an affinity
with the rejected, unloved, emotionally damaged children whenever he
encountered them. It is open to conjecture that the song 'Strawberry
Fields Forever' was more about Woolton Remand Home than the Salvation
Army home.
John remarked 15 years after the song's conception: 'My influences are tremendous, from Lewis Carroll to Oscar Wilde to tough little kids that used to live near me who ended up in prison and things like that.'
The Remand Home, renamed Walton Vale Assessment Centre, was closed in
disgrace in the late 1970s. Concerns were raised in the House of Commons
in relation to poor facilities and staff behaviour towards children in
the care of the council.
Yeah I was in there 1968 pretty tough place , can’t say anything happened to me or my mate but it was cold depressing horrible run down scary place one of the warders I think was a pervert nonce he had us stood there on reception leering at us for no reason for 20 minuets had us doing things for no valid reason, I got belted a few times for nothing , I stayed out of trouble for years then got borstal another horrible place Feltham
ReplyDeleteThere was also a padded cell in the building. We were sometimes tasked with taking absconders back. A miserable depressing place.
DeleteI think the Courts were trying to scare me by sending me around a few remand homes trying to put the frighteners in me, they sent me to Tong Park for 2 weeks ,
Deletethen I had 2 x 3 week sessions at York ( Acomb) horrible placeOld man & his ugly wife 'Crawthers' made us 16 year olds wear grey flannel short pants and give us sixpence for the collection at Church on Sunday, they got caught out for feeding Cat food in stews,
I learnt how to weave Baskets at Woolton, learnt me for later life how to recognise a basket case LOL all in the growing up process, I'm a done weller having stopped after Stoke Heath Borstal then 'Onley at Rugby' recall centre (now that was HARD), one good thing come out of it, Nobody messes with you later in life.1966.
I was there in 1967, went onto Flockton Detention centre for 8 weeks 3 days and a breakfast, was greeted by 'Father Ogden' the PE instructor, he seems to have found an attraction to me and put me through Hell on the Circuits, always on my back, they reckon he had a pet Tortoise that he used to torture by making it do press ups for it's piece of lettuce, I tried my hand at OIL painting on a pin board, they liked it so much it ended up in the governors office ? we go to some far off strange places to find our hidden talents.
DeleteWhere did resident staff members sleep?
DeleteI was at the remand home in 1960 , 10 yrs old serving 28days remand for malicious wounding, which was a stitch up .
ReplyDeleteI returned in 1962 for a3yr sentence to a approved school for burglary of NEMS in Whitechapel, yes Brian Epstein’s place , l made a mistake l went back to do it twice , l done it in 1961 and had 1500quid with Kenny and Malcom which we never admitted
I was in there from 74 and was abused by a member of staff,I ended up jumping out of a window and absconding,it was most scariest place for me and never leaves my mind.
ReplyDelete