Henshaws Society for Blind People
Henshaws Society for Blind People
Origins The Society was founded by Thomas Henshaw, a businessman from Oldham. Thomas Henshaw died in 1810 and in his will, left £20,000 for the establishment of a blind asylum in Manchester and adding "…it being my expectation that other persons at their expense purchase land and buildings". The will was contested by his close relatives and was referred to the Court of Chancery. It was 25 years after his death before a final verdict was given in accordance with the terms of the will.
Thomas’s original funding was matched by the operation of a subscription list across the City and surrounding districts in order to raise funding for appropriate land and buildings. In September 1834, the committee of the Asylum for the Blind and the Committee of the Deaf and Dumb Schools together purchased a plot of land next to the botanical gardens at Old Trafford. The foundation stone was laid in March 1835 by Mr William Grant, who was also reputed to be Charles Dickens' muse for the Cheeryble Brothers in his book Nicholas Nickleby. Finally, 27 years after the death of Thomas Henshaw, his legacy came to life when the ‘Asylum for the Indigent Blind’ opened its doors in Old Trafford for the first time in 1837.
The ‘asylum’ was a place for learning life skills and trades: "…to maintain and afford such instruction to the indigent blind of both sexes capable of employment as will enable them to provide, either wholly or in part for their own subsistence and to afford asylum to the impotent and aged blind.”
Over the years, the name of the charity has changed three times – Henshaw's Institution for the Blind in 1921, Henshaw's Society for the Blind in 1971 and Henshaws Society for Blind People in 2000.
Original aims of the Society
The object of the Charity is the relief of the blind and partially sighted persons in all or any of the following ways or in such ways as the board think fit:
· The provision and maintenance of accommodation for blind and partially sighted persons in need of residential care.
· The provision and maintenance of a handicap centre or centres for blind and partially sighted persons.
· The provision of education, vocational training and employment for blind and partially-sighted young persons.
· The provision of accommodation for the sighted spouse or any blind or partially sighted person residing in such accommodation as aforesaid where the interests of such blind or partially sighted persons so require.
Development of the Society 1810Death of Thomas Henshaw, who left a sum of £20,000 to establish an Asylum for the Indigent Blind. The will was contested by his wife, but years later the Court of Chancery gave a verdict in accordance with the terms of the will, which provided that none of the money should be spent on the building (See 1837).
1837Henshaw's Blind Asylum, later known as Henshaw's Institution for the Blind, was founded in a building erected by public subscription in Old Trafford; it became one of the largest Institutions in the country. In 1930 it had 118 school pupils, 155 technical pupils, 194 workshop employees, 29 home workers, 64 home residents and 19 blind instructors, teachers, or persons otherwise employed.
1850Mr. and Mrs. G.A. Hughes were the first Governor and Matron of Henshaw's Blind Asylum for twenty years. In 1850 Mr. Hughes took out a patent for the Hughes Typograph, which he claimed to be the first typewriting machine, and which was designed primarily to enable the blind to communicate with the seeing.
(A Hughes Typograph was awarded the gold medal at the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park in 1851; one of these machines is in the Museum of the National Institute for the Blind, and another in the Science Section of the South Kensington Museum, where it is the oldest English Model - the one older machine is American).
1859The Family of Lord Derby became the President of the Society, continuing this tradition to the present day.
1861Henshaw's Blind Asylum added workshop accommodation for brush-making; this was soon discontinued, basket-making and mat-making being continued as before. Outside blind workers were now employed in addition to the residents.
1881Henshaw's Blind Asylum introduced the Braille systems into the school, one of the many improvements introduced by James McCormick (Governor 1876-1892).
1887Henshaw's Blind Asylum, Old Trafford, as a result of a munificent bequest by Mr. J Pendlebury, carried out a large extension known as the Pendlebury Extension, consisting of dormitories and workshops.
1891Henshaw's Blind Asylum opened workshops for the blind at the corner of Deansgate and Wood Street; the building cost about £9,000 and provided splendid new workshops for the workers, who were formerly in Bloom Street.
