Norwood Then and Now
REPORT ON MONTHLY LECTURE
Norwood Then and Now
On Monday 16 November we were delighted to welcome Gloria Stoll to give our monthly lecture. Gloria has been involved with Norwood for 24 years and she is one of the many volunteer ambassadors for this vast organisation.
Norwood is the largest Jewish charity in the UK, supporting vulnerable children and their families, children with special educational needs and people with learning disabilities. It is the only Jewish charity to enjoy the patronage of Her Majesty The Queen.
Founded in 1795 by The Goldsmid brothers, Abraham and Benjamin, they raised the princely sum of £20,000. In 1807 after 12 years of wrestling with government bureaucracy they established the Jew’s Hospital in Mile End, a charitable institution providing a boarding school initially for ten boys and eight girls from poor families.
In 1831 The Jews’ Orphan Asylum was established in Whitechapel, supporting 7 children orphaned by the 1830 cholera epidemic. By 1860 the population of the Jews’ Orphan Asylum grew to 60 orphans. Meanwhile the Jews’ Hospital had outgrown its dilapidated building and philanthropist Barnett and Isabella Meyers gave the Hospital 8 acres of land in West Norwood, including a large purpose built Victorian building accommodating 220 children. The two charities then merged in 1866 and became known as The Jews’ Hospital and Orphan Asylum in Norwood.
When the number of children increased a school was created in 1888 on the Norwood site under the auspices of the Department of Education which led to improved teaching standards.
Throughout the 20th century Norwood continued to evolve, opening sites in Redbridge. The Norwood Jewish Adoption Society was established and is still the only Jewish adoption agency in the UK. In Hendon the Kennedy Leigh Family Centre was opened to give practical advice and support to children and their families, and to include children with special needs including hearing impairment.
Finally in 1992 Norwood closed all family homes and now concentrates in supporting families through their various centres, which are mainly around London and one in Brighton. In 1996 they merged with Ravenswood a charity for children with learning disabilities. The services provided now reach out to parts of the UK community, not just the Jewish community.
Norwood currently works with 65 local authorities and has 55 sites. It costs £35 million a year to run and every year they must raise £12 million from voluntary donations.