1892Henshaw's Blind Asylum, Old Trafford, having received a bequest of nearly £14,000 from Mr. James Nasmyth, built the Nasmyth extensions, consisting of a large concert hall to seat 500 persons, and kitchens. There were 180 residents.
1895Henshaw's Blind Asylum started giving instruction in massage; its pupils were the first in the country to follow this profession.
1900The Manchester and Salford Blind Aid Society, 30 Tonman Street, Deansgate, Manchester, was founded by Miss Isabel M Heywood of Pendleton, and a small Home opened at the Crescent, Salford. In 1930 there were 1,390 blind persons on its register - 1,160 in Manchester and 230 in other parts of Lancashire.
1902Manchester and Salford Blind Aid Society started a brush department, which it handed over to Henshaw's Institution twenty years later.
1904W.H. Illingworth, for twenty years a Head Master, and author of History of the Education of the Blind (1910), was appointed Superintendent of Henshaw's Blind Asylum. (An account of his career appeared in The Beacon, in December, 1924)
1905Henshaw's Blind Asylum received £10,000 from the trustees of the late James Holden, of Rochdale, forming The James Holden Trust, providing fifty-five weekly grants to blind people in the area. In 1930 the income from this fund was £380, half of which was used by Henshaw's Institution for general expenses, and the other half paid to the Rochdale and District Society.
1908Manchester and Salford Blind Aid Society moved their women to a larger home, The Elms, Eccles Old Road, Pendleton, with accommodation for thirty-five blind people.
1910Henshaw's Blind Asylum opened the Hayesleigh Home and Workshops in Old Trafford on October 18th , a very valuable addition. It was given by Mr C.H. Scott, a Board Member, who afterwards left £3,000 for its endowment. As a permanent tribute to Mr Scott, the complex was named The Mary Ann Scott Memorial Home and Workshop after his wife.
1913Henshaw's Blind Asylum took an additional house for a College of Music.
1915Henshaw's Blind Asylum, Old Trafford, opened the Gresham Home for 30 blind men, and the Birch Avenue Home for 30 blind women.
1918Manchester and Salford Blind Aid Society opened a Home, Oaklands, for 30 aged blind men, next to its Women's Home in the Eccles Old Road, Pendleton.
1921The name of Henshaw's Blind Asylum was changed to Henshaw's Institution for the Blind.
1924Manchester and Salford Blind Aid Society opened an additional house in Eccles Old Road, Pendleton, to accommodate 20 blind women.
1927New workshops, built on the Hayesleigh site, were officially opened in July 1927, resulting in more efficient and economic production.
1930Mr. W.H.Thurman was appointed Director and Secretary of Henshaw's Institution for the Blind.
1932The Gresham Home for Men and the Birch Avenue Home for Women were disposed of and a new home in Rhyl purchased for residents.
1945During the war, school children had been evacuated - the boys to Ellesmere, Shropshire, and the girls to Fulwood, Preston. They returned to Old Trafford in 1945.
1946Under a policy of the Ministry of Education, Henshaw's School changed from an all-age school for boys and girls into a secondary special school for pupils of both sexes, aged 12 to 16.
1948The Society purchased Astle Park at Chelford, Cheshire, for £15,000 with a view to building a new school in the country.
After spending the war years at Hare Hill, Macclesfield, the residents of the Mary Ann Scott Memorial Home moved to a new permanent home in Southport on September 27th. The home was officially opened on November 2nd.
1966The Society's plans to build a new school at Astle Park were turned down following complaints by Sir Bernard Lovell at Jodrell Bank that the expansion of computers would eventually interfere with the operation of his radar dish.
The Government approached the Society and offered a 50-acre site in Harrogate. The Society was offered a grant of £250,000 in return for re-locating to North Yorkshire. The land at Astle Park was finally disposed of in 1995.
1971The new school was opened in October and new headquarters were built on part of the old workshop site in Old Trafford.
A new scheme for the regulation of the charity, amending the 1924 Scheme was sealed by the Charity Commissioners. A number of outdated clauses in the old scheme were replaced. An important one that was inserted gave effect to a change of title to 'Henshaw's Society for the Blind'. This change enabled the Society to leave behind the image that the word 'institution' often conveyed.
1972 The Society opened a new holiday home in Llandudno, the Belmont Hotel and a few years later a special care centre was built at Rhyl to accommodate the more frail elderly blind.
1980The Society merged with the Manchester and Salford Blind Aid Society, making the charity one of the largest in the country. Henshaw's also became a Housing Association and opened Dr Pigott Lodge, a sheltered housing scheme in Blackley for blind and partially sighted people around retirement age.
1982The Pendleton Special Care Centre was built as an addition to The Elms Home in Salford for people requiring nursing care, known as the Isabel Heywood Centre.
1985Government Policy required Henshaw's School in Harrogate to implement drastic changes and part of the pupil accommodation was converted into single study bedrooms to provide residential independence training for pupils over the age of 16. A small special unit was also established for deaf-blind students in this age group.
1986/7The Society developed a Community Housing Scheme in Harrogate for students about to leave the College who wished to remain in the locality but needed some further support in order to achieve independence. By 2000, the Society had acquired 17 community houses in Harrogate & Knaresborough.
1990Phase I of the Lottie Hobson Centre was completed in November and 30 people moved into the home which was formerly the Elms. It was officially opened in September 1991.
1992Community services had been delivered from Warwick Road for several years but these services were expanded to create a regional resource centre.
1992/1993 The Society became a founder member of Opsis, the National Association for the Education, Training and Support of Blind and Partially Sighted People.
The work of the charity ‘Eyeline’ was continued in the form of a family and Patient Support Service – a pre-cursor to our Children and Family Services today.
1993 On July 20th, the charity commission granted national charity status to Henshaws.
Godfrey Ermen Home The Society embarked on a scheme to build a new residential home in Southport after realising that its high standards of care could not be maintained at the original Godfrey Ermen Home.
Lottie Hobson Centre Phase II of the Lottie Hobson Centre was completed.
Merseyside Regional Resource Centre A merger between the Liverpool Workshops and Birkenhead Society for the Blind resulted in the opening of Henshaws Merseyside Resource Centre in The Strand, Liverpool, in April 1993.
Patient Support Service In June 1993, in collaboration with Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, the Society established a Patient Support Service to provide advice, information, support, counselling and rehabilitation to patients attending hospital appointments.
1995Newcastle A Community Housing initiative in Newcastle was developed for people leaving long-stay hospital accommodation. The project began in 1994 with the opening of a home for five people.
John Derby House In March 1995, Henshaws Head Office and Greater Manchester Resource Centre moved to new premises in Talbot Road, Old Trafford. John Derby House, named after the late 18th Earl of Derby, President of the Society for 46 years, was officially opened in September 1995 by his nephew, the 19th Earl of Derby.
Godfrey Ermen Home Residents moved into the new Godfrey Ermen Home in Norwood Road, Southport, in September.
School of Visual Impairment Studies Based at Henshaws College, the school opened to provide training for Rehabilitation Officers. It quickly became established as a leading training provider – the only one of its kind in the North of England.
1996The Godfrey Ermen Home, Norwood Road, Southport, was officially opened on April 26th.
1997The Society celebrated its 160th Anniversary by holding a range of fundraising and profile raising events.
1998On September 8th, Henshaws opened its new Arts and Crafts Centre in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire. Part funded by a £1.8m grant from the National Lottery through the Arts Council of England, the centre was built on disused land at Conyngham Hall.
On September 9th, 50 clients moved in to the craft workshops to begin their training and employment.
Funding for an adjoining Garden of the Senses continued.
1999The Arts and Crafts Centre opened to the general public on April 25th with a carnival parade involving clients, staff and the local community with facilities for visitors including a café, exhibition gallery and shop.
2000 In December, the Society changed its name from Henshaw’s Society for the Blind to Henshaws Society for Blind People, bringing the charity more in line with the 21st Century.
The new corporate image also led to a change of name for the Society’s residential establishments in the North West. The Godfrey Ermen Home, Isabel Heywood & Lottie Hobson Centre and Doctor Pigott Lodge became known as the Southport Centre, Pendleton Centre and Blackley Centre respectively.
The Society also launched its own website – www.hsbp.co.uk
Garden of the Senses On October 9, Phase I of the Garden of the Senses at the Arts and Crafts Centre was officially opened by Henshaws chairman Mrs MG Lawrence.
Crown Green Road This new housing scheme, located off Barton Lane, Eccles, was opened on October 23 to provide supported community accommodation for visually impaired people in their 20s to 50s, some with additional disabilities. Henshaws worked in partnership with Manchester Methodist Housing Group on the six-flat scheme.
2001In June 2001, due to lack of demand and a shortage of nursing staff, the Pendleton de-registered as a nursing home and re-registered as a residential home only. Also in June, the Blackley Centre announced it was going to close permanently due to the massive amount of refurbishment work required to bring it up to scratch.
The Merseyside Resource Centre moved premises – it is still in Wellington Buildings but is now next door to the old premises and is spread over three floors.
2002Ownership of Henshaws Belmont Hotel was transferred to the Royal Blind Society (RBS). In September, the 12 week, pre-vocational Skillstep to Success course was launched at the Manchester centre.
The School of Visual Impairment Studies became known as the Training & Professional Development Centre.
2003The introduction of the pre-vocational training Skillstep to Success course at John Derby House, Manchester.
In September, hsbp hosted an Early Years Conference to debate the needs of young visually impaired children and their families which attracted over 60 professionals from a wide variety of local health and education authorities and voluntary organisations.
World Sight was celebrated across our four regions in October.
The Patient Support Service celebrated its 10th Anniversary and has been expanded to eye hospitals and clinics in Bolton, Eccles and Wythenshawe.
2004A new I.T service was introduced in Merseyside thanks to money from the Big Lottery Fund.
World Sight Day in Manchester was launched by HRH the Countess of Wessex in October.
Our pre-vocational Skillstep to Success course was established in all four Henshaws regions thanks to a strategic lottery grant from the Big Lottery Fund.
Our first house in Greater Manchester opened to accommodate six College leavers and one house has been purchased in Gateshead. Two new and improved houses replace four older ones in Harrogate, where service provision has been restructured. Henshaws won a Visionary Design Award as the most accessible website of any visual impairment organisation.
The revolutionary ‘Handy Guide for families’ was published.
Merseyside celebrated 10 years of ESF funded Skillstep and the achievements of 40 former Skillsteppers were recognized at a special presentation evening. The centre was also awarded a significant grant which would secure the I.T training in the region for the next two years.
2004 also saw the 10th Anniversary of Henshaws Salford Community Outreach Scheme which has supported over 500 pensioners since its inception.
2005The Children and Family Services was established in all four of Henshaws regions with the help of a grant from the Parenting Fund/DfES.
The first four Skillstep students at Wakefield graduated from the course.
Red Admiral Court in Newcastle upon Tyne opened in December with 3 service users and will eventually house 6 service users.
History of Establishments The Southport Centre (formerly known as the Godfrey Ermen Home)
The original Godfrey Ermen Home in Roe Lane, Southport, was built in 1905 by the Manchester and Salford Blind Aid Society with whom Henshaws merged in 1980. (The merger transformed Henshaws into one of the largest societies of its kind in the country).
Godfrey Ermen was a wealthy textile mill owner who died in 1909, leaving £5,000 in his will for the Manchester & Salford Blind Aid Society, an organisation which had workshops for the blind in the area. The Society decided to use the money to build a holiday home in Southport. The original choice of site in Ainsdale fell through because of objections from local residents and eventually a plot of land at Roe Lane became available.
In 1993, Henshaws embarked on a scheme to build a new residential home in Southport after realising that its high standards of care and facilities could no longer be maintained at the original Godfrey Ermen Home. Construction work began in June 1994 and the first residents moved into their new home in September 1995.
The building, which has retained its name, was officially opened on April 26th 1996 by Mr Sydney Jacobs, a patron of the Society.
On 1st July 2006, ownership of the Southport and Pendleton Centres was transferred to Anchor. More details about the transfer can be found on Henshaws website www.hsbp.co.uk
Belmont Hotel, Llandudno Henshaws bought the Belmont in 1972 to provide holiday accommodation for visually impaired people. It immediately became popular and was fully occupied from the start.
Gradual improvements to the building over the next few years were followed by a major refurbishment programme totalling £500,000. The hotel, which is now open all year, re-opened at Easter 1992.
The Blackley Centre Formerly known as Doctor Pigott Lodge, the Blackley Centre marked Henshaws first step in to the provision of sheltered housing.
Work started in 1977 and it was officially opened in September 1980, the year in which Henshaws also became a Housing Association.
This establishment as originally named after Dr H Pigott, Chairman of Henshaws Board of Management from 1966 to 1974. His daughter, Mrs M G Lawrence, was the Chairman of Henshaws from 1983 – 2002.
In June 2001, the Blackley Centre announced it was going to close permanently due to the massive amount of refurbishment work required to bring it up to scratch.
Pendleton Centre, Salford This establishment was known as the Isabel Heywood and Lottie Hobson Centre until 2000.
The original Isabel Heywood Home in Pendleton, Salford, was named after the woman who founded the Manchester and Salford Blind Aid Society, and the centre is also named after the late Lottie Hobson who left money to the Society in her will.
Before Henshaws merger with the Manchester and Salford Blind Aid Society, Henshaws owned The Oaklands Home and the Manchester and Salford Blind Aid Society owned The Elms Home, both in Salford on adjoining sites. Following the merger, Henshaws sold the Oaklands and moved into the Elms which was the better building of the two. In the early 1980s, Henshaw's built the Isabel Heywood Centre as a special care nursing centre attached to The Elms. In 1989/90, Henshaws received funding from the Housing Corporation for Phase 1 of the Lottie Hobson Centre followed by funding for Phase 2 in 1993. The demolition of The Elms was part of the re-development scheme contract.
In June 2001, due to lack of demand and a shortage of nursing staff, the Pendleton de-registered as a nursing home and re-registered as a residential home only. Refurbishment is under way to restore its facilities to provide the residents with residential care.
On 1st July 2006, ownership of the Southport and Pendleton Centres was transferred to Anchor. More details about the transfer can be found on Henshaws website www.Henshaws.org.uk
Henshaws College, Harrogate Partly due to enemy action during the war, the board decided that Old Trafford was not suitable for a residential school and so set about trying to find an alternative site. In 1966 Harrogate in Yorkshire was selected as the new school site because of its central location. However in the 1980's, the school had to make major changes due to the Government policy of integrating blind children into mainstream schools. An independence centre was introduced for deaf-blind students, the emphasis was towards living skills, and students were expected to do much more for themselves. The school changed its role from a secondary school and took on a College status for blind, partially sighted and deaf-blind students.
Merseyside Resource Centre This centre in The Strand, Liverpool, was the result of a merger with the Liverpool Workshops and Birkenhead Society for the Blind in April 1993 following a period of joint working between the two organisations.
A Service of Dedication was held at the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral on May 14th 1993 to celebrate both the merger and the opening of the resource centre which is now the focal point for the provision and delivery of community services to people with a visual impairment throughout Merseyside.
In 2001, the Merseyside Resource Centre moved premises – it is still in Wellington Buildings but is now next door to the old premises and is spread over three floors.
In early 2005, the Children and Family Service was established in the Merseyside region.
Greater Manchester Resource Centre and Society Headquarters The Society has always had its roots in Old Trafford, firstly with Henshaws School in Chester Road and then at Warwick Road after the school moved to Harrogate in 1971 (The Warwick Road headquarters was built on part of the old workshop site). At Warwick Road, the Society expanded its community services and established a regional resource centre.
With the increasing importance of Community Care, Henshaws steadily widened the range of services available from the resource centre and it became apparent that accommodation at Warwick Road was becoming too confined.
In March 1995, Henshaws moved to new premises just around the corner in Talbot Road, Old Trafford, which also serves as the Society's HQ. John Derby House, named after the late 18th Earl of Derby, President of the Society for 46 years, was officially opened in September 1995 by his nephew, the 19th Earl of Derby, who maintains an unbroken family tradition first established in 1859.
Newcastle
In partnership with Newcastle Upon Tyne Social Services, Henshaws has developed a new Community Housing initiative for people leaving long-stay hospital accommodation at West Denton Road. The project began in 1994 with the opening of homes for five householders.
In February 2003, Henshaws took over the responsibility of the service in a new house in St Oswalds Green which would run alongside West Denton Road.
In November 2005, ownership of St Oswalds Green and West Denton Road was transferred to Community Integrated Care.
Henshaws Today
Henshaws Society for Blind People today provides a comprehensive range of residential, education training and community care services for blind and partially sighted people and for people with disabilities at and from our various establishments in the North of England.
HENSHAWS COLLEGE
Henshaws College in Harrogate provides vocational education and training opportunities for a hundred visually impaired students living both on and off campus, many of whom also have additional physical and learning disabilities. The majority of courses offered from our purpose built college facilities are aimed at maximising independence skills in preparation for a full life in the community.
ACCOMMODATION
We provide supported community housing at Crown Green Road in Eccles, Salford, for visually impaired people in their 20s to 50s.
Community Housing – we have 17 community houses in Harrogate and Knaresborough for young people, many of whom are former Henshaws College students.
We also have a community house in Northern Moor, Manchester which accommodates up to 6 former College students.
RESOURCE CENTRES Our two resource centres in Liverpool and Manchester support their local communities through Information and Advice; Social and Self-help Groups; Informal Learning; and Accredited Learning.
In Liverpool and Manchester, our popular information technology and pre-vocational guidance courses have been designed to meet the needs of visually impaired people. The centre has a range of specialist equipment for purchase or demonstration.
In Newcastle-upon-Tyne, we have a pre-vocational Skillstep to Success training course and a service for Children and Families.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH SERVICES The Greater Manchester Resource Centre offers a range of outreach services aimed at re-building peoples confidence by providing information, advice and support.
At the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, our Patient Support Service provides a listening ear when people are feeling anxious and vulnerable, at the often distressing time of diagnosis.
In Salford, our Community Outreach Worker works closely with Salford Social Services and our volunteers to reduce social isolation, increase confidence and improve quality of life for older people with a visual impairment.
Henshaws Children and Family Services aim to ease families fears and concerns by offering a range of support, social and training activities throughout the year. Our Family Support Officer works with children aged 0-18 years.
Both Resource Centres are stocked with specialist toys, contain soft play areas and sensory stimulation rooms.
REHABILITATION SERVICES Henshaws currently contract with a number of social services across NW England to supply rehabilitation services. Our rehabilitation officers provide training in daily living skills to help visually impaired people achieve greater independence.
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING Henshaws Training and Professional Development Centre (formerly known as the School of Visual Impairment Studies) is based at College and delivers full and part time professional training courses for Rehabilitation Officers and others working with people who are visually impaired.
Our Visual Impairment Awareness Training scheme has been undertaken by many health and social services personnel, schools and colleges, voluntary agencies and commercial organisations.
To summarise, Henshaws provide a wide range of services for blind and partially sighted people of all ages:
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